Safety officers responded to three assaults in first 4 1/2 months at downtown Hydro HQ By: Carol Sanders Posted: 6:38 PM CDT Wednesday, Sep. 23, 2026 Last Modified: 12:11 PM CDT Thursday, Sep. 24, 2026 Updates

Institutional safety officers have responded to three assaults at Manitoba Hydro’s downtown headquarters since they were installed after an employee was randomly attacked in the building’s foyer last winter.

Reports filed by ISOs to the Crown corporation list 23 incidents between Feb. 1 and June 17, a freedom of information document shows. They include three assaults, one disturbance, one intoxication, two medical emergencies, one mental-health incident, 13 safety escorts and two instances of trespassing.

Manitoba Hydro Place beefed up its security after an employee was assaulted in the main-floor gallery while leaving work in January. The Crown corporation closed the building to the public for several weeks while it hired and trained institutional safety officers.

The ISOs, who are equipped with pepper gel and handcuffs, are specially trained and licensed security staff who have the legal authority to restrain, detain and make an arrest. Manitoba Hydro now has eight ISOs in place at the 360 Portage Ave. location, spokesman Peter Chura said.

In response to a Free Press freedom of information request for all incident reports filed by ISOs since they were hired in February, Hydro provided a tally and category of the incidents, but no details or dates when the incidents were reported.

A section of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act requires that Manitoba Hydro refuse access to a record or part of a record where such disclosure would be an unreasonable invasion of the privacy of a third party, the publicly owned power company said.

All 23 reports contain personal data including names, addresses, phone numbers and personal health information of identifiable individuals, it said.

Without a date or an incident number, the Winnipeg Police Service was unable to say whether charges were laid in the three assaults reported by Manitoba Hydro ISOs.

Chura said he couldn’t comment on specific incidents, including whether charges were laid in the reported assaults. He was able to report that the employee whose assault triggered the tightened security has returned to work.

He did say, however, that the ISOs have used their skills to de-escalate incidents involving aggressive behaviour.

“The safety officers are also trained and have used their skills to identify when a situation requires further intervention, such as law enforcement, to ensure the safety of the public and our employees,” he said in an email, adding they have also assisted with incidents involving people in need of medical attention inside the building and in the area.

Chura wouldn’t provide details on the hours ISOs work.

Manitoba Hydro also uses a private security contractor and has an arrangement with the Downtown Community Safety Partnership, he said.

“Hydro workers are consistently worried about safety in the Hydro building, but also outside the facility, as well.”

The DCSP offers the Wayfinder program that provides visible safety patrols and courtesy walks to help people safely get to and from the building.

The estimated 1,800 Manitoba Hydro employees who work at its downtown headquarters are expected to be in the office more often starting next month. The hybrid arrangement that allowed employees to work remotely both Mondays and Wednesdays is being scaled back to Mondays only, he said.

The union representing close to 700 technical and clerical employees at Manitoba Hydro Place said safety remains a concern.

“Hydro workers are consistently worried about safety in the Hydro building, but also outside the facility, as well,” Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 998 president Michelle Bergen said when asked about the ISO incident reports.

She said the union can’t comment on specific incidents, including the three assaults reported at the building.

“These numbers aren’t surprising, but they also likely don’t capture incidents off the facility’s property,” she said.

“Having safety officers in the Hydro building is obviously helpful, and more of these officers across Hydro and other (Crown corporations) would be good to see.”

She encouraged the city to expand the DCSP, and for the province to train and hire more ISOs at government facilities.

“We do know that the safety issues downtown are more systemic, like homelessness and the mental-health crisis…. We need all levels of government to address the root issues in our community,” Bergen said.

Luisa Valente, who isn’t employed by Hydro but works in the building, said the ISOs on site have made her feel safer.

“They come and take care of people who shouldn’t be in the building,” said Valente, 46. “They’re on it right away.”

The services offered by the ISOs are “very much needed” downtown, especially with colder weather approaching and more people seeking shelter, she said.

“They’re looking for a warm place. Some of them are very nice. And some of them are not so nice; and it’s nice to have someone who can deal with those people,” said Valente, who has worked downtown for 18 months.

She said she would like to see the ISOs in more locations.

“The officers are very nice,” she said. “They stop everyone, make conversations and they’re welcoming to everyone that comes into the building.”

“I wish we had more.”

— With files from Nicole Buffie and Morgan Modjeski