News briefs for Sunday, October 22, 2023

Off-duty police officer assaulted, two suspects in custody

4:44 PM

Two men are in custody after an off-duty police officer was assaulted in downtown Winnipeg Saturday morning.

Around 7 a.m., the officer was approached by two men near the intersection of St. Mary Avenue and Donald Street. One man attempted to physically assault the officer before the pair fled on foot, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a release Sunday.

The officer contacted police dispatch for support and was waiting in the area with a piece of personal property left behind by one of the suspects when a third man confronted him — demanding he return the item.

The third suspect, who was armed with a concealed machete, fled on a bicycle after the officer denied his request. He was later arrested in the 300 block of Cumberland Avenue and the weapon was found nearby, police said.

Police located another one of the suspects in the 300 block of St. Mary Avenue. Two men, aged 33- and 27-years-old remain in custody and are facing charges of assault against a peace officer.

The major crimes unit is investigating and asks anybody with information to call police at 204-986-6219, Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477 (TIPS), or report online at winnipegcrimestoppers.org.

Suspect stabbed during break and enter attempt

1:29 PM

A Winnipeg woman is facing charges and recovering from knife wounds after she attempted to break into an East Kildonan home and was stabbed by the homeowner early Sunday morning.

Police responded to a home in the 1300 block of Raleigh Street around 1:15 a.m. after receiving multiple reports that a suspect had been stabbed while attempting to break into the residence, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a release Sunday.

Responding officers found the suspect suffering from an upper-body injury outside the victim’s home. Police applied a tourniquet to address the wound before she was taken to the hospital and received further treatment, WPS said.

Investigators learned the suspect was drunk when she kicked in the door of the victim’s home. The homeowner, also a woman, stabbed the suspect to prevent her from entering. The women knew each other and had previously been arguing, police said.

A 29-year-old woman is charged with breaking and entering. She was released on an undertaking.

Jones wins Grand Slam title

12:32 PM

The Jennifer Jones team of Winnipeg has won a Grand Slam of Curling title in Niagara, Ont., this morning.

Jones beat fellow Winnipegger and former teammate Kaitlyn Lawes 7-4 in the Hearing Life Tour Challenge women’s final.

Jones, who resides in Ontario, has now won 10 career Slam titles as skip.

But it was the first for teammates Karlee Burgess, Emily Zacharias and Lauren Lenentine.

Jones and Lawes curled together for more than a decade, winning Olympic gold in 2014.

Vacant North End home burns again

12:31 PM

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service is investigating the cause of a blaze that significantly damaged a vacant, North End home that has been the source of numerous fires.

Around 5:21 p.m., firefighters responded to the two-and-a-half-storey house in the 400 block of Stella Avenue, WFPS said in a release Sunday.

Crews arrived to find heavy flames and smoke billowing from the building. They attacked the blaze from the exterior before moving inside and declaring it under control shortly after 6 p.m.

A search of the house revealed it was empty, and no injuries were reported.

Damage estimates are not available, but the building has burned twice in recent years and is now believed to be a complete loss, WFPS said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Superstore employees ratify contract, secure wage increases

11:12 AM

Superstore employees have voted in favour of a new collective agreement within Loblaws, averting strike action and securing a five-year deal.

“We could not have achieved this contract without the strong strike vote and support that Superstore members gave to their co-workers on our bargaining committee,” Jeff Traeger, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 832, said in a release. “This bargaining committee worked long days and late nights to ensure we had significant improvements for all Superstore workers.”

The union, which represents roughly 3,500 Superstore employees in Manitoba, negotiated the largest wage increases in the last 25 years of its history. It also addressed scheduling complaints to improve hours for part-time workers, the release said.

Superstore workers voted in favour of a strike mandate in September — a move that “changed the tone of ongoing negotiations” and led to an improved deal, the union said.

The union is now preparing to negotiate a new contract for 400 members working at No Frills. The grocery chain is also a subsidiary of Loblaws.