Tim Davidson

The federal minimum wage is going up as of April 1st.

It will now be $18.15…that’s an increase from $17.75.

The federal government says since the introduction of the standalone federal minimum wage, it’s gone up 21 percent since 2021.

Patty Hajdu is the Minister of Jobs and Families and says yearly increases in the minimum wage are important.

“Keeping the minimum wage up to date helps maintain a reliable baseline that strengthens earnings and keeps workplace standards strong for all workers.”

The federal minimum wage is adjusted annually on April 1 based on Canada’s inflation rate for the previous year, which rose 2.1% in 2025, and has been rounded up to the nearest $0.05.

The Province of Manitoba wants to make grocery prices cheaper.

Premier Wab Kinew says they are taking the Provincial Sales Tax off all food.

“So, that means rotisserie chickens, salads, a case of Bubly…all the stuff that you’re grabbing on your way home when you’re in a rush and you gotta try and put a meal on the table for the family,” Kinew said in a social media post.

“Right now, you’d be paying the PST. After our budget passes, assuming it passes by July 1st, that will all be tax free.”

Kinew says details of the program will be announced in next week’s Manitoba Provincial budget.

The St. Thomas Aquinas girls hockey team has an 0-2 record so far at the All-Ontario A/AA championships in Coburg.

The Saints lost their first game 5-0 to the top ranked team in the tournament, Crestwood Prepratory College.

The second game was much closer, TA lost 3-2 to St. Charles College from Sudbury.

Maddyn Hughes and Jaylynn Derouard scored for the Saints in that game.

St. Thomas Aquinas wraps up the round robin tomorrow morning 7 am Central Time against St. Joseph Catholic Secondary School from Cornwall.

The City of Kenora will go with a local company to paint road lines this year.

Riteway Decorators has a bid of $370,157.

Greg Breen is the Director of Engineering and Infrastructure and says work is expect to begin in the next month or so.

“With a focus on the downtown line painting as much as they can when they kick off that work,” Breen told Kenora council recently.

“They are going to be coordinating their work with the street sweeping that our roads maintenance department does.”

Breen estimates the road painting work will wrap just before the summer season.

“Work on that will start as soon as weather is permitting, likely around the end of April and will take us through to the late part of June.”

Kenora council will vote on the tender at its open meeting Tuesday night.

Two people have been arrested following a drug bust on Highway 17 west of Kenora.

The OPP say they pulled over a vehicle last Wednesday morning around 1 am just east of the Manitoba border.

Officers noticed that cannabis was readily available, and searched the vehicle.

Some cocaine, fentanyl, knifes, a BB gun, an illegal licence plate cover and other drug paraphernalia were seized.

A 40-year-old woman from Saskatchewan and a 22-year-old man from Alberta face several charges including drug trafficking and weapons charges.

They are due in Kenora at a later date.

The All-Ontario girls A/AA championships begin bright and early tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.

The St. Thomas Aquinas girls hockey team goes into the OFSAA tournament ranked 14th.

They have an unenviable schedule, playing the top ranked team in the Tournament, Crestwood Preparatory College from Toronto at 7:00 tomorrow morning.

The Saints then play 7th ranked St. Charles College from Sudbury at 11.

The round-robin wraps up for TA Wednesday morning against 12th ranked St. Charles Catholic Secondary School from Londan, at 7 am.

(File photo)

Starting April 1st, the Sioux Lookout Health Authority says it will no longer be able to provide medical transportation services to Thunder Bay.

Over the past two years, over 37,000 rides were provided for over 64,000 thousand patients.

The Health Authority says funding from two of their federal partners (Non-Insured Health Benefits and Indigenous Services Canada) is not adequate for the service and it’s been operating in the red.

The SLFNHA says it does not believe this is a permanent outcome and says the federal government has a legal, moral and fiduciary obligations to provide medal transportation.

Starting next month, any requests for medical transportation to Thunder Bay has to be made directly to Non-Insured Health Benefits office.

The Thunder Bay U18 AAA Kings will represent northwestern Ontario at the Telus Western Regional Championships in Regina next month.

The Kings got by the Kenora U18 AAA Thistles in two straight games in the Northwestern Playdowns this weekend.

On Friday night the Kings doubled up the Thistles 4-2 at the First Nations Arena in Thunder Bay.

Saturday night, Thunder Bay took down Kenora 3-1 to advance to the Telus regionals.

The Thunder Bay North Stars won both their games against the Ironwood Lumberjacks to open the SIJHL playoffs.

Saturday night, the North Stars dumped the Lumberjacks 10-1.

That followed up on 7-3 victory for Thunder Bay on Friday night.

That series shifts to Ironwood, Michigan Wednesday night for game three.

In the other opening round series, the Sioux Lookout Bombers have knotted up the best-of-seven at one game apiece.

The Bombers won Saturday night, shading the Kam River Fighting Walleye 4-3.

The Fighting Walleye won game one Friday night with a 4-1 victory.

That series shifts to Sioux Lookout Monday and Tuesday for games three and four.

Tonight, the series between the Dryden GM Ice Dogs and the Red Lake Miners opens at the Dryden Memorial Arena.

The Keewatin Channel Bridge is open to two lanes of traffic again.

The City of Kenora says the weight restrictions have been removed and the westbound lane is open again.

The bridge’s capacity is fully restored to pre-construction condition.

Over the past few months, the bridge has undergone significant rehabilitation including installation of new steel girders and a complete recoating of the structure.

The total project cost over $9 million.

(File photo)

The Dryden OPP have arrested three people as a result of a drug bust in the Township of Machin.

The Dryden Street Crimes Unit and the Treaty Three Police pulled over a vehicle Wednesday morning around 9:30 on Armstrong Street in Vermilion Bay.

As a result of their investigation, police seized cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine and prescription drugs.

A woman from Winnipeg and two people from Dryden face two charges each of drug trafficking.

Two of the people had a court appearance Thursday and the other will appear in Dryden court at the end of April to face the charges.