WINNIPEG — Buying a bottle of booze at a Liquor Mart will soon get you no closer to paying for a vacation.

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corp. announced it is flying away from being part of the Air Miles program, after almost 30 years of helping its eligible customers rack up reward points.

“We are exploring what other loyalty programs are available and whether they would be a fit for Manitoba Liquor Marts,” an MLL spokesperson said on Wednesday.

“We’ll follow our usual procurement process if we decide to engage with a new provider. Until then, Manitobans can expect to continue receiving the superior service and experiences that Liquor Marts are known for.”

WINNIPEG — Lawyers for a man who alleged he was repeatedly sexually assaulted as a child by a now-dead Catholic priest in rural Manitoba and Winnipeg in a 2023 lawsuit recently reached a confidential settlement with the Archdiocese of St. Boniface.

Terms of the settlement, which was reached in the fall after a private judicially assisted dispute resolution in front of a Court of King’s Bench justice in September, are not included in public court records reviewed by the Free Press.

The lawsuit, which was filed in June 2023 and named the archdiocese and archbishop as defendants, was officially discontinued in November.

The plaintiff, now in his early 60s, claimed the alleged abuse began when he was eight-years-old in 1972 and lasted until 1982.

WINNIPEG — The provincial government is being urged to call an inquest into the deaths of two people who had donated plasma at for-profit collection centres in Winnipeg.

Health Canada has promised to investigate the deaths, which occurred in October and January at two Grifols Plasma Donation Centres in Winnipeg.

However, the Manitoba Health Coalition said Health Canada licenses Grifols and it has a conflict of interest.

“We want as independent and (thorough) an investigation as possible for the loved ones of these Manitobans who died, to get real answers and so that harm like this doesn’t happen in the future,” coalition executive director Noah Schulz said at a news conference Friday.

Here’s a look at all 23 picks in the opening round of the Western Hockey League’s draft, which will be held tonight. Later rounds will be picked on Thursday.

ROUND 1

1. Kelowna (from Lethbridge).

2. Vancouver (from Wenatchee).

BRANDON’S DRAFT DAY

Here are Brandon’s picks in this year’s Western Hockey League draft, and all the trades that impacted — or could have impacted — the 2026 draft for the Wheat Kings.

ROUND 1. (One), 15th.

— Own pick.

The Neepawa Titans have agreed to a multi-year extension with head coach and GM Ken Pearson, the club announced over the weekend.

Pearson, who’s spent the last 32 years behind the bench, wrapped up his 28th year in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and seventh consecutive season with the Titans organization, where he accomplished milestones of 1,500 Canadian Junior Hockey League games coached and 750 regular season wins in January.

Pearson began his coaching carer in 1994 as an assistant coach for the former Neepawa Natives, who he also played for from 1991 to 1994.

He said he’s thrilled to be staying in his hometown.

WINNIPEG — Lawyers for the provincial and federal governments argue two lawsuits filed by the Manitoba Métis Federation over the apprehension of Métis children during the ’60s Scoop should be rejected.

In its first claim, filed in the Court of King’s Bench in November, the federation says the federal and provincial governments owe it damages for the harm caused by the ’60s Scoop to the Red River Métis as a whole.

In separate statements of defence filed in April, the two governments argue that lawsuit should be dismissed.

The Manitoba government, in its response, said it acknowledges children’s aid societies apprehended Indigenous children, including Métis, at a disproportionate rate and that many were placed for adoption in non-Indigenous homes across Canada and in the United States, which contributed to a loss in culture.