Protests Mount at Campuses in U.S. While Canadian Universities Largely Quiet

Perhaps it is that the university year is mostly coming to a close in Canada but, by and large, campuses in Canada have mostly been quiet in regards to protests on Gaza and the Israeli response to the terrorist attack back in October. That is not to say there have not been rallies, public awareness campaigns and the like at universities but thus far, in Manitoba, we have not seen police involved in ways we have seen in the U.S. At McGill, protestors set up camp on campus over the weekend but the larger group of supporters went home. A contingent is left and the university has said the tents should be removed but their protests otherwise are permitted so long as they follow campus rules.

In Manitoba, the campuses have been devoid of occupations. Calls for divestitures of school funds from areas protestors have identified as supporting the war hasn't seemed to have cropped up here. The just $60 million investment fund at University of Manitoba is reviewed annually and has a mechanism in place to identify problem areas. So far no one has stepped forward on this issue. In terms of Israel, it is possible there is nothing direct at all.

The various protests in Winnipeg over Israel/Palestine have been usually off campus. Some have resulted in anti-Semitic and violent language. There has been some physical confrontations but so far no police involvement. No one want a repeat of some past protests that have resulted in occupations and vandalism mixed in with violence. This isn't just restricted to the present conflict overseas but over Covid and indigenous protests of that last few years. The Legislature is no longer the easy to access property it once was. Security greets people at the road entrance now and it isn't easy to get inside to talk to your own MLA.

Some protestors about Israel's response to Gaza devolve to Anti-Semitism all too easily. Other question Israel's right to exist. And others say Israel got what it deserved in the attack in October. It is hard to go anywhere with that type of hatred. It offers no solution except extremism.

Canada, like many countries, support a two state solution and the Oslo Agreement came close to that objective when extremists left things where they are now. Hamas, which controls Gaza, has no interest in two states. This wish to eliminate Israel and create a Muslim state covering the entire region. The group is considered a terrorist organization all over the world. However, for some people in Canada they are heroes despite the fact they have no interest in a peaceful solution and attack, rape and kill.

Israel is a democracy and even now the population is split of what to do next. Historically, a prime minister who was in charge following a major security breach lost their jobs. Netanyahu probably doesn't survive an election when it comes. The failure of both military and intelligence to thwart and respond to the October attack is squarely a leadership issue. The lengthy Israeli attempt to end Hamas is probably not going to work, especially if a long term occupation is the end strategy. 

Sadly, the recovery of hostages has been nearly impossible except during ceasefires. Far fewer have been recovered in military operations. The big question is whether Netanyahu will seek to pull back and negotiate if he loses his job in an election. Oddly enough, the protests against Israelis that lean towards violence and anti-Jewish sentiment overall probably helps Netanyahu.

As the school year ends in Manitoba and much of the rest of Canada, we are not going to see a campus occupation. Places like University of Manitoba will be in summer mode with Bombers games on site. There is no hay to be made on a sleepy campus. It remains to be seen in the fall if there is a rise of protests. However, by that time, we might see a cooling of hot war going on and protests will have no fuel to begin anew. Hostages are probably only going to be negotiated for with a ceasefire. As for Hamas, they are no doubt going to have to be removed by the Palestinian people themselves.

Rebel Moon Pretty but Lacks a Great Story

Zack Snyder is something of a legend in term of visual feasts on the screen. Comic and hero stories have a distinctive style and clearly identify it as his work. Batman looks very different coming from Snyder than it does coming from Tim Burton. Nothing is quite a visual as 300. He has his fans who support anything and everything he does. Even when it is not a box office success, he enjoys a cult status that has some people return over and over again.

Rebel Moon, according to Snyder himself, owes a lot to westerns, Kurosawa, Star Wars and a whole lot of sci-fi and fantasy. Nothing wrong with that. Still, it is hard to stand out. Star Wars, Dune and the Matrix all revolve around someone being the chosen one with special powers. Those three movies though managed to breakthrough and make you care about the characters even if the story was a familiar one. 

It is said there are 7 basic plots, 36 possible story dramatic situations that a creative work can take. Much like a Harlequin romance, a basic formula exists that if followed will reach a successful conclusion. Snyder wants our heroine in Rebel Moon to be the glue for a rebellion against an evil empire. To muddy the waters, we find out our heroine has been hiding for years for her complicit past. Immediately, this makes her character different from the Star Wars type where Luke was an innocent. Even in the Matrix, Neo, despite being a hacker, is not complicit in the controlling forces or even aware of them.

Kora, played by Sofia Bouetella, has a tragic beginning of loss and has been indoctrinated as a child soldier. This isn't a bad way to go. In Star Wars, The Force Awakens, Finn is a stormtrooper who can not stomach the brutality of the regime. In the two Rebel Moon movies, we learn that Kora only regrets her part in the killing of the royal family. Her escape into hiding, is when the Imperium implicates her entirely of the crime.

Hiding out in a village living a simple life is not a redemption story to this point. It is a Nazi in Argentina after WWII story. From the point of view of the viewer, while there may be sympathy for being child soldier, the crimes cannot be overlooked. I can not be the only one who thought this. 

I addition, the Imperium requiring so much from one hamlet in combatting rebels is just a bit of a stretch. I can imagine the warship that the Imperium has very little need of such a paltry amount of grain. And one tiny village on an entire planet warrants that much attention? Movies of this nature generally require a McGuffin to propel the story forward. The McGuffin being the thing that everyone is seeking. Where is it here? The village and its grain just doesn't seem that important.

Almost every part of the movie is beautiful to watch. Visual effects are as flashy as you will find in sci-fi. There are a number of actors cast who are quite capable but never enough to work with. There are already plans for a third movie so it shows that Snyder continues to have fans and that people are definitely craving a good space opera. Perhaps they know what they are doing with Rebel Moon but I found I was already forgetting a lot from the previous movie.

Market Lands Development/Civic Parkade and Public Safety Building

Construction started back in January of 2024 but details keep trickling out as more financial aspects are revealed. The land sat empty for some time after the Civic Parkade and the Public Safety Building were bulldozed. The city had let the1965-built 460 car parkade used by police and civic staff to literally fall apart. Pieces of concrete began to fall inside. The Public Safety Building used by police and one was also in having pieces fall off of it. The police have since moved to the even older Post Office building.

Civic officials were likely thinking they could privately sell the land and pocket the money into revenue but also, they found they didn't actually own the land. It was held in trust from the original McDermott family so long as the city used it for public use. The city always seems to be missing pieces of the puzzle.

Unable to sell the land and not wanting to be called out for making it a gravel parking lot for city councillors, they have waited for funders from the province and elsewhere to go ahead with the project. Invariably, these things seem to take 10 years to get going which is far too long if you want to keep any momentum going in an area, build housing or a community. \

The chosen builder of the apartment housing is a proven downtown developer in the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation 2.0 which has completed several apartments in the art gallery area near the university. The ten storey building will have 95 apartments with about 48 that will be deeply affordable. Those will be as low as $285 a month.

A market area will be in the space immediately in front of apartment between City Hall and Red River Polytech. There will also be a 20,000 square foot creative hub supported by Winnipeg Foundation. Several arts groups will locate in the centre. In the past these same groups from the 1970s and through the decades have found affordable places in the Exchange. Some still do call the area home but the need for more spaces will support artists and creative new businesses in the future.

A common issue with downtown in that is it so spread out that there are large segments that lack connectivity. The Chinatown development has sat kind of by itself for decades without a lot of additional housing or commercial development going in. The 460 car Civic Parkade was mostly used for police and city hall employees although was important for Concert Hall and theatre goers in the evening. The 160 car Bedford Parkade down the street has been partly helpful in ensuring workers and those wishing to rent a space had somewhere else to go. The police in their new building have been using spaces all over but predominantly, the Millennium Library.

No parking lot is planned for the housing going up thus far for Market Lands. One hopes they at least put loading zones in or people will have a hard time moving in or loading and unloading the farmer's market. Not every apartment needs to have 100 spots to park but they do need loading zones for moves, deliveries and for business. It would also be helpful if Peg City Co-Op parking is made available if the aim is to reduce people having to own cars.

People in Winnipeg have shown interest in public markets but one of the biggest markets in St. Norbert offers ample parking for $2 on Saturdays. Even the $2 part rankles some but it gets so busy there, I expect they want to make sure people carpool. How busy will it get at Market Lands? Will it be local people or will it draw a varied and far reaching crowd? And if it does, will they find parking? Or will they bus? Or walk or ride bikes? Will it be year round? All important questions. If it is a seasonal market, it might mean that it could be empty a lot.

Red River Polytech continues to grow and any and all residential and commercial developments around it likely benefit it. More students are likely to look at the college if there are affordable options by it. The market space looks a lot smaller than you might expect and not four season capable but I could be wrong. It also appears that they are creating an extension Market Avenue behind the apartment that would having parking on it.

There appears to be additional space for more housing behind the present 10 floor apartments. No one has said if that space or is there not really any space there? It certainly looks like there is and if there is, why no announcement? Or is this just phase one? It looks like it would fit in the space between the new Market Avenue and James Avenue.

Developments always seem to take years to accomplish. It would be appear that sometime in 2025/2026 this and other projects in the area should reach fruition. However, even with so many apartments and housing being built, most economists says we need far more and faster to meet demand and to help lower costs. The city's ability to approve those projects and the industry's capacity to build them seems strained. A project in Whyte Ridge took 12 years to get going because of initial opposition but is slated to start this year and cost $100 million.

The cost of the Market Lands development thus far is slated at just under $60 million. It joins a list of new and redeveloped buildings along Princess Street for apartments. A good section of Princess Street as a protected bike bath that so far has not been an impediment to businesses and residents along the street. An example of a good bike path. There is real potential for some niche businesses along the street such as convenience stores, pharmacies and restaurants if the residential population reaches a critical mass. One of the things that has hurt the Exchange recently is lack of foot traffic. Having thousands of people live in the area really helps.

Investment seems constantly aligned with City Hall's interest in an area. It is often because an area becomes so neglected that it cries for a response. This is true of Portage Place which saw decades of investment elsewhere while problems festered from an underfunded mall. Chinatown saw initial investment and almost nothing decades later. It is unlikely we have seen this type of investment since 2010 when airport work, the Hydro tower, Bomber stadium and and the expanded floodway combined with record sponsorship of immigrants. We already see inflation lowest in Manitoba so these various projects seem to be helping growth. Had it not been for how bad things got on the health service side of things, the province might be in a even better spot.

Over the next two years so many projects seem to set for completion including this one and it we'll see if it creates a connectivity from area to area that so often lacks now. It is hard to see it at this point but a real rise in morale as we saw in 2010 might be on the cusp.

The End of the Arizona Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes has finally run out of time and will indeed be moving to Salt Lake City, Utah after they complete their final games of the season. The 5000 seat Mullet Arena was just not going to pass muster for four or so years with no arena deal in place. The NHL just couldn't let it go on any longer with so many cities in the wings wanting a team. Moreover, with a winter Olympics likely to return to the U.S., the league wants a team in the city that will be the host. That city is Salt Lake City.

Utah checks of the box for things the league wants. It has a billionaire owner, it has an NHL size arena, it has a plan to build its own NHL arena, it was prepared to pay an expansion fee to the NHL to buy the team. It isn't all bad for the Coyotes owner and Arizona. The city has the right to retain team name and history if they can get approval for an arena to be built within next four years. They will have an opportunity to win a franchise again if they meet the needs of the league and their own team's success in the future.

Salt Lake City is odds on favourite for hosting the Olympics again. Aside from Utah Jazz, there are no major league team competitors. If you head directly north, Salt Lake is immediately above Phoenix which puts in Central Division territory so not putting any issues by seeing major shifts in other divisions. In recent years, Salt Lake has seen real growth and should have enough people ready to become hockey fans. The Colorado Avalanche East Coast Hockey League farm club Utah Grizzlies is based in Salk Lake City. The Tucson Roadrunners AHL franchise of the Arizona Coyotes is not part of the sales to Salt Lake City. This means that Salt Lake will not own their AHL franchise. Rumour is that Tucson moves to Mullet Arena, present home of the Arizona Coyotes. This leaves Tucson without a team.

Arizona fans who truly loved hockey have to be hurting. However, unlike Winnipeg, it won't be taken as a sign of city failure, decline and for someone to turn off the lights when they leave the province. The 1990s were hard times in Winnipeg. And no one was harder on the city than ourselves. It took an act of faith to buy an AHL franchise and move it to Winnipeg as the Chipmans did. It took working with partners to get a downtown arena built and a lot of private and public money. Make no mistake. That was a complicated and controversial deal at the time.

The building of the arena has produced a slow burn redevelopment of 20 years surrounding the area.  The Chipmans have poured money back into the facility and into office, residential units and the plaza and work still continues. And now with Portage Place, it shows an even stronger commitment not only to the Jets but the downtown itself.

The Arizona Coyotes were always a tenant. They weren't actively an owner. This is mostly the problem the Jets had although Winnipeg Enterprises was part owner in the end but the Jets themselves never made concession money from being in Winnipeg Arena. Still, even if they had, the lack of a salary cap was devastating for the league and the Jets could not match was big markets could pay for players.

Coyotes at least got an arena for themselves in Glendale but the development around it was never theirs. The ownership never seemed stable enough. The team make-up was always just short of what was needed. The league gave them a huge amount of time to get it right but four or five more years in Mullet Arena just wasn't going to do.

Phoenix is still the 11th largest metro in the U.S. It will continue to grow and like Atlanta will probably get yet another chance at an NHL owner. One thing is clear though that the NHL was not going to move the team to the eastern market. Many hoped Quebec City might get the team. They have the billionaire owner and the arena and hockey-mad crown but a separatist would be principal owner. That doesn't sit well. Nor does the east want to have to shift a team to the Central to make way for a Cincinnati, Kansas City or another Toronto team.

In the west Houston, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco could all be possibles. But you need a dedicated arena, owner and willingness to build a market. Winnipeg's eventual success was to make sure they were always in the picture, linked to the NHL with a long time AHL franchise, an arena and a dedicated ownership group ready to jump in at last minute if needed. And it was needed when Atlanta was up for grabs. 

Salt Lake City kept making it's desire known and the NHL now keeps a list of boxes that need to be ticked off for success in a new market. The sudden move of a team to a new place is just not on the table. It isn't a good look and it ends a possible expansion to a city that would pay real money to the league and owners. The move to Salt Lake City pays a bit of money but it is a rescue mission and was only approved to give Phoenix once last time to get it right with a time limit of five years to get that arena. However, Salt Lake City ticked all the boxes and that is why they jumped to head of the list.

Expect an expansion within the next few years. It will probably be Gary Bettman's last expansion as he probably will retire before the Olympics as he will be 81 in 2034. But all the pieces for the NHL to benefit from that hosting will be parts that he puts together between now and then including TV agreements for NHL and new markets. It is a legitimate question to ask how many teams the NHL can possibly have and still be relevant and have quality in the play. Perhaps 40 teams are possible. Grow too big and it is possible hockey could see a split to an elite league with relegation to lower leagues if play falls below a certain level as we see in the English League of Football. The Premier League split in 1992 into 20 elite level teams. However, fall below standard and a team is relegated down and another team is relegated up. The NHL does not work that way. And teams don't move to another city.

I expect Salt Lake City will be a good franchise but we likely haven't seen the end of the Coyotes. However, if they don't get their own arena, it will never work. Winnipeg Jets were never going to return until they had their own arena. It was a major box to tick off as it should be for any city looking to get an NHL team.

 

Largest Build-up of Military in Years

 DND photo RP16-2018-0059-114 by Corporal Desiree T. Bourdon

Canadian Armed Forces artillery soldiers on exercise in Latvia, June 2018.

Canada has long been regarded as the laggard in military spending and its commitment to NORAD, NATO and UN peacekeeping the last few decades. It isn't limited to Liberal governments. It has been shared by Conservative ones as well. NATO makes 2% of GDP spending it's goal for military spending and Canada is around 1.3% despite some big purchases in recent years. The Trudeau government is committed to 1.7% GDP by 2029-30. The new policy plan is $8 billion in more spending in the next five years and $73 billion in next two decades.

It is unknown what the other parties such as the Conservatives and NDP are prepared to support. Presently, with a minority government, the NDP have supported the Liberals with their NATO presence in Latvia and support for Ukraine. The Conservatives haven't said what they would do but there are elements in the party that don't want to continue sending money to Ukraine and want to scale back. This is a tendency being seen with U.S. conservatives as well.

It would be a mistake to think that Conservative times are better times for the Forces when it comes to money and support. For the last few decades, both Liberals and Conservatives have drawn down numbers to what it is. The last prime minister to have 2% of GDP going to the military was Pierre Trudeau. Yes, that Trudeau.

Canada has a significant force in Latvia. It means that the country has no choice but to get more boots recruited as there are shortages up and down the system. Equipment is literally older than the forces using them but decades. And procurement is one of the biggest failures easily over several governments. The government cut the procurement department and there is not enough people there to ensure it isn't a delayed and expensive fiasco every time. Every regional government wants spending in their area and each branch of the military wants every bell and whistle in their equipment till it is a bloated mess.

Meanwhile, the military is short on recruitment by 15% and most it's force capacity of available army, navy and air force assets is around 50%. That is a pretty sorry state of affairs. If Canada requires army help for flood or fire, there is nearly nothing available for that effort. There is a lot of complacency and a general feeling that world threats don't really affect Canada. It takes events such as September 11 to strike home possible dangers. The Russian/Ukrainian conflict demonstrates that fighting elsewhere can result in a massive refugee influx in Canada. It is possible that once the conflict ends in Gaza/Israel that refugees will be arriving here as well. So far the one thousand refugees Canada say will be allowed in and have not been able to leave.

This is the rub of trying to ignore what happens outside of Canadian borders. Whether it be war, pollution, trade or immigration/migration, it doesn't stop from affecting Canada. Don't have an adequate defence? Well, a possible future U.S. President might just ignore Canadian borders and decide for us. That could involve U.S. encroachment or letting others push us around. We have seen that countries like China and India have increasingly taken aggressive stances including with Canada.

The escalation with Iran and Israel is making for a very jittery world response. Too many times we have see how this leads to bigger world problems. Ignoring it is not a viable solution. And policy changes taking years to make is just not fast enough, especially when it comes to recruitment numbers. There are simply too many things going on for Canada that they can't respond to any crisis at the moment.

Ensuring that military ranks are filled has to be an immediate priority. If Canada can't even send troops to battle a fire or flood, it will likely bring down the government. Not being able to provide basic care in times of emergency is what, in part, led to George Bush's demise. Hurricane Katrina showed how stretched out resources were. Fighting on two fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan and now being able to help till it was far too late domestically was a stark moment.

Canada is not only country fretting about their military. Britain and much of Europe is as well. The U.S. always worries about readiness or willingness. It is a fantasy that good sense will prevail and countries won't fight for ideological, religious or any other reason. Russia could have been the biggest and most powerful democracy in Europe but it didn't. It became an expansionist autocracy. China has become expansionist as well and more nationalistic.

The west has it's problems too. The U.S. has not had an adequate immigration and refugee program in decades because it is easier to hammer one side or the other over it in Washington. Canada is no longer is a factor in peacekeeping. The U.K. pulled out of Europe thinking it would be better for them. Some of what they west is doing is selfish and ultimately self-damaging.

How wars are conducted is changing and in some cases reverting back to ways that are closer to WWI than Afghanistan. The use of artillery and long range drones and rockets has every military in the world re-considering their own ability to detect and launch interception but also re-evaluate mobile artillery versus tanks. The tanks in the Ukraine/Russia battle are not obsolete but they have been frequently decimated with losses of people in the tens of thousands. Not since WWII have losses been so devastating.

The recent speech by Trudeau indicates some priorities seems to be higher than others. Canada, for example, has put in orders for 14 P8 anti-submarine aircraft and quadrupled the 9 refueling and transportation aircraft order. The breakdown of the government of Canada plane in India twice was not just an embarrassment, it was security risk. The order of 88 F-35 jets should see first aircraft come in two years. However, the recruiting of pilots and support teams for these planes begins now.

It is the navy build up that will be the most painful in terms of how long and how much. It keeps pushing one class of ships out of priority in favour of others, The supply ships literally were kaput and the government had to push ahead with a single temporary refurbished ship. Work on two new supply ships has delayed the 2 Coast Guard ships by years. And this is kind of how it has gone on for decades with ships: Way behind schedule, way over budget and the ones built often have problems.

Governments have shifted back and forth between Liberal and Conservative multiple times during this sorry state. There is little reason to believe that NDP or any other policy might be better. In fact, there are elements within other parties that would likely accelerate the decline. The leader of the NDP has already said he believes the policy of 2% for military spending is arbitrary. The policy book has defence listed on the last page and not in very much detail.

If the NDP ever did get into power, they might not do the same as the Liberals and Conservatives. That isn't good. It often seems we go into war setting in dreadful shape. Our entry into WWII was marked by a disgraceful lack of people, training, equipment and purpose. Thankfully, Canada found itself but the sense of security in doing nothing is present today just as it was back then.

The amount of ice free days in the north presents opportunities as well as problems. Nuclear submarines already pass through the north under the ice and there is little Canada can do about it. Nuclear icebreakers from Russia crush through the ice and can go where no Canadian ship can go. Other countries, including the U.S., have stated their aspirations in the north. Russia has much more developed plan for the north and it doesn't stop at their border. It is worth keeping in mind how Russia thinks about the border with Ukraine.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has made everyone think about how conventions are now broken. If Sweden and Finland give up their neutrality to come under NATO's umbrella, it is difficult to ignore. While it might seem far away, Russia is in our north. Very close. It certainly isn't lost on the Trudeau and the Liberal government. To their credit, they have been very supportive of Ukraine in terms of money, arms and getting people out to safety. And it isn't over by a longshot.

Germany used to say to Canada no tanks, no trade. We could hear those words again or something to that effect. Trump has certainly said a country' security may be in jeopardy if they don't meet the 2% threshold. Even with the increase announced we will still be $8 billion a year short from that. It may reach 2% when some projected are costed. New submarines have no price at all and yet government says they are considering it. We have four subs now, the Navy has asked for 12. Some want them to be nuclear. If Australia can go nuclear maybe Canada does too. There are already opinion pieces in Toronto saying Canada faces a bigger danger from climate change and is against the subs.

Still, other editorials are starting to acknowledge how unprepared Canada is in terms of engaging our forces for even things related to climate change such as support for communities in Canada. That starts with having people available which we do not have enough of.

The upcoming budget at least lays out increases in spending for the military. It remains to be seen if things can truly be accelerated. 

Boyd Autobody Now Open on Portage Avenue

Since 1963 there has been something auto related at Moray and Portage.  And that was before the Charleswood Bridge. Birchwood Auto made the place it's first home and it has been serving auto dealers for decades. Robert Chipman or Bob as he was known to many, set up shop at the spot where Portage Avenue turned into a curve following the Assiniboine River.  Birchwood is now the largest autodealer group in Manitoba and the basis of the Chipman fortune that led March Chipman to be majority Jets owner.

Once Birchwood moved out to the autopark down Portage Avenue, Mercedes set up shop for many years until they too moved to their most recent location on Kenaston. For a time in very recent years, the building bore the Birchwood name as their credit offices. And now another big autogroup in Boyd Autobody has taken over.

It has been a very long construction period in part because of their new paint centre which has equipment from out of country which requires all sorts of approvals not to mention a much better ventilation system which is installed on the roof. Unlike other Boyds, this one has kept the showroom windows so you can see the workers repair cars from the street. If you walk across the parking lot, you can still still see the carved Mercedes branding.

Boyd is very much a Manitoba success story and opening a new shop on Portage is another investment in jobs and work here. There are a few unleased spots in St. James along Portage Avenue but slowly things are filling in the post pandemic build up. Below is a picture of Portage Avenue in 1965. It is immediately in front of the present Boyd business. The Holiday Inn is not yet built but the bowling alley was incorporated into the hotel.

Portage Place 2024- The True North/SCO Proposal

The proposal for Portage Place is shaping up. The Pan Am Clinic tower is a little shorter as is the apartment tower for the east and west pads of the soon to be converted mall but the partnership between the three main partners is looking more solid. The True North, Southern Chiefs organization and the province of Manitoba have made a a definitive commitment to start construction in the new year. The cost for Portage Place is still listed as $650 million and the The Bay rehabilitation is listed at $200 million.

This proposal is far superior than what was offered by eastern developers. Still, there is a lot of confusion as many people think that True North is buying a mall and that the food court will still be there will gangsters dealing drugs and people dying in bus depots. First, it should be clear that the mall is gone as we know it. A food court will be replaced with an entrance to the Pan Am Clinic above. The atrium will be removed, a second floor overpass will be re-designed and the third floor will have the theatres removed as and above floors will be surgical suites, dialysis, a medical clinic and other services. The far east side pass will be a 15 floor apartment with affordable suites owned by True North and SCO.

There has not been much talk about what happens to the old mall part but the front will be carved back as well as the back for a greenway. The Y will remain and, likely, the Prairie Theatre Exchange. The ground floor is reportedly promised to a grocery store not yet named. I think it has to repeated over and over that it will not be a mall anymore. There won't be a food court. It will be a very busy medical clinic.

How busy? Just take a look at Pan Am now. The parking lot is packed to the rafters every single day. A line-up is there even before it opens and if you come too late, you don't get in that day. They have been due to expand for years. There is little doubt they will be extremely busy and the expanded surgical suites for joint replacement will be much needed.

Historically, people in Winnipeg would go to the Medical Arts Building, the Winnipeg Clinic and the Boyd Building for a variety of medical appointments. This will be a return to that and because the services are so sought out, it is unlikely someone is going to turn down their knee surgery just because it is not in the Grant Park area. People will be grateful if they don't have to wait. It is highly doubtful security will be overlooked. There will be , without a doubt, a whack of security.  Expect, it is to be highly visible and vigilant.

The present mall owners have to be paid and the three levels of government as well for the overall ownership of the parkade, air and land rights. The result will be tens of millions going to The Forks. This deal is as important to The Forks final developments as it is to North Portage. I cannot think this deal still doesn't have some refinements coming. However, the parkade is the jewel in the crown as it is a perennial money maker in the millions. If True North acquires Portage Place, they own just shy of 1000 parking spaces for their facility. 

The commentary about downtown and Portage Place is universally pretty bad. Some of it is that the whole thing is waste of time and no one goes downtown for any reason at all. And those that do die a painful death in the gutter in an unsolved homicide. There are certainly plenty of examples of terrible things happening downtown and the poverty and homelessness has been deeply felt post pandemic.

However, some people continue to work and live downtown, others come down for concerts, Jets games or boat shows. There is life in the area and in 2019, things looked pretty positive. It could be that way again. Big projects in and of themselves won't transform things. And sometimes, like The Forks, it is a slow burn to reach success and build from it. Neighbourhoods are not built overnight. 

When Earls put up their Main Street location there were some people who thought they were crazy but it had proved to be very successful location for them. Their move into Winnipeg Square continues that trend. Likewise when the arena went downtown, people said they would never go. For years it has filled the streets with people with Jets and Moose game and concerts. Even the attendance issues now are more seen as a reflection of hockey performance first and foremost rather than being downtown.

The True North owners have been working year by year since they moved downtown to bring more dynamism to the area. Portage Place will now see the type of investment that really didn't continue after it's initial build. But it will take other businesses, shops, restaurants to build the street back up. There have been a few convenience stores near University of Winnipeg that have opened and a few restaurants opening on Portage that might indicate some renewed confidence in the street. 

If the Portage Place redevelopment can bring some life to the ground level part of the street, it will accomplish a lot. One of the big flaws of the mall was that it left the northside of the street with a lot of walls and few entrances. It will be interesting how True North changes that. What no one wants is for encampments to go up because people don't have a place to live or gather. And no one wants to feel unsafe.

It will be a lot of work to see this through but if a lot of people end up living in the area and have grocery stores, resource centers and places to feel safe, it will go a long way,

SportChek Unicity Closed

In the last two months SportChek Unicity has closed. No specific reason was given but parent company Canadians Tire was in the mall as well as sister company Mark's. Canadian Tire carries both company's stock on their shelves. That is a lot of one company exposure in one mall. It will not be easy to fill that spot unless sub-divided.

The big one question is whether the Unicity Shopping Centre is due a makeover. The Walmart in St. James is truly the one with the greatest need. It is the worst Walmart in the city for size, width of the aisles and for what it doesn't carry. The new Coscto by Assiniboia Downs is going to kill it.

Some time back Walmart closed its Unicity Lube and Tire service so there is potential room to expand back there. But the store is in desperate room of expansion and can unlikely expand further east into where Dollar Tree sits. It can't really go further north as it is near as far in that direction as they can go. It can't expand west as it is into residential area. It is possible it could push further south but will they do that?

And what of SportsChek? Was their closure and indication of a move to the mall where Costco in going? Could it be that Walmart has not announced a makeover for their store because they are moving to the Costco site as well? Impossible? Well, it certainly looks like there are plans for a grocery with a garden centre there. It just doesn't seem big enough for Walmart though. 

We saw a lot of movement along Kenaston once the Outlet Collection was in place and this could be the same sort of thing happening now. When the new retail pops up there, it could be shops setting up at a new location.

Some discussion of why SportChek closed was that it always looked empty. They had a bad problem with shoplifting. It was poorly stocked. The only thing we are sure is that it is closed. 

Unicity has always been a mall with challenges. The Walmart is very busy but left no room for major expansion. The Sobeys, Canadian Tire and other stories seem to do well but the area lacks charm. Even their bud terminus looks tired. The restaurants at the front all appear to be doing well. It will be interesting if in fact there is an upgrade to this mall once construction of the Costco happens.

It is never too late for an upgrade as McPhillips mall showed. Wait too long though and you start losing stores before that happens.

Should Winnipeg Have More Non-Profit News Sources?

 

In 2020, the rules changed in CRA to allow for non-profits to be a journalism provider. Only eight organizations, including the environmental news provider The Narwhal, have done so. What does this do? This means the non-profit pays no taxes to provide news. None. They can issue donation receipts for gifts and can receive Canadian foundation support with less snags. 

The Winnipeg Foundation, The Winnipeg Free Press and the non-profit digital media site Narwhal are among the first to work together. One journalist is paid to write environmental stories for Manitoba for a three year term that appears in the Free Press and the Narwhal. The reporter is identified in their byline as to their position and focus area. It is unknown what the independence of the editorial policy is but I assume that it supports the mandate of both Free Press, Narwhal and Winnipeg Foundation for local journalism initiatives.

Manitoba is no different than many other areas of the country in that it has lost local news outlets outright. Winnipeg is luckier than other places in that there are print, radio and TV options although the cuts to CTV have meant fewer later night, weekend and holiday options. There are more digital options and podcasts out there but many private broadcasters are looking to get out of news altogether.

Social media can be a source of local news but it is difficult to sift through. It can lead you to the newest ice cream shop but it is not necessarily going to give more in depth reports about the state of the restaurant business locally. That is where someone who makes a living writing and covering news can do that. Influencers in Canada often don't get any money but they may get considerations from the places they cover. This can represent a conflict of interest for some, especially if not disclosed or if they don't have independent editorial policy.

Given how many for profit news sites have closed and how local journalism and withered in so many communities, the non-profit option might offer hope for those communities to support local media. The aspect of no tax and no dividend to shareholders is an attractive one. It means money is poured back into the local news product. 

There has been some very interesting developments in non-profits in the U.S. In Maine, a number of dailies and weeklies have now come under the umbrella of a non-profit. They will no longer have private owners or pay profit in the form of dividends to those owners. The non-profit will be supported by donations and subscriptions. Advertising is still accepted but the dependence on it as the basis of success is no longer as important.

MinnPost is very much a newspaper. Minneapolis-St. Paul has two dailies which makes it luckier than a lot of cities. But they have always been twin cities and doing things twice. Minnesota also has a very active National Public Radio group of stations, Twin Cities PBS and major newsrooms from the four affiliates of ABC, CBS. FOX and NBC. It is an embarrassment of riches that is only added to by having MinnPost.

MinnPost is a non-profit and manages to cover quite a lot of material with no firewall on the material. The donations it receives and the readership it has clearly indicate that Minnesota is very much interested in more journalism, not less. The fact that they include all Minnesota in their coverage is an indication that they look beyond just Minneapolis-St. Paul. 

It is too late for communities like Selkirk, Altona and Winkler who have lost their newspapers when PostMedia closed them. There wasn't even an attempt to sell them or let a non-profit takeover. We have seen then same type of closures on radio stations recently. In many cases, it isn't a question of some of these areas losing population. It is just profit margins are not there to the satisfaction of an out of province owner.

Does Manitoba need a non-profit for local coverage on a provincial level? If you ask Selkirk, Altona and Winkler, the answer is probably yes. But what does that look like? Well, it likely has no physical address aside from a P.O.  Box. No need of printers. It probably has to have some seed money as did MinnPost. Four families put up the initial money. Once set up as a non-profit, they can accept money from Foundations. A membership drive comes along the way at some point. MinnPost has 5000 members or so each year.

Is it possible that people in Manitoba could do this? I suspect they could but that it would need leadership from journalists, a former publisher or two and some initial seed money to get off the ground. I know I'd support it. 

Janet Stewart to Leave CBC News for CBC Radio Noon

Announced by Janet Stewart herself, she will be taking over CBC Radio Noon for the Majorie Dowhos who will be on maternity leave for a year. Stewart's job, which she has held since 2007, has been posted internally. Stewart has said she would still be doing anchoring from time to time but it is clear the radio job is something she has worked comfortably in over her career.

Stewart was CTV News local anchor prior to her long time position at CBC. She served in that job from 2001 to 2006. The latest ratings periods are unknown but John Sauder, the long time meteorologist at CBC, departed in retirement several weeks earlier. There have been a series of people on the anchor desk over some weeks but it is likely the position will attract interest from a variety of people both in Winnipeg and in other CBC positions in Canada. It is also possible that the job will attract outside CBC interest as well.

CTV has been the highest rated TV News locally but has been badly wounded by losing their noon, weekend and holiday newscasts.. Global and CityTV also have news divisions so there could be a shuffling of how each approaches the changes.

Anchor jobs at CBC don't come up often. CBC Radio where Stewart is heading has been number 1 for several years and has a strong news department. The time for CBC to reclaim first in local TV news will lie in a makeover for the news in people and format. It will be interesting to see what they intend on doing.