A global environmental fund has put Lake Winnipeg on the map -- and that's a threat.

The Global Nature Fund has declared the world's 10th-largest fresh water lake the "threatened lake of the year" for 2013.

"Our lake is tremendously precious," said Vicki Burns, outreach co-ordinator for the Lake Winnipeg Foundation. "When it gets in this position, it raises huge red flags around the world."..         ...The group that named Lake Winnipeg the world's most threatened is a non-profit group headquartered in Radolfzell, Germany. It was founded in 1998 with the objective of fostering the protection of nature, the environment and animals. Its Living Lakes project, which includes the Threatened Lake of the Year, is an official UN Decade Project for the years 2012 and 2013.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/lake-winnipeg-declared-threatened-lake-of-year-189778541.html

GIVEN how tough it is to convince 11 kids to sit for a group photo, imagine trying to get 11 wolves to sit still.

A wildlife camera in Riding Mountain National Park managed to pull off this trick in January, when what appears to be an entire wolf pack -- 11 of the wild canines -- was captured within a single frame.

The black-and-white photo was triggered automatically along a trail in an undisclosed portion of the western Manitoba park, external-relations manager Roger Schroeder said.

The shot has made the social-media rounds since the park posted on Facebook.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/park-camera-gives-peek-into-wolf-pack-life-189778311.html

MONTREAL - Air Canada is contravening federal law by not maintaining heavy-maintenance operations in Canada, the Quebec Superior Court ruled Monday.

In a 39-page ruling, Justice Martin Castonguay said the airline has an obligation under the Air Canada Public Participation Act to maintain such operations in Montreal and Winnipeg, along with Mississauga, Ont., where smaller overhaul work was completed by Aveos Fleet Performance until it closed last year.

Quebec's former Liberal government launched a lawsuit against the airline last April following the closure of Aveos, whose bankruptcy resulted in 2,600 employees losing their jobs, including 1,800 in Montreal.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/air-canada-to-appeal-court-ruling-saying-it-must-maintain-heavy-maintenance-189700231.html

MONTREAL -- An online poll has found Canadians are planning to save almost $10,000 this year, but 66 per cent say they're tucking the money away for vacations, luxury items and entertainment.

The average Canadian was planning to save $9,859 this year to meet their goals, an increase of about $600 over last year, according to the BMO Household Savings Report released Monday.

Janet Peddigrew, district vice-president with BMO, said although Canadians value their downtime and their vacations, they do need to think about the big picture.

"They're not using a credit card, perhaps, for a vacation," Peddigrew said.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/canadians-planning-to-save-for-trips-189778121.html

TIMMINS - Timmins Tourism will focus largely on the community's main assets as it continues its quest to cement the city's profile as a top leisure destination.

Guy Lamarche, the city's manager of tourism, events and communications, identified what he called Timmins' "four product pillars." These include summer and winter outdoor adventures; city tours, attractions, festivals and events; sports tourism; and meetings, conferences and conventions.

"We need to eliminate seat-of-the-pants strategies and certainly explore some of the long haul investment markets," said Lamarche, previewing the tourism strategy budget at city council on Monday. "If we don't go there to find out whether or not there's appetite for Northern Ontario product, we'll never know."

http://www.timminspress.com/2013/02/04/new-direction-for-tourism-timmins

CALGARY — With Banff’s council set to vote later this month on a proposed quota system for chain stores and restaurants, residents are embroiled in a debate over the mountain town’s very identity.

More than 100 people crowded into a four-hour long public hearing last week to air their views on Bylaw 314, which, if passed, would put restrictions on the number of “formula” restaurants and stores that can set up shop in the community.

While chains like Starbucks and McDonald’s have long coexisted alongside Banff’s one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants, some small business owners say it is becoming increasingly difficult to compete.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Proposed+quota+limit+chain+stores+divides+Banff/7912861/story.html

Cutting-edge conference brings together the world's top thinkers and doers, with tickets selling for $7,500 - if your essay submission suggests you're worthy

One day in early December, Greg Klassen, the senior vice-president of marketing for the Canadian Tourism Commission, was summoned to a confidential meeting at Tourism Vancouver.

In the room were Chris Anderson, the curator of TED, the annual global cultural conference that brings together the world's best thinkers and doers, and Rick Anton-son, Tourism Vancouver CEO.

The meeting lasted 30 minutes, but they wanted to talk about something so risky that if word leaked out at all, it would be dead forever.

With a racing heart and sweaty palms, Klassen listened as Anderson and his Vancouver operations director, Katherine McCartney, a longtime friend of Antonson, said they wanted to move the worldwide cultural phenomenon to Vancouver from Long Beach, Calif.

http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Vancouver+lands+Holy+Grail/7918753/story.html

(A complete article published originally in the WFP, Feb.  '55)

Plans for a $1,500,000 expansion of the 200-room Marlborough hotel which will nearly double the size of the 10-storey building are near completion, it was learned from a reliable source,

In addition to the new structure, the old section will also be renovated making it one of the most modern hotels in Canada. Plans for expanding the hotel have been in the offing for nearly five years. These plans were accelerated following the announcement that a $4,000,000 merchandise mart would be constructed on the site of Grace United church. Present plans call for the hotel annex, including the beer parlor, to be torn down when construction gets under way.