News briefs for October 1, 2020

Fire crews responded to alarms Thursday at a six-storey apartment block on Boulton Bay. 

Arriving on scene at 3 p.m., crews encountered smoke on one of the upper floors and launched an offensive attack, the city said in a news release. The fire was quickly knocked down and smoke ventilated from the building.

Firefighters assisted some residents with evacuation while others were able to safely stay in their suites. Paramedics transported one person to hospital in unstable condition.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The Concordia Village assisted-living facility reported Thursday a staff member had contracted COVID-19.

It said the worker had diligently followed all precautions, including wearing personal protective equipment, and the risk to residents is considered low.

It announced health officials are reaching out to the worker’s close contacts, and resident activities have been suspended.

Visits have been limited and visitors are screened beforehand.

This weekend, McGillivray Boulevard between Pembina Highway and Beaumont Street will be closed to traffic for railway repairs, between 6 p.m. Friday and 11 p.m. Sunday.

The city is advising motorists to use alternate routes to avoid the location.

A draft report and recommendations to improve Manitoba’s laws governing police services has been received by the provincial government, Justice Minister Cliff Cullen announced Thursday. 

A final report on the long-awaited Police Services Act review is expected to be released later this year, and legislative change is coming that will affect the Independent Investigation Unit, the civilian oversight agency that investigates serious incidents involving police in Manitoba, Cullen said.

The review was delayed because of COVID-19, he said, noting it was initially expected to be complete this past summer. It was mandated by law to happen five years after 2015 amendments to the Police Services Act came into effect.

A new clinic for people suffering from addictions is set to open in Portage la Prairie later this month. 

It will be the sixth Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine (RAAM) clinic in Manitoba — walk-in clinics set up to respond to a spike in substance use across the province. There, patients can be prescribed medications or referred to addictions treatment or counselling. 

There are currently two RAAM clinics in Winnipeg and one each in Brandon, Selkirk and Thompson, staffed by an addictions doctor, nurses and counsellors.

The provincial government announced Thursday it hired a part-time doctor and full-time provincial co-ordinator to run a RAAM clinic hub in Winnipeg, measuring their performance. An on-call support service will also be available to provide mentorship to RAAM clinic practicioners. 

Weston Street between Logan and Alexander avenues will be closed on Oct. 3 between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. to accomodate road construction, the city announced Thursday.

Manitoba health officials announced three dozen new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, including 28 in Winnipeg, bringing the province’s active case count to 621, with 534 of those in Winnipeg.

There are 15 people in hospital with the virus, including seven in intensive care.

In addition to the new Winnipeg cases, there are four new cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region, two in the Interlake-Eastern region and two in the Southern Health region.

A total of 1,803 COVID-19 lab tests were performed on Wednesday. The province’s current five-day test positivity rate is 2.1 per cent.

A 30-year-old man on Garden Hill First Nation was arrested Monday afternoon after allegedly stabbing a dog with a knife before assaulting a woman who then confronted him, the RCMP say.

The dog died, but the woman didn’t require medical attention, a release sent out Thursday said.

Shortly after fleeing, the man was arrested by officers from the Island Lake detachment, and now faces charges of cruelty to animals, assault and possession of a weapon for dangerous purposes.

He is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 16.

A 52-year-old RM of St. Clements man has been charged after pushing and threatening a store employee who told him he had to wear a mask.

Selkirk RCMP said they responded to the Walmart there on Sept. 23, at about 3:45 p.m., after getting a report of a man being pushed and threatened.

RCMP said the altercation occurred after the man was told he had to wear a mask while shopping inside the store.

The man has been charged with assault and uttering threats and will appear in court on Dec. 11.

The Manitoba government will begin a new legislative session with a speech from the throne on Oct. 7.

Members of the legislative assembly were to resume the session begun last November on that date, but the Pallister government has decided to start a new session instead.

It means dozens of bills introduced late last year and earlier this year that were not passed will die on the order paper.

The City of Winnipeg could soon prioritize seasonal pedestrian and cyclist access on parts of more than a dozen streets every year.

Council unanimously approved a motion late Wednesday to have its public service study whether to continue 10 sections of “open streets” that the city tested out this year, while also exploring if the routes should be added to five additional streets.

A report on actually implementing those changes is expected around November.

Coun. Matt Allard, the chairperson of council’s public works committee, hopes to make the active transportation routes permanent, so that they run for seven days a week between the May long and Thanksgiving weekends each year.

The streets would limit vehicle traffic to one block from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, creating extra space for active transportation.

The Manitoba Federation of Labour has thrown its support behind the striking Stella’s workers.

The MFL, which represents more than 100,000 unionized Manitoba workers, is asking its members to join the boycott of all locations of the local restaurant chain.

MFL president Kevin Rebeck said on Thursday the boycott will continue up until either the employer comes to the bargaining table, the issues are resolved, or they ask for alternate dispute resolution after 60 days.

Drivers forced to create new routes due to the closure of the Arlington Bridge will need to do so for an extra week.

The bridge was slated to reopen Oct. 5 but the closure is now expected to last until 6 a.m., Oct. 12 instead, according to a city press release.

The city warns drivers to allow for additional travel time during the closure and suggests motorists consider the McPhillips Street underpass or Slaw Rebchuk Bridge to create alternate routes to their destinations.

Pedestrian bridge access will continue throughout the closure.

Multiple arrests have been made after a violent attack outside of Maryland Bar on Sept. 1.

Police were called to the 740 Maryland St. bar at approximately 10:25 p.m. and located a man in his 20s with severe injuries. The man continues to receive treatment after the incident.

Brendan Nigel Percy Monias, 27, was arrested in the area that night and charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon, carrying a concealed weapon/prohibited device, resisting an officer and three counts of failing to comply with the conditions of a release order.

A 17-year-old male was arrested on Sept. 13 and charged with aggravated assault and failure to comply.

On Sept. 19, 18-year-old Jonathan Malachai Flett was arrested and charged with attempted murder, possessing a weapon and failure to comply. Brittany Michelle Fiddler, 30, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon and failure to comply that same day. Michael Kehche Harper, 31, has also been arrested and charged with aggravated assault and failure to comply, along with possession of methamphetamine.

Police have made an arrest and are calling for assistance in locating a second suspect in the homicide of 31-year-old Cody Alexander Sleigh.

Sleigh, originally from British Columbia, was shot on the 1000 block of Main Street on July 21 at approximately 5:45 a.m. and died in hospital two days later.

Kleon Cassidy Pop, 32, was arrested on Sept. 7 in Williams Lake, B.C., and was returned to Winnipeg where he has been charged with first-degree murder.

A Canada-wide arrest warrant for first-degree murder has been made for Dyllan Petrin, 19, who is described as 5’5" with a medium build, short dark hair, a tattoo on his right forearm and a tattoo of Chinese characters on the left side of his neck. Petrin is believed to be in the south-central area of B.C.

The province has introduced legislation to join a class-action lawsuit against 40 manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors of opioids in Canada.

The Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act would allow the province to join a lawsuit started in 2018 in B.C. to recover costs from opioid-related health issues. It will pursue claims against drug manufacturer Purdue Pharma — widely known for mass production of Oxycontin — which filed for bankruptcy last year.

Justice Minister Cliff Cullen said Thursday that the Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act would help the province "take on the pharmaceutical companies that have created such significant and ongoing harm."

Similar legislation has also been passed in British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia.

Manitobans can now fully use the COVID Alert app, which notifies users if they have been around someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, and will be given a key to enter into the app should they test positive.

Anyone who tests positive in the province will be given a one-time key code, which they can enter into the app and it will notify other app users may have come in close contact with that person for at least 15 minutes. The app, which is available for free on the App Store and the Google Play Store, keeps your identity confidential and does not track your location.

While the COVID Alert app has been available in the province since its release on July 31, it was not immediately rolled out to all provinces. Over three million Canadians have downloaded the app and 500 have voluntarily entered a key code to notify others they have been in close contact with someone COVID-19 positive.

An employee at the McDonald’s located at 1501 St. Mary’s Rd. has tested positive for COVID-19.

The employee, who worked their last shift on Sept. 24 from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., disclosed they had tested positive on Sept. 30. According to a news release from the fast food chain sent at 9:30 p.m. that day, the restaurant closed for sanitization.

The restaurant has since reopened, a spokeswoman said early Thursday.