On the Night Table: Davin de Kergommeaux

Fatal stabbing of Ukrainian newcomer left family shattered

A man who fatally stabbed a Ukrainian newcomer in “a random, unprovoked, and senseless act of violence” on the street has been sentenced to 10 years behind bars.

Ethan Gladu, 22, was found guilty of manslaughter in February in the December 20, 2023 killing of Ivan Rubanik, a 46-year-old father of two who had fled to Canada for a better life with his family several months before.

Gladu, then 19, randomly stabbed Rubanik shortly before 8 a.m., near Talbot Avenue and Watt Street, as the victim was walking to work that morning. He died of blood loss soon after.

“The people of Winnipeg, or any community, should feel confident that they can go about their business, walk to work, support their family, and carry on with their lives without being attacked,” said Court of King’s Bench Justice Kenneth Champagne on Thursday afternoon as he sentenced the killer.

WSD official expects older students to get free youth Transit passes first in staggered rollout of pilot program

A program allowing youths to ride Winnipeg Transit buses fare-free is on track to start next month, though some will wait longer than others to get their passes.

The provincially funded Free Youth Transit Pass Pilot program will provide no-cost rides to youths between the ages of 11 and 17 and high school students between the ages of 18 and 21.

On Thursday, Premier Wab Kinew revealed not all students will be eligible when school resumes next month, as passes will be available based on grade levels.

“It’s going to happen week by week, more and more students will be getting the bus passes. So, this is just at the request of the people who run Transit, so that they can accommodate this new program. As you go back to school, you’ll find out how the bus passes are going to be distributed,” said Kinew.

City blames weather for creating new sinkhole on Sturgeon Creek path

After a massive water-filled hole on a Sturgeon Creek active-transportation pathway took more than a year to fix, a new sinkhole has opened nearby.

In June 2023, the Free Press reported on a gaping depression stretching seven metres long, three metres wide and up to a metre deep that opened on a pathway leading to a playground on Amarynth Crescent near the Sturgeon Creek active-transportation route. The city finally made repairs in October 2024.

Now, about 12 metres away from that spot, a new crater has appeared. The hole, about three metres long and 2.5 metres wide, has been blocked off using metal rods and plastic netting, but resident Philip Kaban said the opening is getting larger.

“This big hole in the middle is getting bigger and bigger,” Kaban said Thursday.

Man pleads guilty to shotgun slaying

A Winnipeg drug dealer has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a March 2025 killing that saw the body of a 30-year-old man dumped in a garbage bin and dragged to a West End alleyway.

Frederick Francis Mathias Baker, who was 28 upon his arrest early last year, shot Bronson Emery Dale Kequahtooway once in the thigh with a sawed-off shotgun and left him with a fatal wound, Crown prosecutor Matt Armstrong told Court of King’s Bench Justice Brian Bowman on Wednesday.

A split second after Baker shot Kequahtooway in the thigh, the victim was shot in the head with a sawed-off .22 rifle. The man accused of being armed with the rifle, Eric Matthew Morrissette, remains before the court on a second-degree murder charge.

“Either wound would have been fatal on its own,” said Armstrong.

U.S. tariffs pause elicits relief, frustration in Manitoba

Fifty per cent tariffs weren’t the only thing paused in the Canada-U.S. trade dispute.

Somali refugee admits he helped to smuggle African migrants into Manitoba for money

A Somali refugee who was twice caught by RCMP assisting in the smuggling of desperate African migrants into Manitoba during the frigid winter — including while out on bail, months after he was first arrested with eight foreign nationals in his vehicle — has admitted he did so for money.