News briefs for October 7, 2019

Winnipeg has recorded its 30th homicide of 2019.

City police responded to reports of a “male down” in the front yard of a home on the 600 block of Pritchard Avenue at 9:25 a.m. Monday.

Upon arrival, officers found a man dead. He’s believed to be in his 20s.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide investigators at 204-986-6508.

A Waywayseecappo First Nation man is in police custody after evading arrest for more than two years.

Manitoba First Nations Police Service officers arrested the suspect early Sunday morning after receiving a tip he was at a Waywayseecappo home. Police say the man fled the house as officers approached but was quickly located with help from the canine unit. 

Gary Shingoose, 32, is charged with two counts each of aggravated assault, assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, multiple counts of breachig court orders and other offences. 

Country sensation Miranda Lambert returns to Winnipeg for a May 2, 2020 concert date at Bell MTS Place.

Tickets go on sale Oct. 11 at 10 a.m. at LiveNation.com and Ticketmaster. Prices have yet to be announced.

The two-time Grammy winner and 13-time winner of a Country Music Association Award will combine her passions with music and dogs at the concert. Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation, which focuses on adoption and fundraising drives across North America, has partnered with Winnipeg Pet Rescue to raise funds at the arena prior to her show.

A Flin Flon area man is in police custody after a highway stop resulted in the seizure of drugs, guns and cash.

According to the RCMP, officers were stopped and conducting an investigation on Highway 10, south of Flin Flon, Sept. 29 at 10:30 p.m. when a pickup truck passed the scene without stopping at a high rate of speed.

Officers pulled the driver over and after securing a search warrant for the vehicle and residences in Schist Lake and Flin Flon seized 27 grams of cocaine, 6 grams of magic mushrooms, one gram of crack cocaine, 10 rifles, ammunition and other weapons and a large sum of cash.

Paul McIntrye, 55, has been charged with several drug and weapons offences, possession of property obtained by crime and four count of failing to comply with an undertaking.

A passenger in the vehicle, 51-year-old Margaret Chisolm of Flin FLon, faces charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime.

The provincial government wants to amend 2017 legislation that regulates public service bargaining.

This afternoon, it introduced the Public Services Sustainability Amendment Act, which will restrict wage increases to public sector workers over a four-year period.

Finance Minister Scott Fielding said the amendments are to enhance collective bargaining decisions made by the province and the unions it deals with. 

The amendments have yet to be circulated to reporters. 

Defenceman Sami Niku is on his way to Pittsburgh to join the Winnipeg Jets.

He’ll take the place of Dmitry Kulikov, who has left the team to attend to a family matter and won’t be available for Tuesday’s game against the Penguins.

Niku suffered a groin injury during training camp and was sent to the Manitoba Moose for conditioning. He played in back-to-back games in Texas this past weekend.

In other news, defenceman Josh Morrissey was a full participant at practice Monday after missing Sunday’s game against the New York Islanders with an upper-body injury suffered during the pre-game warmup. He is expected to play in Pittsburgh.

Valour FC today announced the club has granted a leave to midfielder Dylan Sacramento and forward Calum Ferguson to pursue playing opportunities in New Zealand.

Sacramento, a Winnipeg native, had one goal and two assists in 19 appearances. Ferguson had one goal in nine appearances.

OTTAWA — The federal NDP say they’ll help spur demand for Winnipeg-made electric buses if elected this month.

Daniel Blaikie, the MP for Elmwood-Transcona, said Monday morning that the NDP will help companies such as New Flyer grow as part of the $15-billion green fund the party announced in May.

Blaikie made the announcement alongside the head of Amalgamated Transit Union branch 1505 and the head of UNIFOR’s western region, but not a representative of New Flyer.

The provincial government announced nearly $3 million in funding for initiatives focused on youth mental health and addictions Monday. 

Justice Minister Cliff Cullen said this would be the first of more than a dozen initiatives announced by the province before the end of the year.

Monday’s announcement included $823,000 for NorWest Youth Hub, $621,000 for Project 11 and $1.5 million to expand distribution of thrival kits in schools, reaching up to 15,600 students.

Unable to get a ticket to see one of Begonia’s three concerts in February at the West End Cultural Centre? Well, you’re in luck.

A fourth concert by the Winnipeg singer, slated for Feb. 22 at the WECC, was announced this morning, with tickets going on sale Oct. 9 at 10 a.m., at eventbrite.ca. Prices are $30, or $35 for mezzanine seats, plus fees.

Three other shows for the artist — named pop artist of the year this past weekend at the Western Canadian Music Awards — scheduled for Feb. 27-29, have already sold out.

City hall continues to whittle away at its projected, year-end deficit.

Latest figures show the city expects to end the year with a $6.9 million deficit, a decrease of about $800,000 since the end of June.

A detailed report is part of the Oct. 11 agenda for council’s finance committee meeting.

A decline in the projected year-end deficit is not unusual at city hall as departments manage savings, projects come in under budget, and other savings are realized. The first-quarter projected deficit had been $9.8 million.

This year’s projected deficit is attributed to the snow-clearing budget and a heavy snowfall in February, which is expected to total $46.2 million by the end of the year — $11.4 million over budget.

Manitoba Public Insurance is at the Public Utilities Board this morning seeking approval for a 0.6 per cent overall decrease for its 2020-2021 general rate. 

The updated rates for private passenger vehicles would decrease by an average of 0.9 per cent, while the rates for motorcycles would stand to increase by an average of 5.1 per cent. 

If approved, the new rates would come into effect on March 1, 2020, but some vehicle owners wouldn’t begin to pay them until February 2021 due to staggered renewal dates. 

OTTAWA — The federal Conservatives say they would waive entry fees at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, along with all other national museums, if elected.

In an announcenent Monday, leader Andrew Scheer said he’d make all nine national museums free for visitors, including tourists.

CMHR recorded 291,346 visitors in the last fiscal year. Admission fees make up eight per cent of the museum’s revenue.

An independent costing by the parliamentary budget officer pegs the price of this change at $20 to $22 million per year, for all nine museums. The Tories claim museums would take in more donations, parking fees and gift-shop purchases.

A small fire at a house on the 600 block of William Avenue Sunday was quickly controlled by crews who arrived on scene. 

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Services responded to a monitored smoke alarm at 6:08 p.m. They were able to get the fire under control by 6:41, with no evacuations required and no injuries reported. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation.