The Canadian Press

Rev. Garry LaBoucane remembers going to Wakamne — or God's Lake — during the Lac Ste. Anne pilgrimage as a boy.

"It was always a family tradition," the 74-year-old said in an interview from Vancouver, where he's a Métis priest at Sacred Heart Parish.

He remembers sleeping in a pup tent near the cemetery with his grandfather, attending Latin church services he didn't understand and meeting people from all walks of life.

Protesters are massing outside the barricaded U.S. Supreme Court to decry the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that cleared the way for legal abortions in the United States. 

The high court released its final decision this morning, and it differs little from the leaked draft decision that emerged back in May. 

Dozens of states are poised to enact bans on abortion as a result of the decision; many already have such laws on their books despite polls that suggest a majority of Americans support abortion rights. 

A Manitoba judge has ruled the province failed to properly consult First Nations communities on part of a planned flood-prevention project.

Chief Justice Glenn Joyal of the Court of Queen's Bench says the province did not live up to its constitutional duty to consult First Nations near Lake St. Martin, where the province is planning to build two channels to reduce the risk of flooding.

As part of preparatory work, the Manitoba government issued a permit in 2019 for a right of way on Crown land, so that engineers could do groundwater monitoring and other activity.

The Manitoba government has outlined how it will distribute $2.5 million it promised last year to help find and commemorate unmarked graves at former residential schools.

The money is to be shared between Indigenous groups, including the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, the Manitoba Métis Federation and the Manitoba Inuit Association.

The Progressive Conservative government says the search for children who died while attending residential schools must be Indigenous-led.

Chiefs from two First Nations in Manitoba say their communities are still looking for answers after finding possible graves using ground-penetrating radar at the sites of former residential schools that were run by the Roman Catholic Church. 

Sagkeeng First Nation found 190 anomalies in the soil and Minegoziibe Anishinabe First Nation located six. Initial data shows the irregularities fit some of the criteria for graves, but both communities say more information is needed.

The news was recently shared with community members.

The economy added 40,000 jobs in May, driven by a gain in full-time jobs as the labour market continued to tighten and wages pushed higher, Statistics Canada said Friday.

The increase came as the unemployment rate fell to 5.1 per cent, the lowest rate since at least 1976 which is as far back as comparable data goes. The unemployment rate was 5.2 per cent in April.

TD Bank senior economist James Orlando said as Canadians headed out to patios and hit the road for overdue vacations, employers continued to search for workers to meet heightened demand.

Manitoba Mounties say a 15-year-old girl has been charged with second-degree murder after two people were hit by a vehicle in Powerview-Pine Falls.

RCMP said a 27-year-old woman and 20-year-old man were walking on a trail Friday when they were hit by a vehicle.

The woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries but the man died at the scene.

Mounties allege the collision was intentional.

The teen is also charged with assault with a weapon.

The Canadian Press

Voters in a part of northern Manitoba are to go to the polls today in a provincial byelection.

The Thompson seat has been vacant since the death in December of New Democrat Danielle Adams, who was killed in a highway crash.

The constituency has long been a NDP stronghold — it has been won by the New Democrats in all but two elections since 1969.

The NDP candidate this time is Eric Redhead, former chief of the Shamattawa First Nation.

The governing Progressive Conservatives have nominated Charlotte Larocque, a small-business owner.

An animal rights group says it has sent a letter to Kevin Costner urging him to step away from the Calgary Stampede.

The Hollywood actor was named parade marshal for this year's event.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, says in a news release that the Stampede rodeo's chuckwagon races have reportedly caused the deaths of more than 70 horses — including half a dozen in 2019 when the Stampede last held the races.

The Stampede's executive said at that time that it would do a thorough review of the safety of chuckwagon racing.

Flooding that has washed out many roads and bridges in western Manitoba has cut off one community from the outside world.

"We can't get out of here at all," Robert Hanson said Monday from Mafeking, a community of 130 residents. 

Bridges to the north and south of Mafeking were severely damaged by heavy rain late last week that combined with melting snow in and around Duck Mountain Provincial Park.