News briefs for October 5, 2020

Two new COVID-19 exposures, including aboard a bus headed to The Pas and at a rural Tim Hortons, were announced by the province Monday evening. 

Public health officials say the first exposure was on a bus from Winnipeg headed northbound to Portage la Prairie, Dauphin, Swan River, Mafeking and The Pas, operated by Mahihkan Bus Lines. 

Those aboard the bus on Oct., 1, between 11 a.m. and 8:40 p.m. should self-monitor for symptoms and immediately isolate if they develop.

Anyone who visited the Tim Hortons in Beausejour on Sept. 28 between 2 and 7 p.m., or Sept. 29 between 2 and 9 p.m. should watch for symptoms, and if they develop seek testing.

A man from Sandy Bay First Nation is facing multiple charges including assault of a police officer after a car chase. 

Manitoba First Nations Police Service said a canine unit on patrol in Sandy Bay observed a car travelling at high speeds around 12:55 a.m. on Oct. 3 and attempted a traffic stop. The driver didn’t pull over, sparking a 30-minute chase involving multiple police units, police say. The driver allegedly rammed a marked police vehicle while trying to escape causing minor damage. No officers were injured. 

The driver was apprehended by a police dog when he attempted to flee on food. While searching the vehicle, police say they found ammunition and two firearms. The driver also had an outstanding arrest warrant.  

Lindsey Daniel Houle, 30, was charged with assault on a police officer, multiple firearms offenses, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, flight from police, resist arrest and fail to comply with a release order.

Amazon is opening a site in Winnipeg in 2021 — the multinational retail giant’s first on the Canadian Prairies.

"This is an exciting day for all of us," an Amazon spokesperson said at a Monday announcement at the Manitoba Legislative Building.

More to come.

680 CJOB is taking over the Winnipeg Jets broadcast rights from TSN 1290 for the next seven years.

The deal for the radio rights includes all pre-season, regular-season and playoff games for the 2020-21 through 2026-27 seasons. The games will also be simulcast on Power 97.

CJOB broadcasts Winnipeg Blue Bombers games during the CFL season.

Manitoba Public Health is implementing new pandemic restrictions effective Wednesday that prohibit the sale of liquor in licensed premises between 10 p.m. and 9 a.m.

The operator of the licensed premises must ensure all members of the public vacate the premises by 11 p.m. The order does not prevent food from being sold from these premises after 11 p.m. for delivery or take-out.

Staff must obtain contact information in writing from at least one person in each party attending the premises and the licensee must retain this information for 21 days, after which it must be destroyed.

The orders impact the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region currently under orange pandemic restrictions and do not apply to liquor retail sales.

Public health officials reported 51 new cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba today, 35 of which are in the Winnipeg region.

Of the 51 new cases, one is in the Northern health region, three are in the Southern Health  region and 12 are in the Interlake–Eastern health region.

There are 23 people in hospital including six in intensive care. The number of COVID-19-related deaths in Manitoba is 23.

Laboratory testing numbers show 2,313 tests were completed Friday, 2,070 tests were completed Saturday and 1,235 tests were completed Sunday. There are now 739 active cases in the province, and the five-day test-positivity rate is 2.4 per cent. 

A new trauma and addictions therapy unit has opened at the Women’s Correctional Centre.

Research suggests that about 85 per cent of people in custody have substance abuse issues. The new program is closely modelled after Headingley Correctional Centre’s successful Winding River Therapeutic Community, which has been in operation since 2012, the government said.

A 2015 program evaluation completed by the University of Winnipeg concluded that WRTC participants were less likely to commit violent crimes after release.

Manitoba public health officials advised Collège Louis-Riel on Sunday of a confirmedcase of COVID-19 in the school on Sept. 28 when an individual may have been infectious.

The school is working with public health officials to identify those who may have been exposed, a letter from the school to parents and guardians said. Anyone identified as a close contact will be contacted and provided instructions for self-isolation.

Based on the public health investigation, this exposure was assessed to be low. The infection was not believed to be acquired at school, the letter said.

Police are investigating after a man was shot on the first 100 block of Elkhorn Street Sunday night.

After receiving a report that a man had been shot at approximately 9:16 p.m., police responded and found the injured victim.

The man, who is in his 20’s, was sent to hospital in critical condition, but was later upgraded to stable.

The investigation is still underway.

Winnipeg author David Bergen has made the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize short list for his short-story collection Here the Dark, published by Biblioasis in March.

The jury citation called Here the Dark "a story collection of masterly skill and tension" and noted that this, his third appearance on the short list, "affirms Bergen among Canada’s most powerful writers." (He won the Giller Prize in 2005 for his novel The Time in Between.)

The winner of the $100,000 Giller Prize winner will be announced on Nov. 9. Other finalists for the prize are Gil Adamson for her novel Ridgerunner, Shani Mootoo for her novel Polar Vortex, Emily St. John Mandel for her novel The Glass Hotel and Souvankham Thammavongsa for her short-story collection How to Pronounce Knife.

The Manitoba government has appointed two new provincial court judges to serve in Winnipeg, Justice Minister Cliff Cullen announced Monday.

Cindy Lee Sholdice, a Crown attorney with Manitoba Prosecution Service since 1998, and Samuel Raposo, deputy executive director of Legal Aid Manitoba from 2008 to 2019, were each selected from a list of candidates recommended by the judicial appointment committee, Cullen said.

Sholdice holds experience with the high-risk offender unit and was a Crown advisor on Project Devote, which primarily investigates cold cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. She has also served on working groups like the Mental Disorders Working Group and the Mental Health Collaboration Committee, Cullen said.

Raposo, a private bar and staff attorney, has worked on several criminal, family and child protection cases in his 22-year career, and during his time with Legal Aid he designed, developed and implemented several access to justice initiatives. 

Their appointments are effective immediately, and a swearing in ceremony will be scheduled in the near future, the province said.

Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones posted an 8-7, extra-end victory over Hollie Duncan of Woodstock, Ont., in the Sunday women’s final of the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard at the KW Granite Club in Waterloo, Ont.

Jones was joined by her team of third Kaitlyn Lawes, second Jocelyn Peterman and lead Lisa Weagle.

Meanwhile, the men’s playoff round was cancelled after a player received a notification from the COVID Alert app. The app sends a notification when the user contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., had been slated to play Jason Camm of Rockland, Ont., in semifinal action.

An inmate who escaped from Stony Mountain Institution’s minimum-security unit was arrested early Monday.

Stonewall RCMP were called after Aban Galin, 45, was discovered missing during the 9:45 p.m. count Sunday.

The Correctional Services of Canada said Winnipeg police told them at 5:10 a.m. Monday that Galin had been arrested in the city.

Galin, who is serving a sentence for gun and drug offences, is back at Stony Mountain Institution and is facing a criminal charge for his escape.