News briefs for Thursday, August 18, 2022

A fire erupted after a gas leak on Regent Avenue West last night.

Fire crews were sent to extinguish the fire outside the vacant commercial structure in the 1600 block of Regent at 7:48 p.m.

They found the gas line to the building was leaking and had ignited, with flames coming from the gas meter outside the building.

No injuries were reported, and no evacuations were required.

The cause of the incident is under investigation, the City of Winnipeg said in a news release.

Morning rain showers have delayed the opening round of the Manitoba Open pro golf tournament.

The 72-hole championship, back after a two-year absence owing to the pandemic, is being staged at Southwood.

An update on the beginning of play will follow once course conditions are assessed.

The Manitoba government is providing $1 million to the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce to subsidize 68 child-care spots designated for newcomer families.

The province and the chamber are partnering on a pilot project to provide child care for recent immigrants who are using the chamber’s Newcomer Employment Hub. The online platform promotes job matches between newcomer job-seekers and Manitoba employers, according to a release.

The money will support 68 fully subsidized licensed child-care spaces by April 2023, the province said. Planning for future expansions may include capital improvements and renovations to support additional child-care spaces,  following a review of the outcomes of the pilot project, the release stated.

A teenage boy was shot near Main Street and Jarvis Avenue Wednesday evening.

Winnipeg police said they were called to a shooting near the intersection at about 6:45 p.m., where officers found a teen suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to hospital in unstable condition, where he was later upgraded to stable condition.

Major crimes investigators are probing the circumstances of the shooting, but no one has been arrested.

Police ask anyone with information on the incident to contact investigators at 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477.

Manitoba’s COVID-19 death toll increased by 14 people in the second week of August as spread of the virus continued to increase. According to the province’s latest weekly COVID-19 report, deaths related to the virus increased from 2,079 to 2,093 between Aug. 7 and 13, including two people who died during the reporting period.

As COVID-19 cases are no longer reported directly to public health, officials say delays in reporting deaths are to be expected.

The province also reported an increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and test-positivity rates for the third consecutive week.

The test-positivity rate increased from 20.8 per cent to 23.8 per cent and 455 people were confirmed to be positive with COVID-19, compared to 347 in the previous week.

Seventy-two people were admitted to hospital with the disease, including 19 to intensive care. In the week prior, 57 people were admitted to hospital.

Wastewater samples collected in Winnipeg until August 11 indicate ongoing COVID-19 spread, with a decrease compared to late July, according to the province.

Moose Lake RCMP have charged a 23-year-old woman with second-degree murder in a January homicide in the northern community, but a second suspect remains at large.

Mounties were called to a home on Portage Road in the community northwest of The Pas at about 6 a.m. on Jan. 4, where a 28-year-old man was found seriously injured outside. He was pronounced dead in hospital in The Pas. His name has not been released.

On Wednesday, officers charged Lacey Jade Nasekapow in connection to the slaying, but a second suspect, 23-year-old Tia Rolande Grey, is still evading law enforcement.

RCMP ask anyone with information on her whereabouts to call the local detachment at 204-678-2307 or submit anonymous tips online.

A man was taken to hospital in unstable condition following a collision with a Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service truck on Main Street at Higgins Avenue early Thursday morning.

The collision knocked down traffic lights at Higgins Avenue, the City of Winnipeg posted on its traffic Twitter account at 7:27 a.m. At the scene, a white truck appeared heavily damaged on its driver’s side, while a light standard lay knocked down on the median.

The injured man has been upgraded to stable condition and Main Street’s northbound lanes have reopened, Winnipeg Police Service spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said shortly after 10 a.m.. Mid-day, the fire department said one of its trucks had been involved in the crash as it raced to a fire on Matheson Avenue East.

Crews pulled the truck’s driver out of the crumpled vehicle, while firefighters were checked for injuries on scene.

Canadian synth pop outfit Metric has cancelled its Aug. 21 concert at the Burton Cummings Theatre.

The Winnipeg show is one of several Western Canadian dates on the band’s current Doomscroller tour being scrapped owing to “logistical production issues.” Concerts in Edmonton, Regina and Saskatoon were also cancelled.

Ticket holders will receive a full refund, and further information will come from Ticketmaster.

 

An inmate died in Stony Mountain prison on Tuesday.

Correctional Services of Canada did not reveal the circumstances or cause of Denis Mutz’s death in a news release Thursday. It said Mutz was serving a four-year, four-month and 12-day sentence for possession of a scheduled substance for the purposes of trafficking at the time of his death.

He had been incarcerated at the federal prison north of Winnipeg since Dec. 2, 2020. His family has been notified, correctional services said.

Correctional services have also notified police as well as the provincial coroner of the man’s death.

The Stefanson government plans to gradually raise Manitoba’s minimum wage, reaching $15 just days before the October 2023 election date.

This spring, the PCs tweaked provincial rules to allow it to raise the current $11.95 hourly minimum wage beyond the rate of inflation. That rate is the second lowest in Canada, just slightly higher than Saskatchewan.

The government will boost the hourly minimum wage this October to $13.50, rising next April to $14.15. The target for Oct. 1, 2023 is $15, based on the expected consumer price index, a metric of how much goods and services cost the average household.

The next election is scheduled for Oct. 3, 2023.

“This phased-in approach will ensure small businesses remain strong and continue to grow while helping workers and their families get ahead,” Premier Heather Stefanson wrote in a news release. The province will also craft support programs for industries to adjust to higher payroll costs.

The rain didn’t go away. And so the start of the Manitoba Open has been pushed back a day due to soggy conditions at Southwood Golf & Country Club.

Round 1 will now get underway on Friday at 7:30 a.m., with PGA Tour Canada organizers still hoping to get a full four rounds in by Sunday.

Play was set to begin Thursday morning, but overnight storms and heavy rain rendered the course unplayable. After hours of delays, the decision to call it off was made by mid-afternoon.

A field of 156 payers are in town to compete for $200,000 in prize money. This is the seventh stop of the 2022 season — and the first event in Winnipeg since 2019 due to the global pandemic