A Steinbach area man has pleaded guilty to harrasment, wherein during a two-week period he made 364 phone calls to his ex-girlfriend.

Juden Giesbrecht, 19, started dating the victim on Dec. 18, 2024. The two are participants in El’ Dad, where they met. El’ Dad is an organization that helps people with intellectual disabilities with either housing, supports, and/or programing.

On March 4, 2025, the victim called police to report that Giesbrecht had threatened to kill her and harm her friends. She told police she began dating Giesbrecht in December and that she had given him her phone number and since then he had been calling her non-stop. She told him to stop calling so much and that a month prior “things had gotten really bad,” according to Crown attorney Jennifer Neufeld, and that “he began to be manipulative over the phone if she didn’t answer his calls, that he would threaten to harm himself if she wouldn’t speak to him or wouldn’t answer the phone.”

She also told police that on two occasions Giesbrecht had threatened to kill her which led to her breaking up with him and she eventually begin dating someone else. When Giesbrecht found out that she was dating someone else, he threatened to get his friends to attack the new boyfriend and “cut him up into little pieces,” according to Neufeld.

RCMP say the number of reported scams and frauds in Manitoba continues to rise.

In a news release highlighting the issue as part of Fraud Prevention Month, police warn that vigilance is key.

“Fraud is increasingly a problem in Manitoba, across Canada and around the world,” said Staff Sgt. Kevin Cavanagh, of the Manitoba RCMP Major Crime Services Cyber and Financial Unit. “We encourage Manitobans of all ages to remain vigilant and do your research before making payments or sharing banking and other personal information, particularly when individuals you don’t know are reaching out in person or online for any reason.”

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reports that Manitobans were defrauded out of $31 million in 2024, noting that’s just from scams that were reported. It’s estimated that only five to 10 percent of victims actually come forward to law enforcement.

At the Steinbach Arts Council, our work is about more than access.

It is about the environment we create — spaces that are safe and welcoming, led by skilled instructors and mentors, with room to try, to learn, and to grow. We believe that environment matters. When people feel supported, they take creative risks. They build confidence. They begin to recognize their own potential.

Each year, SAC supports thousands of people across southeast Manitoba at every stage of their artistic development. Children build critical thinking skills and confidence through music, theatre, and visual arts. Teens strengthen discipline, collaboration, and leadership. Adults continue learning and creating. Seniors find meaningful connection and opportunities to remain engaged. Our focus is not on one moment or one performance. It is on growth that happens over time.

Fundamentally, this work builds something we all believe in - community.

As Steinbach city council approved tenders for infrastructure projects on Tuesday, councillors noted that prices were much lower than anticipated.

Council approved a $1.38 million tender to Maple Leaf Construction for their 2026 capital works program projects including asphalt overlay on four streets and new sidewalks. Their consultant’s estimate was $1.98 million.

Moments later they approved a contract for the Millwork Drive wastewater sewer renewal project and a tender to Friesen Hauling & Excavating for close to $1.46 million, well below the consultant’s estimate of $2.13 million.

Combined it represents savings of nearly $1.3 million.

Last week, Pierre Poilievre delivered remarks at the Economic Club of Canada that spoke of promise, solutions and a way forward that gives hope to Canadians. Mr. Poilievre’s opening comments referred to Roman general and philosopher Marcus Aurelius as a timeless truth:

“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

The quote framed a speech that looked at history, China’s rise, volatility, low-cost energy, the unblocking of resources, military strength, resources as strategic leverage, digital sovereignty, CUSMA, and tariffs. But the objective was that we need to control what we can control. Mr. Poilievre explained the same is true for countries. “Canada cannot control decisions made by foreign leaders or words by foreign presidents. We cannot control what global shocks and volatility might happen, but we do control what we do in our own country.”

An economy is resilient to the extent that it relies on factors within its own control. Drawing on Canada’s historical strength of “getting things done,” Mr. Poilievre recalled Canada’s record of “building, doing and completing.” Looking ahead to the CUSMA negotiations planned for this summer, he said, “We drove a steel railway across the Rockies in four and a half years. Later, we carved the St. Lawrence Seaway, and we did that in five years. We built the CN Tower – then the tallest free-standing structure in the world – in three years in the 1970s. That is how we built an unbreakable country.”