News briefs for Wednesday, November 1, 2023

MPI workers approve tentative agreement

6:39 PM

Manitoba Public Insurance workers voted to accept a new contract Wednesday night that includes wage increases of 13 per cent over four years.

MPI workers are set to return to work Friday after being on strike since Aug. 28. The Manitoba Government Employees Union announced the overwhelming majority of workers voted in favour of the tentative agreement Wednesday evening.

Truck driver charged after train derailment

1:00 PM

A truck driver was charged after a train derailed at a rail crossing on the Perimeter Highway on Tuesday afternoon.

The incident happened in the Rural Municipality of Springfield at about 1:55 p.m.

A Greater Winnipeg Water District Railway train was approaching the crossing when a semi-truck and trailer failed to stop at the rail crossing, went into a ditch and damaged the train tracks, RCMP said Wednesday.

The oncoming train could not stop in time and derailed when it went over the damaged tracks, police said.

The truck driver, a 69-year-old man, suffered minor injuries. He was charged with driving carelessly under the Highway Traffic Act and was issued a serious offence notice.

Boeing begins biggest Winnipeg expansion in years

12:17 PM

Boeing broke ground on its largest Winnipeg manufacturing plant expansion in years on Wednesday.

The expansion will add 12,000 sq. ft. to the plant’s 700,000 sq. ft., creating more space to meet demand, a Boeing news release states. The addition will double the plant’s freezer capacity and reduce annual energy usage by more than 20 per cent.

Boeing Winnipeg is the largest aerospace composite manufacturer in Canada. It produces parts for Boeing commercial airplanes.

Around 1,500 employees are based in Winnipeg.

Police seek identity of man found dead in Point Douglas

10:09 AM

Homicide investigators are trying to determine the identity of a man found dead in a residence in North Point Douglas early Wednesday.

The Winnipeg Police Service responded to a report of a deceased male in a suite located in the 200 block of Austin Street North around 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 1.

“An adult male was located; however, the identity of the deceased has not been confirmed,” WPS said in a news release.

Anyone with video surveillance or information about the death is asked to call the homicide unit at 204-986-6508, Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS, or disclose details online at winnipegcrimestoppers.org.

One man in hospital after downtown shooting

9:54 AM

City police are investigating a shooting in downtown Winnipeg that injured one man who was taken to hospital in stable condition in the early hours of the morning Wednesday.

“There was a dispute that originated at a bar in the 200 block of Portage Avenue,” said Const. Jason Michalyshen of the Winnipeg Police Service. “Things did escalate, clearly.”

Michalyshen said the incident happened near the intersection of Portage Avenue and Fort Street around 2:20 a.m.

WPS’s Major Crimes Unit is probing the matter, but there are challenges related to witnesses being uncooperative, he said.