Leadership issues dominate opening session of teachers’ union AGM

Few details in redacted 911 report

Details are scant in a publicly released Telus report explaining a recent 911 outage in which a Manitoba man suffered a fatal heart attack while family and friends tried to call first responders.

Dean Switzer, 55, died March 23. His loved ones spent 90 minutes near Fisher Branch attempting to call 911.

The incident happened during a days-long network outage affecting cellphone users contacting the Brandon public safety communications centre. The outage spanned March 22 to March 24.

Telus sent a final investigative report, dated May 16, to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which regulates Canada’s telecommunications sector.

Doctor was a force in medical science, political leadership

Dr. Henry Friesen stands among the most distinguished Canadian scientists — if not near the front.

A trailblazer whose name echoes not only in the annals of medical science but also the halls of political leadership, the Morden-born doctor made history early in his career.

In 1970, three decades before he transformed the medical science landscape by spearheading the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the young endocrinologist at McGill University had a career-defining breakthrough: he discovered and isolated human prolactin after decades of frustrated attempts by others.

This has made the difference for many thousands of aspiring mothers, allowing Friesen in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company Sandoz to develop bromocriptine, a drug still used to treat infertility.

Boaters reminded water bombers have right of way

Emergency officials in Lac du Bonnet and Bird River are warning the public to stay out of the way of water bomber planes over the weekend, as the battle against wildfires across the province continues.

Anyone boating in the two areas, where two wildfires are burning, are being reminded that water bombers have the right of way on all bodies of water.

“We understand it is the weekend and you want to be on the water like normal in your boat. But it is not normal. We have a major fire that water bombers are working,” reads a joint social media post from Lac du Bonnet’s emergency coordinator and Bird River fire chief.

The officials said RCMP marine officers are in the area and will not tolerate “irresponsible dangerous boating activity,” which it said will be investigated as dangerous operation of a vessel under shipping legislation.

AI for invoice payments will save city $730K

The City of Winnipeg predicts its use of artificial intelligence to speed up invoice payments will spark savings of more than $730,000 over the next five years.

A pilot project has used AI to read invoices sent to the city from suppliers, which organizes the claims based on key details, such as the company billing the city and the fee. Staff can then use the data to review and approve invoices more quickly, instead of the traditional method of manually inputting the information.

The city is now deeming the project a success, which it expects will save money by reducing the amount of manual data entry, minimizing errors and improving processing times.

“We expect this to be an important tool for our city staff to assist them to do their job with accuracy and more quickly,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham.

Man seeks to have ex’s assets frozen in $5-M lotto fight

A man suing his former romantic partner over a winning $5-million lottery ticket hopes her assets will be frozen until a lawsuit over the cash is settled.

Lawyer Chad Panting appeared before Court of King’s Bench Justice Richard Saull on Friday to argue in favour of an injunction order to temporarily prevent Krystal Ann McKay from accessing the money and compelling her to provide a summary of her accounts.

Panting said the order would ensure McKay does not “deplete her assets” before the courts determine whether his client, Lawrence Campbell, is entitled to any of the Lotto 6/49 winnings.

In a statement of claim filed last week, Campbell said he purchased the ticket in January 2024, but allowed McKay to claim it as her own — believing he could not receive the money without a government-issued ID and no active bank account.

Leadership issues dominate opening session of teachers’ union AGM

Manitoba teachers want answers about how their top union officials plan to bring about stability at their Portage Avenue headquarters after “a rough year.”

More than 330 delegates are registered to take part in the 106th annual general meeting of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society this week.

Formal proceedings kicked off Thursday morning with an impromptu debate related to the organization being without a permanent executive director to oversee the day-to-day operations of supporting 16,600 members.

Three different people have served in that role over the last 18 months, a period during which MTS has grappled with infighting and low morale among support staff, as well as multiple workplace investigations.

Big raise for early childhood educators

Early childhood educators are getting historic raises that amount to as much as $5 more per hour.

The Manitoba and federal governments announced a new wage grid for the local early learning and child-care sector Friday.

It sets out hourly targets for various front-line positions, including child care assistants, front-line ECEs and facility directors, based on certification level and the size of their licensed facility.

Baseline ECE II rates will jump to $27.56 from $22.90. The changes are retroactive to April 1.

Getting river rehab rolling: Other cities' success in stemming effluent offer splashes of hope for Winnipeg's waterways

From giant cisterns to rain gardens, storage tunnels and parks, cities across Canada — and the rest of the world — have shown there are plenty of options to stop the overflow of sewage into freshwater.

Demonstrators demand overpass at dangerous Carberry intersection

CARBERRY — More than 150 people stood near the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5 to denounce the preferred option for a redesign of the intersection in response to a collision two years ago that killed 17 people.

They carried signs that read “safety not shortcuts,” and “how many more accidents before they listen.” The group opposes a U-turn option, which is called an RCUT.

Jordan Dickson, 31, one of the organizers, said the RCUT model isn’t safe for the farmers and truckers who live in the area.

“There’s hundreds, if not thousands of trucks … plus all the other everyday passenger traffic coming through here,” she said.

‘Under a microscope’: Cottagers call for wildfire management plans after fatal fires

WINNIPEG - Cottage owners and disaster prevention experts in Manitoba are urging governments to develop comprehensive wildfire management plans after a pair of devastating wildfires.

Close to 1,000 people were forced from their homes last week as a wildfire near the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet, spurred by dry, hot and windy conditions, burned nearby.

The quick-moving fire, which is currently being held, destroyed 28 homes and cottages and left two people dead.

"The whole emergency plan for every municipality should be under a microscope review right now," said Brad Wood, a Winnipeg firefighter whose cottage was destroyed.

Province says six deals with U.S. firms necessary, despite trade war

The Manitoba government has defended a series of costly deals with U.S. companies, saying it had no choice but to sign the contracts in question.

The Opposition Tories have tabled the details of six deals this week that challenge the NDP’s pledge to buy local amid the trade war with the United States.

They show the province has agreed to pay more than $4.5 million to six companies that are headquartered on American soil in recent months.

Each contract was issued or updated after President Donald Trump followed through on his threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on March 4, as per the province’s contract disclosure database.

‘I will do better’: Wharton apologizes in chamber

Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan has dumped Jeff Wharton from his shadow cabinet after he violated the conflict of interest act in the dying days of the PC government in 2023.

“When I spoke to MLA Wharton, his reaction was one of remorse and of sincere apology towards me and the party in Manitoba,” Khan told reporters Thursday after the member for Red River North made a public apology in the chamber for violating the caretaker convention that prevents outgoing governments from making major decisions.

“I could see that he felt terrible but he understood my decision,” the newly appointed PC leader said of his decision to remove Wharton from the mining critic role.

Wharton did not take questions from reporters Wednesday or Thursday about why he disregarded the caretaker convention and the advice of the clerk of the executive council and urged two cabinet ministers — unsuccessfully — to issue a licence for a controversial sand mine project in Manitoba.

Judge sentences youth who murdered young father-to-be protecting family to seven years in custody

A Winnipeg teen fatally stabbed coming to the aid of his family as they were attacked while walking to their car after a downtown concert had learned just hours earlier he was going to be the father of a baby boy, a court heard Thursday.

Main Street Project workers helped set up new Winnipeg homeless encampment, residents group alleges

One of Winnipeg’s oldest agencies dedicated to ending homelessness is being accused of helping people set up a riverside campsite in Point Douglas where one had recently been cleaned up.

Corrosive liquid leak leads to evacuation

A strip mall was evacuated as a hazardous materials team spent hours dealing with leaking barrels of corrosive liquid Wednesday.

Crews were sent to a commercial building on the first 100 block of Bentall Street in the Inkster Industrial Park at 5:10 p.m. and extinguished a fire. Firefighters found the two leaking barrels, left the building and called for the hazmat team.

A nearby building and the strip mall were evacuated as a precaution. The hazmat team used an absorbent mixture to contain the spill, then put it in barrels.

All the buildings were safe to reenter by 10 p.m., the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said in a news release.

Lac du Bonnet cottagers get first look at damage caused by wildfire

Liane Ross-Martin was at a loss for words when she returned to her family’s cottage lot Wednesday and saw — for the first time — the devastation caused by a deadly wildfire.

She said the cottage on Lac du Bonnet was one of 18 properties in the Wendigo Road area to be destroyed by a fast-moving fire May 13.

“It was devastating. It was like nothing you could ever imagine,” the Winnipeg resident said Thursday. “It’s all just huge wasteland.”

Owners of permanent and seasonal residences were escorted to the area before the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet lifted its last remaining evacuation order related to that fire.

BIZ says removal of parking meters another hit to downtown

Efforts to get people downtown are about to get tougher.

The organization that represents downtown merchants says the city’s decision to remove parking meters will deal another blow to the struggling area.

“This change doesn’t make it easier for people to come downtown,” Kate Fenske, the CEO of Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, said Thursday.

The city announced Wednesday its 250 parking pay stations will be removed between July 2 and Aug. 31. Drivers will have to use their phone to pay, either through an app or by calling 1-888-680-7275, or use their computer. Paying on the street with cash or credit card would be rendered obsolete.

Winter temps help fight against ash tree beetle: city forester

Winnipeg’s cold winters appear to be slowing down an invasive beetle that experts once feared could wipe out the city’s ash trees within a decade.

Emerald ash borers were first detected in Winnipeg in the fall of 2017, when the city deemed the species a major threat to destroy hundreds of thousands of ash trees. At the time, there were about 101,000 ash trees on city property and 256,000 private and natural ones.

Emerald ash borers can damage the structure of the wood and put an infected tree at risk of collapsing.

Almost eight years later, the city has been surprised to find few infested ash trees required removal.

Crowns to get training to help prosecute hate crimes

Manitoba Crown attorneys will receive enhanced training on the prosecution of hate crimes as part of a national effort to crack down on racism, discrimination and violence against marginalized groups.

The federal and provincial governments are providing $95,000 for the program, which follows the recent arrests of two Winnipeg men charged with separate hate-related offences.

“The impact of a hate crime is significant in a number of different ways. If you are a member of the targeted group, it involves the deep, personal injury of being made to feel this is not a place for you,” said Crown prosecutor Ami Kotler, a member of the working group of provincial attorneys who handle hate crime cases.

“The occurrence of hate crimes… corrodes the bonds that hold communities together; it normalizes perspectives and approaches that can never be allowed.”

System ready for possible mail strike: Shared Health

Shared Health says it is prepared in case Canada Post workers resume striking Friday.

The employees could begin striking in Manitoba at midnight Friday, after previously going on strike from Nov. 15 to Dec. 17. The strike was suspended when the Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered employees back to work.

“Clinics and service areas have temporarily paused use of Canada Post for distribution of patient appointment letters and pre-appointment information. Patients with upcoming appointments will instead be contacted by phone and/or email and provided with information in advance of their appointments,” the provincial health authority said in a news release Thursday afternoon.

“Patients with upcoming clinic appointments at Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg may receive their appointment confirmation by text message. The text messages, which will originate from a Manitoba 431 phone number, will not include patient information and will only identify the facility, date and time of the scheduled appointment. Messages will include the clinic phone number in the event patients wish to confirm their appointment by phone.”

Investigation underway after body found at recycling depot

Homicide detectives are investigating after a body was found in suspicious circumstances at a Winnipeg recycling facility early Thursday morning.

Winnipeg Police Service officers were called to the Mazenod Road plant run by GFL Environmental in St. Boniface Industrial Park at about 7:50 a.m. after the discovery of the body, believed to have been a man.

Although homicide detectives are in charge of the probe, the person’s death is not at, this point, considered a slaying. Forensics officers are also involved in the investigation.

The person has yet to be identified.

Woman assaulted in attempted robbery at Assiniboine Park 

A suspect is in custody but has not been charged after a woman was assaulted during an attempted robbery on a path at Assiniboine Park on the long weekend.

Police were sent to the path — just north of Roblin Boulevard and west of Commissary Road, near zoo parking lots — at 1:32 p.m. Sunday.

Officers were told a 25-year-old woman was assaulted while walking east.

“The suspect continued the assault while demanding money until several witnesses intervened. The suspect fled prior to police arrival,” the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Thursday.

Businesses lose parking to buses

Merchants of Grosvenor Square are irate the city is relocating a bus stop along Grosvenor Avenue and removing several parking spaces they say are vital for business.

“People tell me all the time, ‘I’ll come in if I can find parking,’ and this is going to seriously affect me,” said Chris Atkinson, owner of Lilac Bakery at 930 Grosvenor Ave.

As part of Winnipeg Transit’s massive overhaul, all four current stops at the intersection of Grosvenor Avenue and Stafford Street will be removed and replaced with three new stops, including one in front of the bakery and several other shops.

Atkinson estimates the new bus stop is taking away five parking stalls.

Opponents push Parks Canada to scrap boat ban on Clear Lake

BRANDON — More than 2,200 people have signed an online petition calling for Riding Mountain National Park to let motorized boats back on Clear Lake this summer despite the danger of zebra mussels.

The petition was launched on the long weekend after Parks Canada announced the boat ban on Friday, reversing its decision in January to allow motorized boats as long as they were used only on Clear Lake.

“This blindsided visitors and devastated local businesses that rely on boating tourism,” says the petition, which urges Parks Canada to keep its original commitment and implement “fair and proven” measures to manage zebra mussels.

Brian McVicor, past president of the Clear Lake Cabin Owners Association and one of 2,267 people to sign the petition as of Wednesday afternoon, said Parks Canada has lost the trust of the public.