Winnipeg Free Press – Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada

Landlords will face fines for breaching confidentiality

Carol Sanders 4 minute read Yesterday at 5:04 PM CDT

The province is amending legislation to allow landlords to be penalized if they breach the confidentiality of tenants who break their lease by obtaining a domestic violence certificate.

“Hopefully, now there’s going to be measures in place so that if this happens again, and God forbid it happens again to anyone else, that there would be penalties imposed on landlords who do that,” said one victim whose concerns were published on the front page of the Free Press last month.

Under current legislation, landlords must ensure that any information received from those tenants regarding the termination of the tenancy is kept confidential, but there are no penalties for landlords who violate that section of the act. After hearing from victims put at risk when landlords broke the law by violating their confidentiality, the government announced Monday that it is amending the Residential Tenancies Act to allow for penalties.

The young woman who spoke to the Free Press showed that her landlord copied her alleged abuser in email correspondence that included her personal email address and the domestic violence certificate she obtained in 2025 to end a tenancy agreement early and leave an abusive relationship.

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MORGAN MODJESKI / FREE PRESS
Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health has confirmed they are investigating the death of a worker at the construction site at the Fairmont Winnipeg on Lombard Place, Thursday.

Person killed in workplace accident at Fairmont construction site

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Preview

Person killed in workplace accident at Fairmont construction site

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:30 PM CDT

Emergency responders were on scene and Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health is investigating after a worker died following an incident at a Winnipeg construction site Thursday.

Little information about the worker killed was provided, but the fatal incident happened at the Fairmont Winnipeg, located at 2 Lombard Place, with police responding around 5 p.m.

The hotel is currently closed and is an active construction site. The person killed has not been identified by name.

Information from a provincial spokesperson said the deceased was working for Kepsco Construction when they were fatally injured after a “portion of an overhead canopy collapsed during asbestos abatement work.”

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Updated: Yesterday at 8:30 PM CDT

NHL

JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Winnipeg Jets’ Kyle Connor (81), Dylan DeMelo (2), Mark Scheifele (55) and Cole Perfetti (91) celebrate Connor’s goal against the Colorado Avalanche during third period NHL hockey action in Winnipeg on Wednesday.

Jets encouraged by play through first five games

Mike McIntyre 6 minute read Preview

Jets encouraged by play through first five games

Mike McIntyre 6 minute read 4:21 PM CDT

Turkey. Stuffing. And a heaping helping of rest and recovery.

The Winnipeg Jets have plenty to be thankful for this holiday weekend, including a solid 3-1-1 start to the NHL campaign. Players and coaches are also counting their blessings at finally getting a breather after a busy stretch of five games in eight days.

“We don’t have another (break like this) until a week before Christmas. So we’re going to take advantage of it,” head coach Scott Arniel said following the club’s first regulation loss, a 5-1 stinker on Friday night against the visiting Anaheim Ducks.

To borrow a funny old Thanksgiving-related phrase from former defenceman Nate Schmidt, the hockey club was “leaking gravy.” They looked like a group that could use a timeout — which they’ll get since they don’t play again until hosting the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.

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4:21 PM CDT

Civic Election

Kevin Klein at campaign HQ going over the plan for a 10:30 AM press conference.

A Rocky day on the campaign trail

‘It matters how hard you get hit and keep getting up,’ mayoral candidate Kevin Klein says, referencing famous film’s fighter in wake of opponent’s allegations, apology-triggering column in his newspaper

Malak Abas 11 minute read Yesterday at 12:00 PM CDT

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Security footage showing Cody Lamb’s car being stolen on Sept. 11 in Douglas, Manitoba.

Towing company hands stolen car back, but not to owner

By Matthew Frank 4 minute read Preview

Towing company hands stolen car back, but not to owner

By Matthew Frank 4 minute read Yesterday at 4:29 PM CDT

A Manitoba man says he is dumbfounded after his car was stolen, impounded by a Winnipeg towing company and given back — to someone that wasn’t him.

Cody Lamb lives in the western Manitoba community of Douglas, about 18 kilometres east of Brandon, but spends weeks away from home working on oil rigs in Alberta.

The 24-year-old says on Sept. 11, while away for work, he heard from his girlfriend who told him his car wasn’t in their driveway. Lamb reported the car stolen to Brandon RCMP the same day.

After filing the report, he heard from Steinbach RCMP on Oct. 1 that his car was recovered that day in the community of Mitchell, roughly five km west of Steinbach.

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Yesterday at 4:29 PM CDT

Local

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
Manitoba Hydro say they had no choice but to cut down mature trees between the pathway at Elizabeth Road and the CPKC railway tracks that stretch the length of Archibald Street in Windsor Park because the trees were a hazard.

Chopped trees will leave a ‘blight’ on Windsor Park

Kelly-Anne Riess 3 minute read Preview

Chopped trees will leave a ‘blight’ on Windsor Park

Kelly-Anne Riess 3 minute read Yesterday at 8:04 PM CDT

Robert Gordon has watched the trees grow along a popular Windsor Park walking path for nearly six decades.

Now, as Manitoba Hydro cuts them down to protect nearby power lines, he says a familiar part of his childhood neighbourhood is disappearing.

Although he no longer lives in the area, Gordon regularly returns to walk or cycle along the tree-lined path, which runs parallel to Archibald Street.

He was concerned when he recently spotted crews clearing vegetation near the entrance to the path, but initially assumed they were removing brush. When he returned, he discovered the clearing had extended farther along the corridor.

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Yesterday at 8:04 PM CDT

Opinion

Nature doesn’t waste its time Russell Wangersky 2:01 AM CDT
Indigenous offenders need a new path to justice Niigaan Sinclair Updated: 7:18 AM CDT
Heated hiring debate over iced coffee Tory McNally Updated: 9:06 AM CDT

Bomber Report

Photo by BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
The familiar game-day voice of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Bob McGregor, is celebrating his 300th game behind the mic this weekend.

Mics and hikes

Longtime voice of the Blue and Gold marks major milestone

David Sanderson 8 minute read Yesterday at 12:52 PM CDT

Amateur

BISON SPORTS
Manitoba Bisons libero Chelsea Siebenga (10) is one of two veterans on the women’s volleyball team who was developed during the club’s decorated era. Siebenga has embraced her mentor role alongside fellow fifth-year Aviendah Plett.

Herd of rookie and sophomore talent ushers in new era of University of Manitoba women’s volleyball team

Joshua Frey-Sam 7 minute read Preview

Herd of rookie and sophomore talent ushers in new era of University of Manitoba women’s volleyball team

Joshua Frey-Sam 7 minute read Yesterday at 4:11 PM CDT

Life is bound to look different when you’re without one of the best cores in the country.

Just ask Chelsea Siebenga, the standout fifth-year libero who, along with fifth-year middle Aviendah Plett, is all that remains from a decorated era of Manitoba Bisons women’s volleyball.

“It’s definitely different,” Siebenga said. “Those six people had been on the team the whole time I was a Bison. Those were my friends basically, the people that I would hang out with, so having them gone, it makes the team feel… like a completely different team, to me, at least.”

For the first time in five years, the Bisons will enter a season without Raya Surinx on the left side of their attack. The two-time U Sports Player of the Year opted to forgo her final year of eligibility and begin her professional career in Italy.

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Yesterday at 4:11 PM CDT

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The Arts

Photos by Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
From left: Volunteers Helen Leeds, Diane Zakala, Margaret Mills, Therese Leneveu and Melinda Barr go through the vintage collection at the Costume Museum of Canada.

Careful work goes into preserving vintage threads at costume museum

AV Kitching 6 minute read Preview

Careful work goes into preserving vintage threads at costume museum

AV Kitching 6 minute read Yesterday at 4:35 PM CDT

Every Friday morning seven retired women — Diane Zakala, Helen Leeds, Margaret Mills, Melinda Barr, Therese Leneveu, Karen Eastwood and Letizia Sandron — make their way from homes across the city to a nondescript warehouse in downtown Winnipeg.

The group members troop in right at 9 a.m., as they have been doing every week for the last eight years, towards the back of the brightly lit warehouse where the bulk of the collection of the Costume Museum of Canada (410-70 Arthur St.) is stored.

The vintage fashion pieces — some dating back to more than a century — have been carefully packed away in long, flat garment boxes, stacked on rows of shelves.

Some clothes are in mint condition, impeccably taken care of by their owners, while a few show signs of wear and tear and need little bit of care courtesy of expert seamstress Barr, who lovingly restores items which have incurred minimal damage.

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Yesterday at 4:35 PM CDT

Bomber Report

JEFF MCINTOSH / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros (right) is sacked by Calgary Stampeders defensive lineman Clarence Hicks (centre) back in June. Calgary’s star pass-rusher has already taken down Winnipeg quarterbacks twice this season and leads the CFL with 12 sacks.

Bombers, Stamps rumble a can’t-miss must-win

Taylor Allen 6 minute read Preview

Bombers, Stamps rumble a can’t-miss must-win

Taylor Allen 6 minute read Yesterday at 6:41 PM CDT

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders are playing musical chairs and pretty soon the music is going to stop.

One of them will be left without a seat at the post-season table, and Saturday’s clash between the Bombers (7-8) and Stampeders (8-8) at Princess Auto Stadium (6 p.m.) will go a long way toward determining who that will be.

You’re not going to want to miss this one.

“We’ve shown we can play great, we’ve shown we can play terrible. So, let’s try to play on the great side and really lock in,” said Bombers halfback Evan Holm on the team’s mindset this week.

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Yesterday at 6:41 PM CDT

Local

Judge sentences serial indecent harasser to seven years in prison

Dean Pritchard 4 minute read Preview

Judge sentences serial indecent harasser to seven years in prison

Dean Pritchard 4 minute read Yesterday at 4:40 PM CDT

A Winnipeg man who relentlessly harassed nearly a dozen women with unwanted sexual messages and videos, starting just days after completing a jail sentence for the same crimes, has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Four of Alexander Beaton’s nearly dozen victims were women he had previously been convicted of harassing.

“His behaviour was calculated, targeted and persistent (and) was brazenly in defiance of an existing (probation) order,” provincial court Judge Malcolm McDonald said Friday.

“It is safe to say Mr. Beaton ranks among the worst offenders committing the worst offences of this nature,” McDonald said.

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Yesterday at 4:40 PM CDT

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SUPPLIED
Empty Bowls Celebrity Auction Dinner Co-Chair Lauren Harvey, left, with Harvest Manitoba President and CEO Vince Barletta, and Empty Bowls Co-Chair Margaret Redmond at the gala event that broke a Manitoba record for the largest gala fundraising total in the province’s history thanks to a five million dollar donation from Doug Harvey and his family.

Late philanthropist, family fill Harvest’s Empty Bowls with record-setting $5-M donation

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Preview

Late philanthropist, family fill Harvest’s Empty Bowls with record-setting $5-M donation

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 11:54 PM CDT

It was a record-breaking night for Harvest Manitoba made possible by a genuine Winnipeg hero and his family.

The organization’s annual Empty Bowls Celebrity Auction Dinner on Thursday raised $6.5 million to support Manitobans facing hunger and food insecurity.

And it was a $5-million legacy donation from late city philanthropist Doug Harvey and his family that will see the event go down in the history books as the largest gala fundraising total ever recorded in Manitoba.

“There was literally nothing that lit my dad up more than contributing himself, but even more so, inspiring others to give,” his daughter Lauren Harvey said Friday.

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Updated: Yesterday at 11:54 PM CDT