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City’s rainy-day fund can’t cover entire $27M projected deficit

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read 4:32 PM CDT

The City of Winnipeg expects to finish 2023 with a $27 million deficit, roughly $7.5 million more than its rainy-day fund can cover.

The financial stabilization reserve can be used to pay for up to $19.5 million of those potential losses, if the city can’t eliminate the deficit by the end of the year, according to a new report based on finance data up to March 31.

An action plan to find $7.5 million of savings to offset the remaining shortfall prediction will be shared with council’s finance committee on June 30.

The report offers a stark warning about how the expected shortfall could affect city departments going forward.

This Just In

RCMP investigate suspected slaying in Swan River

Monday, 4:10 PM CDT

Swan River RCMP are investigating the death of a woman in a home in the town as a homicide.

Mounties were called about a dead woman in the residence at about 3 a.m. Monday morning.

When they arrived, they found the deceased woman, 29, and no one else inside, RCMP said.

Major crimes officers are leading the investigation, which is considered a homicide. The town is about 500 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, near the border with Saskatchewan.

City projects $27-million deficit

Monday, 11:41 AM CDT

The City of Winnipeg expects to finish this year with a $27-million deficit, millions more than its rainy-day fund can cover.

The financial stabilization reserve can only cover up to $19.5 million of the losses, if the city can’t eliminate the deficit by the end of the year, according to a new finance report on financial data up to March 31.

An action plan to find savings that offset the rest of the shortfall is expected to be released on June 30.

Most of the losses are linked to emergency services.

The Winnipeg Police Service expects to finish the year with a $12.8-million deficit, which the report blames on an inability to find millions of dollars of savings during the year, as council directed in its budget, and declining traffic enforcement revenue.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service expects to fall $7.4 million short, mostly due to firefighter overtime and workers' compensation costs.

Mount Carmel Clinic to administer safety program

Monday, 10:49 AM CDT

Manitoba Justice announced $200,000 in funding for Mount Carmel Clinic to administer the Thunderwing Project and an additional $100,000 to enhance the project to support women who are in contact with the criminal justice system.

Thunderwing is a community mobilization project that co-ordinates and mobilizes resources across sectors and aims to improve community safety and family well-being, a government press release said. It has operated since 2013, after starting as a pilot in Winnipeg’s William Whyte and Dufferin neighbourhoods owing to high rates of violent crime.

The Department of Justice, which until now has administered Thunderwing, decided to reallocate $200,000 to a grant for a community-based organization to provide and expand the project, consistent with how community mobilization is funded throughout the rest of Manitoba. In November 2022, Mount Carmel Clinic was selected through an expression of interest process as the successful community-based organization to administer the project.

The province is providing Thunderwing with an additional $100,000 in funding for an additional position to focus on supporting women who are in contact with the criminal justice system.

Winnipeg woman, 23, killed in Sandy Hook rollover

Sunday, 5:10 PM CDT

A 23-year-old Winnipeg woman was killed in a rollover on Highway 9 in Sandy Hook on Sunday morning, according to RCMP.

Police said a southbound vehicle left the road, entered the ditch and rolled near Ninth Avenue at about 6 a.m.

The woman, who was ejected, was a passenger in the vehicle.

The driver, a 20-year-old woman from Winnipeg, suffered minor injuries, said RCMP.

Highway open after closure due to vehicle collision in Sandy Hook

Sunday, 10:10 AM CDT

Highway 9 in Sandy Hook, Man., between 8th Avenue and 10th Avenue, is now open again after a Sunday morning vehicle collision resulted in its closure.

Suspect in Main Street slaying has lengthy criminal history

Erik Pindera 4 minute read Preview

Suspect in Main Street slaying has lengthy criminal history

Erik Pindera 4 minute read 12:29 PM CDT

A man wanted by Winnipeg police for his alleged role in a Main Street slaying has a lengthy history of violent crime and weapons offences.

Aaron Wayne Azure, 38, was named as a suspect in the May 10 death of Vincent Brian Kipling, 31, last week.

Kipling, who sustained serious injuries after an assault just before 11 p.m., was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Homicide detectives obtained a warrant for Azure, who is wanted for manslaughter in the killing.

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12:29 PM CDT

Aaron Wayne Azure (Police / Handout)

Body of drowned boy found

Chris Kitching 5 minute read Preview

Body of drowned boy found

Chris Kitching 5 minute read Updated: 9:05 AM CDT

The body of 12-year-old Winnipeg boy feared to have drowned in Whiteshell Provincial Park has been found, RCMP said.

The body was found and recovered at about 1 a.m. Monday, RCMP said in a news release later in the day.

On Sunday, the boy’s family was in shock and praying he would be found. Nida Zeeb said her nephew Usaid Habib was camping with his parents and three brothers when he slipped and fell into the water at Sturgeon Falls on Saturday morning.

“He was very excited to see the water, and he just slipped,” she said Sunday while travelling from Edmonton to Winnipeg to be with relatives at Usaid’s home.

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Updated: 9:05 AM CDT

Supplied

Sturgeon Falls is located between Nutimik and Numao lakes in Whiteshell Provincial Park, about 125 kilometres east of Winnipeg. This photo was taken last July, when there was significant flooding in the area.

Trash in and around encampments along Red River piling up in east Exchange

Malak Abas 9 minute read Preview

Trash in and around encampments along Red River piling up in east Exchange

Malak Abas 9 minute read Updated: 12:43 PM CDT

Along Waterfront Drive, garbage from abandoned encampments and current residents has grown into a mess that creeps in from all angles, washing up on the riverbank and spilling onto the bike trail and sidewalk opposite condos and apartments lining the street.

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Updated: 12:43 PM CDT

Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press

‘Bags and bags of garbage come in from the (river) every day,’ says Kathy Smith who is staying in an encampment along Waterfront Drive, in the Fort Douglas Park neighbourhood.

NDP MLA’s bill mandating anti-racism training for provincial workers gets government backing

Danielle Da Silva 4 minute read Preview

NDP MLA’s bill mandating anti-racism training for provincial workers gets government backing

Danielle Da Silva 4 minute read 6:00 AM CDT

Manitoba lawmakers are poised to mandate annual anti-racism training for more than 12,000 people on the provincial government’s payroll.

NDP MLA Jamie Moses’s Bill 241 is on deck to receive third reading and royal assent before the legislature rises on June 1, after receiving support from the Progressive Conservative government.

If passed, the legislation would require all government employees to take training “that aims to eliminate systemic racism and to advance understanding of human rights” each year.

The training must address implicit bias, how to challenge racism, and the discriminatory and unequal treatment of people based on ancestry or ethnicity.

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6:00 AM CDT

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

NDP MLA Jamie Moses said anti-racism training must be mandated in law so it does not “fall by the wayside.” The proposed legislation does not stipulate penalties if an employee refuses to participate in the training.

St. James Assiniboia School Division superintendent no longer ‘acting’

Maggie Macintosh 2 minute read Preview

St. James Assiniboia School Division superintendent no longer ‘acting’

Maggie Macintosh 2 minute read 5:34 PM CDT

Trustees in the St. James-Assiniboia School Division have chosen a new permanent leader to oversee operations across 26 schools in Winnipeg.

Jenness Moffatt has been appointed superintendent of the division in which approximately 8,300 public school students are enrolled. She has been working under an “acting superintendent” title throughout 2022-23.

“Jenness is a proven leader with over two decades of experience in the division. She also played a critical role in assisting the board navigate the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Cheryl Smukowich, chairwoman of SJASD’s board of trustees, in a news release.

Board members officially selected Moffatt, a career educator, during a special board meeting last week after a formal search for candidates and interview process.

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5:34 PM CDT

MANITOBA ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL SUPERINDENDENTS

Jenness Moffatt has been appointed superintendent of the St. James-Assiniboia School Division in which approximately 8,300 public school students are enrolled. She has been working under an “acting superintendent” title throughout 2022-23.

Team owner, league brass blown away by Sea Bears debut

Mike Sawatzky 5 minute read 4:39 PM CDT

Election day: Voters go to the polls in Alberta

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Election day: Voters go to the polls in Alberta

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 3:57 PM CDT

It’s election day in Alberta in what polls suggest could be a nail-biter finish between the province's two dominant parties.

Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party is fighting to win a second consecutive majority government, while Rachel Notley’s NDP is trying to regain the government it lost to the UCP in 2019.

Both leaders have been premier and leaders of the official Opposition.

Advance polls suggest voter turnout will be heavy.

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Updated: 3:57 PM CDT

NDP Leader Rachel Notley and United Conservative Party Leader Danielle Smith are shown on the Alberta election campaign trail in this recent photo combination.  THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Manitoba Métis Federation facility to welcome families of patients undergoing medical treatments

Joshua Frey-Sam 5 minute read Preview

Manitoba Métis Federation facility to welcome families of patients undergoing medical treatments

Joshua Frey-Sam 5 minute read 6:00 AM CDT

The suffocating feeling that overcomes a family member while their loved one lies in a hospital bed is one Will Goodon knows all too well.

The Manitoba Métis Federation’s minister of housing experienced it in spurts over the better part of a decade while his son, Hunter, received medical treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a life-threatening type of cancer in the bone marrow.

The cost of staying in a hotel room each night certainly became an unwelcome financial burden, as well.

While his son has since been cured of the disease, it’s hardly a surprise why the MMF’s latest housing project is so important to Goodon.

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6:00 AM CDT

Manitoba Métis Federation

Renderings for the MMF’s new Michif Manor project, which will begin construction this summer and be completed in July 2024.

Free Press photographer wins two national awards

Free Press staff 2 minute read Preview

Free Press photographer wins two national awards

Free Press staff 2 minute read 1:10 PM CDT

A Free Press photographer has received national recognition for her photo of Charlie Bittern, a residential and day school survivor, at Winnipeg’s Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Jessica Lee won two News Photographers Association of Canada awards over the weekend.

On Sunday, NPAC announced the winners and runners-up of its 2022 prizes. There were more than 40 nominations in total.

Lee, who began working for the Free Press full time in the fall of 2021, won the portrait and photo-of-the-year categories.

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1:10 PM CDT

JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Charlie Bittern is photographed at the Human Rights Museum at the residential schools display on September 23, 2022. Bittern suffered a serious injury when a teacher hit him at a day school in Berens River.

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