Sex club owner scared for staff, patrons after pipe bomb found outside business

The discovery of a pipe bomb outside a Winnipeg bathhouse has its owner fearing for the safety of his staff and patrons.

Christopher Gregoire, 45, who recently took ownership of the former Aquarius Bath House (now AQ Sauna) at 457 Notre Dame Ave., said the pipe bomb — lit and ready to detonate — was found outside the sex and lifestyles club in the early hours of Sept. 11 by a “heroic patron.”

“It was lit and it was about to blow and (the patron) threw it in the water and he put it out,” said Gregoire.

The incident comes after the venue was targeted by a fire bomb on July 31, Gregoire said.

Mayor introduces charter change motion to remove council members charged with crimes

Mayor Scott Gillingham believes the province should allow a forced leave of absence to be imposed on any city council member charged with a criminal offence.

Gillingham introduced a new “notice of motion” at Thursday’s city council meeting that calls for the change, days after Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt registered to run for re-election despite facing sexual assault charges.

Union leaders, the mayor and some councillors have publicly urged Wyatt to step aside from his council role to deal with the charges.

The mayor’s motion will be considered after the Oct. 28 municipal election.

Grifols says plasma donor safety was not compromised as it works to regain licence

WINNIPEG - A for-profit company that oversees plasma collection says it is working with Health Canada on a reopening plan after the federal health agency suspended one its operating licences for a clinic in Winnipeg. 

Health Canada halted all collections at Grifols' Taylor Avenue location on Wednesday after it found compliance problems at the privately run clinic that pays for plasma donations. 

Grifols already suspended donation collections at all of its sites last month following reports of two people dying after donating at two separate Winnipeg locations. 

A Health Canada investigation found no link between the deaths of the plasma donors and the collection process, and Grifols says at no point was the safety of donors and patients compromised. 

No more Jets 1.0 or 2.0: League announces all eras of Winnipeg’s club to be merged

The Winnipeg Jets finally got their history back.

The NHL announced on Thursday morning that the 1.0 (1979 to 1996) and 2.0 (2011 to present) eras will now be merged, plus they will include the seasons spent as the Atlanta Thrashers (1999-2011).

The history of the now inactive Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes (1996 to 2024) will remain a separate entity.

“Today’s announcement is meaningful for our organization, our alumni and generations of Winnipeg Jets fans,” Jets executive chairman Mark Chipman said in a press release. “The Jets teams from 1979 to 1996 helped build an identity and tradition that we proudly carry forward today. For our fans, these players and these moments have always been part of the same Winnipeg Jets story, and we’re pleased that our official records will now reflect that.”

Firefighter admits to conditional sentence breach

A Winnipeg firefighter previously jailed for criminally harassing two different women has been released from custody after admitting to breaching a conditional sentence order.

Christopher Goethals, 59, was arrested July 21 after an alert from his ankle monitor six days earlier showed he had driven within 400 metres of the workplace of a former girlfriend he had been ordered to have no contact with.

Goethals pleaded guilty Wednesday to not being in possession of a copy of his conditional sentence order, a requirement of his sentence.

Crown attorney Amanda Heslop withdrew a breach charge related to Goethals’ electronic monitoring conditions and stayed a third charge of disobeying a court order.

‘Extremely disappointed’: hunters being turned away near Bloodvein First Nation, Manitoba Wildlife Federation says

The Manitoba Wildlife Federation says hunters are again being refused access to land near Bloodvein River First Nation, a year after leadership told court it would let them through.

Health Canada suspends plasma collection at Grifols Taylor Avenue clinic

Health Canada has suspended all plasma collection at Grifols’ Taylor Avenue facility while the private company continues to face scrutiny after two people died following donations at its Winnipeg clinics.

The suspension began Wednesday, although Grifols paused plasma collection in Canada on Aug. 14, two days after the federal department gave the Taylor Avenue site a non-compliant rating.

“Health Canada issued the suspension because Grifols had not effectively implemented some corrective and preventive actions and, overall, it failed to demonstrate that the Taylor Avenue site has implemented an effective quality management system,” the department said in a statement.

The penalty was first proposed Aug. 13. The site’s operating licence was partially suspended, Grifols said in a statement.

Relief, reproach from law school staff after disgraced ex-dean’s arrest in France

The overseas arrest of a disgraced former law dean who defrauded the University of Manitoba out of more than $600,000 is being met both with relief and renewed frustration in the local legal community.

Jets land state-of-the-art dressing room after off-season of renovations

It’s not just the on-ice product that’s getting an overhaul this season for the Winnipeg Jets.

The hockey club has also undergone an extreme makeover when it comes to player facilities, including a new state-of-the-art dressing room that now rivals any around the league.

And if you don’t think that matters, you haven’t been paying attention.

“We’ve talked about doing everything first class,” head coach Scott Arniel told the Free Press on Tuesday. “We can’t do anything about the weather, but when people come here, we want them to know we look after them and we look after their families.”