Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press

Wildfire evacuees continued to make their way home in some Manitoba communities Tuesday, but there were hurdles.

Tataskweyak Cree Nation lifted its evacuation order Monday evening, then told the community's 2,400 residents Tuesday morning the return was being delayed due to problems with the water system.

"Water tests came back (with) high aluminum. The pipes and reservoir will need to be cleaned and samples taken after the cleaning," said a message posted on the chief and council's Facebook page.

Rain and cooler temperatures brought relief to fire-ravaged Manitoba and Saskatchewan Monday, allowing fire bans to be reduced and more evacuees to go home.

The weather helped fire crews get an upper hand in parts of northern Manitoba to clear the way for some of the 21,000 or more evacuees to start returning home.

David Monias, chief of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, reposted video of heavy rainfall on social media along with video of small planes leaving Winnipeg with evacuees who were forced out almost three weeks earlier.

The Manitoba government is expected to use more "revenue levers," similar to its recent income and property tax changes, as part of its plan to reduce the deficit, a credit-rating agency report says.

S&P Global Ratings has affirmed the Manitoba government's existing short-term and long-term credit ratings and says the outlook for the province is stable, based in part on expected revenue changes and spending control.

Manitoba is urging tourists to reconsider visiting as it works to find shelter for a flood of wildfire evacuees now reaching 21,000.

“This is one of the largest evacuations in our province’s history,” Lisa Naylor, the Manitoba minister in charge of emergency management, said Monday.

“The government anticipates there may be a need for more hotel rooms as the wildfire season continues. For that reason, we are urging Manitobans and Canadians to reconsider non-essential travel and event plans within Manitoba."

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew promoted his province Friday as the route for a future trade corridor, which could include a pipeline, in order to get goods from Western Canada to overseas markets.

"The politics are (that) something needs to get built in Western Canada. I think everybody understands that," Kinew told a breakfast meeting of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce.

Manitoba politicians reached a deal to speed passage of a free trade bill Monday, hours before the legislature was to break for the summer. More than 30 other bills were also set to be approved on the last day of the spring sitting.

The trade bill, based on a deal with Ontario, would remove trade and labour barriers for some goods and services between Manitoba and other jurisdictions that pass similar laws. Other provinces have recently joined the effort, as part of a national plan to boost the economy and respond to tariffs imposed by the United States.

A judge in Minnesota has sentenced a man to 10 years for his role in a human smuggling operation that saw a family freeze to death in southern Manitoba near the Canada-U.S. border.

Harshkumar Patel, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, did not address the court.

A co-accused in the case, Steve Shand, was to be sentenced later Wednesday.

Judge John Tunheim described the crimes as "extraordinarily serious.”

A jury convicted the two men last fall on four charges related to bringing people illegally into the United States from Canada.

A former Manitoba cabinet minister says he thought he was following the rules when he tried to push the approval of a silica sand mine after his party was defeated in an election.

Jeff Wharton has spoken to the media for the first time since the province's ethics commissioner issued a damning report last week into the actions of some members of the former Progressive Conservative government after losing the October 2023 election.

Manitoba Opposition leader Obby Khan stripped a Progressive Conservative caucus member of his critic duties Thursday, as questions continued to swirl about the former government’s actions related to a proposed silica sand mine.

Jeff Wharton, one of three Tories found this week to have violated the province's conflict of interest law, is to remain in caucus but will no longer serve as critic for business, mining, trade and job creation.

"I have removed his critic role in light of this report that came out ... and we'll move forward from there," Khan said.

Former Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson and two of her Progressive Conservative cabinet ministers acted improperly by pushing for the approval of a silica sand mining project and should be fined, says a report by the province's ethics commissioner.

The report says Stefanson, then-deputy premier Cliff Cullen and then-economic development minister Jeff Wharton tried to get approval for the Sio Silica project after the Tories lost the 2023 election, but before the new NDP government was to be sworn in.