The Wrap: Fatal police shooting, Manitoba border crossings and honouring the ‘Elvis of the North’

Winnipeg police killed a man Tuesday while serving an order under the provincial Mental Health Act to apprehend the man and take him to hospital for a non-voluntary examination by doctors.

Officers forced their way into a home on Magnus Avenue, police said today, and fired on the man when he confronted them while armed with a weapon.

Erik Pindera reports on what neighbours saw, and what police said about the incident, the fifth fatal encounter involving police in the last six months.

The long-closed Noyes-Emerson East border crossing has an eerie feel to it these days, with derelict or dormant buildings giving it the appearance of a ghost town. Once a busy hub, the abandoned checkpoint still receives visitors: it’s one of the most common places people illegally walk across Manitoba’s border with the U.S.

It’s not uncommon for people to travel halfway around the world to try their luck along Manitoba’s border. When found, they are often exhausted, cold or hungry after walking for hours. Some are frostbitten or have injuries from trips or falls. Some don’t survive.

Reporter Chris Kitching and photographer Ruth Bonneville walked the U.S.-Canada border and talked to people who encounter people crossing the international boundary.

Ernest Monias is an elder of a different sort, a residential-school survivor who plays a mean guitar and has blazed a trail for future generations of Indigenous performers.

He’s also known as “Elvis of the North” and “King of the North,” owing to his musical prowess and for growing up in Cross Lake, known today as Pimicikamak Cree Nation, about 800 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

Monias turns 75 on Sunday, and the country-rocker will celebrate the milestone by headlining a concert at the Burton Cummings Theatre, where an honouring ceremony will also be held.