Marsha McLeod

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Good time to re-up: the Tumbler Ridge newspaper is literally one person who is doing his best to update his community while grieving along with them. One-time donations can be etransferred to publisher@tumblerridgelines.com or ongoing via
www.patreon.com/posts/thanks...

The Tumbler Ridge newspaper puts it better than I could

(*Typo in that first post. It's 28 weeks, not months).

I think all workplaces need to implement what Ms. Iorio told the Globe about: "four paid weeks a year to employees caring for a family member with a serious health condition." That would make a world of difference for caregivers, especially as caregiving already comes with a load of new expenses.

But my leave was, of course, all unpaid. I received about four months of EI – a portion of my salary – but I needed financial support from my family to be away from a pay check for 10 long months. Had I not been on unpaid leave, I would have received four paid days to attend my mum's funeral.

Easing the load: The caregiver-friendly workplace is emerging Roughly 35 per cent of Canada’s labour force is juggling work with looking after a loved one

This is a great read. I have a lot of gratitude for my employer for letting me take 10 months off to care for my mum as she died of cancer (and two more after her death) – longer than the 28 weeks months allowed by Manitoba's compassionate care leave.

www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article...

FEMA official overseeing NM fire victims fund received six-figure payout, documents show • Source New Mexico Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon claims director Mitchell received six-figure payment for smoke damage at his Angel Fire home

Great reporting by @sourcenm.com, highlighted in the @localmatters.bsky.social newsletter this week, which is always full of great reads.

sourcenm.com/2026/01/28/f...

Damn, I didn't realize the digital news subscription tax credit has ended, with 2024 as the last eligible year.

www.canada.ca/en/revenue-a...

From @bhobs22.bsky.social today ⬇️

www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

AI-generated doctors are dispensing dubious health advice Indicator identified more than two dozen social media accounts that feature synthetic doctors and medical professionals. They've racked up millions of views and engagements.

🫠

via @indicator.media

indicator.media/p/ai-generat...

Officer who fatally shot Winnipeg man in 2020 tells inquest he had few options | CBC News A Winnipeg police officer who shot and killed a 22-year-old man five years ago believed he had to use lethal force after the man charged at him after swinging a metal bar, an inquest into the shooting...

The inquest report into Stewart's death has not yet been released on the MB court website, though at least part of the inquest was held in April of last year, per CBC reporting.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Eishia was one of three Indigenous people fatally shot by Winnipeg Police Service officers over ten days in April, 2020. The others were Jason Collins, 36, and Stewart Andrews, 22. The inquest into Jason's death, concluded last year, made no recommendations.
www.manitobacourts.mb.ca/site/assets/...

The mandated court inquest into the death of 16-year-old Ojibwe teen, Eishia Loletta Hudson, begins today in Winnipeg, said the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs in a press release. Eishia was shot and killed by a member of the Winnipeg Police Service nearly six years ago, on April 8, 2020.

I can't say I have good answers for those good questions, but my understanding is that the blocking, at the very least, hasn't triggered any reduction in engagement for FB/Instagram, so for Meta there hasn't been any downside to doing it.

I hadn't seen that! Am going to check out the story.

Just one reason among many why I have never even glanced at Threads. I'm entangled with FB and Insta in ways I'll have to figure out eventually. But what do I need ANOTHER news-blocked platform for?

Love that you wrote that story – I missed it at the time.

Increasingly sophisticated deepfake AI-generated political ads threaten to unravel Canada’s social order Increasingly sophisticated deepfake AI-generated internet political ads threaten to unravel Canada’s social order, experts warn, pointing to the successful war on truth U.S. President Donald Trump is ...

I wrote about this leading up to the election, and this blew my mind: "According to a MEO report from August 2024, only 22 per cent of Canadians knew that news was banned on Facebook and Instagram. At that point, the ban had been in place for a year." www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

"Three quarters of the Canadian public are unaware of the ban. Only 22% of Canadians know that news is banned on Facebook and Instagram. Even among users of the platforms and those who say they get news from the platform, a majority do not know about the ban."

[From 2024]

meo.ca/work/old-new...

News Is Blocked on Meta’s Feeds in Canada. Here’s What Fills the Void.

"Amid the news void, Canada Proud and dozens of other partisan pages are rising in popularity on Facebook and Instagram before the election. At the same time, cryptocurrency scams and ads that mimic legitimate news sources have proliferated on the platforms."

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/t...

906 days.

That's how long Meta's been blocking news in Canada.

Doesn't matter if the outlet is based in Canada, the U.S. or Germany – we can't read it. Small non-profit or legacy newspaper. Can't read it. Posts made before Aug. 1, 2023? Nope. But disinformation, AI-generated spam, that'll pass.

“I think this is a wake-up call for Canada,” said Lloyd Richardson, with the Winnipeg-based @cdnchildprotect.bsky.social. “Let’s get on with it, let’s stop bantering around about the Online Harms Act. Let’s get pen to paper. Let’s get all political parties on the same page.”

My latest ⬇️

Frenchie was sentenced to 12 to 18 years in prison today.

I spoke with Dr. Lavallee on background in 2023, when I first joined the paper, ahead of my series on inquests in Manitoba. He said something that really stuck with me: the inquest system could not see the "imprint of racism."

YouTube video by APTN News Head physician of health and wellness center for 23 First Nations has died | APTN News

Dr. Barry Lavallee was the head physician of a health and wellness centre in northern Manitoba that represented 23 First Nations.

Lavallee’s passing was unexpected and further updates will be made when deemed appropriate by his family.

We heard today that Dr. Barry Lavallee has passed away. What an immense loss.

Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin, where he was CEO, said in a release: "His powerful voice commanded attention. He spoke up for those who could not and left an impact that will be remembered."

kiminoayawin.com/5845-2/

After Manwin fire, Winnipeg’s community network steps up In the early morning hours Wednesday, as a massive blaze at the Manwin Hotel forced 150 people to evacuate from the Main Street Project’s emergency shelter, a tightly connected network of community or...

Something I've loved seeing since I came to Winnipeg is the strength of the community organizations and the community spirit, and it was nice to write about that today.

www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

Elon Musk’s Grok ‘Undressing’ Problem Isn’t Fixed X has placed more restrictions on Grok’s ability to generate explicit AI images, but tests show that the updates have created a patchwork of limitations that fail to fully address the issue.

Elon Musk’s Grok ‘Undressing’ Problem Isn’t Fixed
www.wired.com/story/elon-m...

Indigenous adults overrepresented in prison by 10 times: Stats Can Advocates say a new report showing that Indigenous adults are overrepresented in the prison system by 10 times is staggering.

Indigenous legal experts and advocates were not shocked by the findings, but say it shines a light on systemic issues that persist after centuries of colonization.

As Venezuela begins releasing prisoners, a Manitoba man held there since 2013 seeks Ottawa’s help David Sawatzky denies the drug-trafficking charges that led to his conviction and says his continued detention is politically motivated

"The Manitoba wheat farmer turned Central America crop duster did not know what lay ahead of him – whether he could buy the fuel he needed or what might come next."

By Nathan VanderKlippe

www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...