The Manitoba government will make the province the first in Canada requiring employers to provide free menstrual products to employees at no cost, ensuring workers have access to basic necessities while on the job, Labour and Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino announced.
“These changes are about dignity and fairness at work,” said Marcelino. “No one should have to worry about access to basic menstrual products while they are doing their job. Periods are a normal part of life and workplaces should reflect that reality by making sure workers have what they need.”
The amendments to the Workplace Safety and Health Regulation require employers to provide menstrual products such as pads and tampons at no cost to employees in workplace washrooms or another accessible location.
With the change, Manitoba becomes the first provincial jurisdiction to require employers to provide menstrual products. This positions Manitoba as a leader in promoting healthier and more inclusive workplaces, improving gender equity at work, and reducing stigma around periods.
“This is a really important step for gender equity in the workplace, and for health and safety on the job,” said Anna Rothney, executive director, Manitoba Federation of Labour. “Treating menstrual products like the necessities they are will lead to healthier and more inclusive workplaces and reduced stigma around periods. It will help make life more affordable for many workers who are struggling to pay their bills."
These amendments respond to the consensus recommendations from the five-year review of the Workplace Safety and Health Act, completed by the Workplace Safety and Health Review Committee in January 2025.
Providing menstrual products in workplaces comes at a modest cost, the minster noted. Federal estimates suggest the annual cost ranges from $10 to $25 per employee who menstruate, with initial dispenser and disposal container costs ranging from $20 to $300.
The Workplace Safety and Health Branch will enforce compliance through existing workplace inspections. The new requirements will come into effect early August 2026, giving employers time to prepare and purchase any necessary supplies.

By Derek Holtom
The Manitoba Junior Hockey League playoffs get under way this week, and the Waywayseecappo Wolverines have a chance to create some history by winning their first-ever best-of-seven series.
The Wolverines have won a best-of-three survivor series to get into the final eight, though have never advanced to the final four in the MJHL. They’ve come close, including a seven-game heartbreaker back in the 2007-08 season, which they lost on home ice to the Dauphin Kings.
Due to early deadlines before the final games this past weekend, it was not yet finalized who the Wolverines will be facing in their first-round matchup – the Dauphin Kings or the Virden Oil Capitals. Heading into the weekend the Dauphin Kings had clinched second place with an overtime victory over the Northern Manitoba Blizzard on Tuesday.
Also, the Neepawa Titans lost to the Virden Oil Capitals, meaning they needed to win their final two games (versus Wayway and Swan Valley) and the Wayway needs to lose out clean with no overtime points (versus Neepawa, Virden and Northern Manitoba).
The odds are it will be the Wolverines and the Kings clashing in the first round, but that’s was not locked in at the time this was written. And so, here is how the Wolverines stack up against both the Kings and the Oil Capitals.
Waywayseecappo Wolverines
Record: 27-23-3-2 (three games remaining at this writing)
Goals for: 184
Goals against: 177
Power-play: 21.7 per cent (seventh overall)
Penalty-kill: 80.7 per cent (fifth overall)
The Wolverines struggled to win back-to-back games through the first half of the season due to injuries to key players, but after the Christmas break the Wolverines were one of the top teams in the league, as 15 of their 27 victories came in just January and February. This is a veteran group built to win now. They are led by all-star Sebastien Hicks, who entered the final weekend with 32 goals and 72 points. They have three goal scorers with 20 or more this year, including Ben Roulette (25 goals and 67 points) and captain Aidan Herring (21 goals, 40 points). Defenseman Kurt Rookes led all players with 25 assists on the power-play. His overall totals of nine goals and 45 assists show his offensive talent from the blueline. And in goal the Wolverines have a solid one-two punch with Mariko Bercier and Jase Wareham. Both have very similar goals against averages, save percentages and starts this year, giving their Head Coach, Landyn Cochrane, a tough choice heading into the post season.
Dauphin Kings
Record: 32-23-2-0 (one game remaining at this writing)
Record versus Dauphin: 2-3-0-1
Goals for: 195
Goals against: 167
Power-play: 22.3 per cent (sixth overall)
Penalty-kill: 78.9 per cent (ninth overall)
These two teams didn’t meet until Dec. 14, when the Kings rattled off the first of three straight wins versus the Wolverines. That may have been the match that lit the fire under the Wolverines who have a much better record than the Kings in 2026. Wayway has also has points in their final three games against the Kings, going 2-0-1-0 in that stretch. In goal the Kings will look to Bryson Yaschyshyn, who has a save percentage of .910 – solid but right in line with both of the Wolverines’ netminders bring. The Kings don’t have a player in the top 20 for league scoring. Instead they come at you with depth – they only have one 20-goal scorer (Matthew O'Sullivan), one 19-goal scorer (Ethan Stewart) and 11 players with 10 or more goals.
Virden Oil Capitals
Record: 36-14-3-2 (three games remaining at this writing)
Record versus Virden: 3-2-0-0
Goals for: 235
Goals against: 148
Power-play: 25 per cent (fourth overall)
Penalty-kill: 81.5 per cent (fifth overall)
The Wolverines and Oil Capitals met four times in the first nine games of the season, and only once against since, a 4-3 overtime victory for the Wolverines back on Jan. 8. Both Virden and Wayway have soared in the second half of the year, so if these two were to meet, that would be an intriguing matchup (they also played one another on Saturday). The Oil Capitals have a true game breaker in Bryce Bryant, who entered the final week in second place in MJHL scoring with 28 goals and 77 points. After that, they are fairly spread out in scoring – they have nine players with at least 10 goals. Their No. 1 goaltender Braxton Burdeny has a save percentage of .906, very close to Wayway’s tandem, so that’s a wash. Overall the Wolverines have more dangerous talent but the Oil Capitals have more overall depth in scoring. This would be an intriguing matchup.
The Wolverines have proven they can beat either the Kings or the Oil Capitals this year. They’ve previously stated they don’t care who they play, and that this is a team that wants to win it all this year.
The playoff schedule will be posted to the league website at www.mjhlhockey.ca this week, with games likely starting on the weekend. Whether it’s Dauphin or Virden, expect Waywayseecappo to come at their opponents with everything they’ve got.

Fusion Credit Union is proud to announce they have been recognized as a Manitoba Top Employer for the seventh consecutive year. This special designation recognizes employers in Manitoba that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work. The accolade reinforces Fusion’s ongoing commitment to employee growth and development, priorities that CEO, Darwin Johns says are critical to their success.
“Investing in our people is one of the most beneficial commitments we can make as an organization,” says Johns. “We are proud of the culture we have created – one where learning and career growth is supported, encouraged and celebrated. Receiving the Manitoba Top Employer designation for the seventh year is proof that we are making a difference for our employees and our communities.”
As a full-service financial institution with 226 employees, Fusion serves more than 30,000 members through 18 branches across communities in Parkland and southwestern Manitoba. Now in its 19th year, Manitoba Top Employer is an annual competition organized by the editors of Canada’s Top Employers. Organizations are evaluated on criteria such as employee communication, benefits, workplace culture, community involvement as well as training and skills development.

Left wanting to know more? Pick up a copy of this week's Russell Banner and turn to page 3. 

By Derek Holtom
The Waywayseecappo Wolverines are one of the hottest teams in the MJHL in 2026, even with some recent setbacks against the top team in the MJHL.
As the Wolverines peak for the playoffs, the veteran-filled team is enjoying what they’ve accomplished so far, but realize there is still so much to do.
“It’s a really good feeling right now,” says Ben Roulette, the team’s second-leading scorer. “Going on that stretch after Christmas, proving to ourselves that we can compete with the top teams in the league, it was really big for us.
“It’s knowing we can compete with those guys,” he added. “You look at our game on Feb. 28 against Niverville – we doubled them in shots. Things just didn’t go our way, so we’re still figuring that part out. It’s about closing things out, and there’s still a learning curve there.”
Wayway recently had a 10-game win streak with no losses in regulation snapped by the sixth-place Northern Manitoba Blizzard. They got back in the win column the very next night in a fight-filled, hard-nosed game that saw Roulette get hit hard into the boards, leading to the two goaltenders fighting at centre ice.
“That game was awesome – I think from the start of the game we were dialled in,” says Roulette. “The loss the night before kind of hurt as we had our chances but ended up losing, so going into Swan we needed two points to clinch and we came out and played physical and fast, and had each other’s backs.
“When I went down (when he was hit hard into the boards) even my goalie had my back,” he added. “We’re like a family now, and it’s all gelling together right now.”
As Wayway enters the final week of the regular season, their first-round opponent is still not known. And frankly to the Wolverines, they don’t care – they just want to get at it.
“I think for us it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “We’re going to give it our all no matter who we play.
“I think the big thing for us would be to get home-ice advantage,” he added. “Our home record is a lot better than our away record. That could set us up really well for the playoffs.”
Roulette also says this veteran team wants to win not only for themselves, but for the fans who have stuck with them all season long.
“I think the community deserves a good showing from us,” says Roulette. “I think we have the team to do that. The community’s rallying around us. It should be an interesting next couple of weeks – we’ve had more fans show up the last couple of games. It’s really great to see and I hope it continues.”
Last week
Kings 4, Wolverines 3 (OT)
The Kings rallied from a 3-1 deficit with three unanswered goals Friday night to earn a 4-3 overtime victory. The extra point allowed the Kings to move three points up on the Wolverines as they battle for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Wayway led by period scores of 1-0 and 3-1 thanks to goals by Sebastien Hicks (32nd), Dylan Duzan (14th), and Cole Hunter (14th). But the visiting Kings scored 16 seconds into the third period, tied the game midway through the frame, and got the winner from Ethan Stewart (19th) while on the power play.
Mariko Bercier made 34 saves while taking the loss for the Wolverines.
Nighthawks 4, Wolverines 2 (EN)
The host Wolverines almost got their revenge on the league-leading Niverville Nighthawks last Tuesday but ended up on the wrong end of a 4-2 (EN) decision.
The Wolverines took a slim 2-1 lead into the third period thanks to goals by Mikey Thomas (12th) and Max Collyer (12th). But the Nighthawks are not first overall for nothing. They took the lead in the span of 40 seconds with two goals midway through the third. They added an empty-netter with 31 seconds left to hand the Wolverines their second straight loss – both competitive, close games against the league leaders.
Mariko Bercier stopped 28 shots while taking the loss for the home team.
Up next
The Wolverines have one final week of tune up before the playoffs get under way – three games in three nights on the weekend.
First up is a trip to Neepawa on Friday to clash with the Titans. Playoff positioning is still up in the air heading into this one.
The next night the Wolverines return home to host the division-leading Virden Oil Capitals. Wayway has three wins in five starts against the Oil Capitals so far this year.
The season ends Sunday night on home ice as the Northern Manitoba Blizzard come to town. This game could be meaningful for the final placements, depending on how the rest of the week goes for the Dauphin Kings, Neepawa Titans and, of course, the Wolverines.
CLAW MARKS – The Wolverines enter the final week with a record of 27-23-3-2 … They are 6-3-0-1 in their past 10 outings … The Wolverines are five points back of the Dauphin Kings with one game in hand. Wayway would need to win out and Dauphin lose out to overtake second place … They also lead the Neepawa Titans by three points. Both teams have three games remaining this week, including a potentially massive one against one another. If Wayway wins this game they clinch third. If not the final two games become very interesting for both teams.

The Manitoba government is launching provincewide public consultations to confront the growing risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI), strengthen protections for personal data and ensure children and families are shielded from emerging digital threats, Innovation and New Technology Minister Mike Moroz announced last weel.
“AI is advancing faster than most people realize and with that speed comes real risks, especially for children,” said Moroz.
“Manitobans deserve strong safeguards, clear rules and a government that will not hesitate to act when technology threatens privacy, safety or basic rights. Our priority is protecting kids and ensuring every Manitoban’s personal data is treated with the highest level of care.”
The consultations will focus on two urgent and interconnected priorities:
• modernizing Manitoba’s data privacy laws so every person has enforceable rights, strong protections and confidence their information cannot be misused, exploited or accessed without authorization; and
• establishing clear, practical rules for the responsible AI use, particularly when AI systems are used to make, recommend or influence decisions that affect a person’s rights, opportunities, benefits or access to essential services.
The measures will address risks such as identity theft, deepfakes, child-targeted manipulation, biased algorithms and misuse of personal data in public and private systems.
Based on the results of the consultations, the Manitoba government will consider setting age limits for access and a requirement for the private sector to establish consent as part of an opt in process for Manitoban’s data.
“The rise in AI generated child sexual abuse material and deepfakes represents a rapidly escalating threat to the safety of our children, families and communities,” said Lianna McDonald, executive director, Canadian Centre for Child Protection. “These harms are real and carry long term consequences for survivors.”
“Manitobans, more than ever, need their government to act decisively to protect them from online exploitation. The Canadian Centre for Child Protection commends the Manitoba government for launching these consultations and looks forward to contributing to this process.”
“The work ahead is not just about compliance, it is about safety, dignity and trust,” said Moroz. “Parents are worried. Young people are being exposed to technologies that can track them, influence them or impersonate them. Manitobans need to know their government is stepping in to set boundaries and protect
them.”
The consultations will engage everyday Manitobans, Indigenous governments, youth, educators, researchers, municipalities, private and non-profit organizations, front-line civil servants and the business community.