The Wrap: Skibicki trial, bylaw changes, Happyland pool down the drain, and Milt Stegall returns to the field
Plus: Local debut of a feature film by a Winnipeg director

The opening day of the murder trial of Jeremy Skibicki heard he targeted vulnerable Indigenous women at Winnipeg homeless shelters and, while being questioned by police in one gruesome killing, blurted out that there were three more victims.

“He preyed on these women in Winnipeg shelters and invited them back to his home, where he assaulted them, often sexually, and killed them,” the prosecutor told the judge-alone trial. She then detailed the killings in court.

Skibicki is charged with four counts of first-degree murder for the slayings in the early months of 2022. His lawyers told court earlier this week Skibicki admits to the killings but is not criminally responsible due to mental illness.

In a bid to ease Winnipeg’s housing shortage and increase affordability, a city hall committee is set to vote Thursday on proposed zoning bylaw amendments which would make it easier to build duplexes or triplexes in mature neighbourhoods.

Other changes, if approved, could make it easier for homeowners to create a detached secondary or “granny” suite, and for restaurants or bars to open a patio.

Chris Kitching reviews the proposed changes.

All but one member of the City of Winnipeg’s community services committee cast a final vote on Wednesday to reject an attempt to keep Happyland Outdoor Pool open for one more summer.

The decision followed pleas from several community members to extend the pool’s use. The residents fundraised $75,000, plus “up to $10,000” from the provincial government to help the city run the pool this summer while they worked out a long-term plan to save it.

Joyanne Pursaga has the details.

Milt Stegall dusted off his No. 85 jersey for the first time since retiring in 2008 to participate on Day 1 of Winnipeg Blue Bombers rookie camp today.

Stegall, a CFL on TSN analyst since 2009, announced earlier in the week that he wanted to test himself by rejoining his old club for a day and sharing the field with nearly 70 rookies.

“I knew the majority of these guys wouldn’t know who I am and would try to challenge me and all that, but once I got out here and started moving around a little bit, I got the butterflies out and it was a great time,” he said.

Sports reporter Taylor Allen was there.

The Burning Season, the newest film from Winnipeg-based director Sean Garrity and Winnipeg-born writer-actor Jonas Chernick, is coming to a big screen near you — the Cineplex McGillivray, to be specific.

Opening at the south end theatre Friday, the film is a tale told-in-reverse starring Chernick (My Awkward Sexual Adventure), Sara Canning (The Vampire Diaries) and Joe Pingue (Station Eleven).