Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press

Manitoba's Progressive Conservatives came under fire Monday for taking out a newspaper ad that highlights, in part, the province's decision to not search a landfill for the remains of two Indigenous women.

The full-page ad, on Saturday in the Winnipeg Free Press, touts the governing Tories' promises on a few issues including tax cuts and violent crime. On the decision to not search the Prairie Green Landfill, the words "Stand Firm" appear in large text. In smaller font is the phrase: "For health and safety reasons, the answer on the landfill dig just has to be no."

Police and municipal crews removed a blockade Tuesday at a Winnipeg landfill where protesters had barricaded a road for almost two weeks to demand a search for the remains of Indigenous women.

Workers with front-end loaders and other machinery removed wood planks and other material that had blocked the road to the Brady Road landfill. There were no arrests and the removal went smoothly.

"I interacted with the leader of the group and we gained an understanding of what was going to happen today," Insp. Gord Spado of the Winnipeg Police Service said.

A Manitoba judge urged the two sides in a landfill blockade to try to reach a compromise Thursday, as the federal and Manitoba governments sparred over a proposed search for the remains of Indigenous women.

The city of Winnipeg is asking for a court injunction to remove a blockade that was set up at the city−run Brady Road landfill last week, after Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said the province would not support a search of the privately owned Prairie Green Landfill, which is north of the city.

Dozens of protesters continued to block a Winnipeg landfill after a city-imposed deadline Monday, and promised to continue protests until officials search for the remains of slain Indigenous women.

"We're fighting for a cause. We're fighting to get these women home," Cambria Harris, daughter of Morgan Harris, one of the slain women, said Monday.

"They could serve us an injunction — that means we have to vacate this area," Melissa Robinson, Morgan Harris's cousin, said. "That doesn't mean we're not going to go elsewhere. This is just the beginning."

Nine people were detained and one was missing after trying to walk across the Canada-United States border in the early hours of Tuesday morning, a Minnesota sheriff says.

The group made their illicit crossing in woods near Sprague in southeastern Manitoba and called 911 at approximately 4 a.m. as they were suffering from hypothermia, Steve Gust, the sheriff of Roseau County, said Tuesday. 

"Some were transferred to hospital but the majority of them were pretty good," Gust said. "They were wet and had frozen clothing."

Manitobans may see some tax relief, financial help with inflation and money for addiction treatment before the provincial election slated for Oct. 3. 

What they are unlikely to see is any more movement by the province in its dispute with the federal government over carbon pricing.

Premier Heather Stefanson discussed her plans in a wide-ranging interview Wednesday and said she is confident of her party's chances for re-election despite consistently low polling numbers.

Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson is planning a cabinet shuffle after several of her Progressive Conservative caucus members recently announced they will not run again in the election slated for Oct. 3.

Stefanson did not give a precise date while fielding questions from reporters Monday, but said it is time for a refresh "in the next little while."

"We will be making some changes there," Stefanson said in her first media availability since the holidays.

Myrna Driedger, the speaker of the Manitoba legislature and one of the chamber's longest-serving members, announced Wednesday she will not seek another term in the election scheduled for Oct. 3.

Driedger is the eighth Progressive Conservative to announce plans to leave politics in recent months as the Tories continue to lag behind the Opposition New Democrats in opinion polls.

"I am genuinely thankful for my journey in public life and look forward to what the next chapter will bring," Driedger said in a statement on her website.

Manitoba's Opposition NDP leader says he would not reduce funding for police if his party wins the upcoming provincial election.

Wab Kinew is rejecting accusations from the governing Progressive Conservatives that he is soft on crime and in favour of defunding police. 

Premier Heather Stefanson made the accusation in a recent state of the province speech to the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, while promoting her party as being tough on crime.

The Manitoba Labour Board has dismissed several complaints in recent months from workers who wanted their unions to fight COVID-19 requirements.

The details differ slightly in each of the complaints considered since December of last year from, among others, a nurse, a lab technologist, a plumber and an instructor. 

But the rulings have a common finding — that unions had acted reasonably after considering legal advice and the interests of all their members.