News briefs for October 7, 2020

The city reported two gas leaks on Wednesday.

Around 4 p.m., firefighters responded to a report of a gas leak in the 1000 block of Coulter Avenue.

Crews found a high level of natural gas in the area, which was caused by a city excavation crew. Nearby commercial buildings were evacuated and Manitoba Hydro crews ventilated gas into the atmosphere. No one was hurt

At noon, firefighters responded to a gas leak in the 300 block of Lindenwoods Drive West. Crews found high levels of natural gas in the area, which is under construction. Seven homes were evacuated and Manitoba Hydro crews cut off the leak.

Right-winger Connor McClennon of the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice was chosen in the sixth round (178th overall) by the Philadelphia Flyers on Day 2 of the 2020 NHL Draft Wednesday.

The high-scoring 18-year-old from Wainwright, Alta., had 21 goals and 49 points in 42 games last season before being sidelined with a broken collarbone.

One man faces impaired driving charges after a two-vehicle collision in Rossburn, RCMP said.

Rossburn RCMP were patrolling the area around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday when they encountered a two-vehicle collision on Highway 264, near the junction of Highway 45 in Rossburn.

RCMP determined that an SUV was attempting to turn south onto Highway 264 when it struck a car heading north. When the officer arrived and began speaking to people on-scene, the SUV driver returned to his vehicle and tried to drive away, RCMP said. 

The driver pressed the accelerator but was in park, RCMP said. The officer determined the driver was impaired, and he was taken into custody while an investigation began. 

A 69-year-old Rossburn man from Rossburn faces charges of operation of motor vehicle while impaired and failure or refusal to comply with demand. He has been released and is expected to appear in court in Rossburn in December.

A 78-year-old Winnipeg man is dead after colliding head-on with a vehicle while driving the wrong way on the Perimeter Highway.

The man was driving a vehicle eastbound in the westbound lane on the Perimeter between Henderson Highway and Main Street when it struck a vehicle being driven by a 21-year-old Stony Mountain man on Tuesday at 11:40 p.m. The two vehicles were then struck by a semi-trailer being driven by a 41-year-old Winnipeg man, RCMP said.

The 78-year-old was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead there while the 21-year-old had serious but non-life threatening injuries. The trucker was not injured.

RCMP are continuing to investigate.

Several restrictions contained in a new public health order affecting licensed establishments in Winnipeg begin today.

As of 6 p.m., restrictions include reduced service hours for serving liquor and seating patrons, and restaurants must collect contact information for groups of 10 people. People must also be prevented from moving tables or chairs and have to stay seated while at their table. 

Full details are available at here. 

Public health has advised two school communities about possible exposures to COVID-19. 

The first exposure is at École Charleswood School in Winnipeg on Sept. 24 and 25, and Sept. 28 to 30. Public health is getting in touch with close contacts to advise self-isolation and a cohort of students is moving to remote learning. 

The second exposure is at St. John’s-Ravenscourt in Winnipeg on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, 2 and 6. Officials say there is no evidence of transmission within the school or that a case was acquired there. One class will self-monitor for symptoms and public health is advising close contacts to self-isolate.  

A new outbreak has been declared at Metropolitan Kiwanis Courts in Winnipeg. A cluster has been identified at the assisted living facility in Silver Heights and the site is moving to restricted (orange) on the provincial pandemic response system. 

The COVID-19 outbreak at Hillcrest Place personal care home in Brandon has been declared over and the site is at caution on pandemic response system.

A Winnipeg police car crashed with another vehicle Wednesday at 12:03 p.m. in the area of Inkster Boulevard and Salter Street. 

Two police officers were taken to hospital for precautionary reasons due to minor injuries. The driver of the other vehicle declined medical attention.

The car was driving at a normal speed and not responding to a call at the time of the accident, a police spokesman said in a written statement.   

The province announced three additional deaths due to COVID-19 Wednesday, bringing the total number of Manitobans who died from the disease since March to 27. 

Public health officials also reported 32 new cases of COVID-19 and a five-day test positivity rate of 2.4 per cent. 

According to the province, the deaths include a female in her 90s from Winnipeg who was a resident at Parkview Place Personal Care Home, a man in his 70s from Winnipeg, and a man in his 60s from Stonewall who was connected to a communal living community.

Twenty-two new cases were reported in Winnipeg, two cases in Prairie Mountain, three cases in Southern Health and five cases in the Interlake-Eastern health regions. 

As of Wednesday, there were 803 active cases and 25 people in hospital. Six are in intensive care. 

The province said 2,395 tests were completed on Tuesday.

Brandonite Daemon Hunt, a defenceman with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, was chosen in the third round, 65th overall, of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild Wednesday afternoon.

He is the third Manitoban chosen thus far in the draft, following Winnipeg’s Seth Jarvis and Clear Lake’s Tristen Robins.

Public service workers and employees at Crown-corporations who use government issued phones will be encouraged to use the COVID-19 exposure notification app, COVID Alert.

On Wednesday, the government will send a notification to people with compatible devices to download the app. Employees can choose whether to installl COVID Alert. 

The federally developed app uses Bluetooth technology to detect when users are near each other. If a user tests positive for COVID-19, they can choose to let other users know about potential exposure risk without sharing any personal information.

The Health Canada COVID Alert app is available for free in the Apple and Google Play app store. For more information, click here.

Clear Lake’s Tristen Robins became the second Manitoban selected in the 2020 NHL draft on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old centre from the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades was chosen in the second round (56th overall) by the San Jose Sharks. Robins’ father Trevor Robins was a goaltender in the Sharks’ minor-league system in the early 1990s.

Winnipeg police are investigating an assault that sent a man to hospital in critical condition.

Police responded to a residence on the 200 block of Austin Street North at 3:47 a.m. Oct. 7 where they found an injured man in his 30s. He was taken to hospital where his condition was upgraded to unstable.

Anyone with information about the attack is asked to contact investigators at 204-986-6219.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and First Nations Family Advocate Office will hold an ongoing relay fast outside the Manitoba legislature to oppose a clause in the provincial government’s Budget Implementation Tax Statutes Act .

Grand Chief Arlen Dumas, joined at a press conference by representatives from the Manitoba NDP and Manitoba Liberal Party, denounced section 84 of the bill, which would allow the government legal protection against a $338 million lawsuit filed by First Nations children in care.

The lawsuit came as a response to clawbacks to Child and Family Services that denied youth and children in care access to the Child Tax Credit, or Children’s Special Allowance.

The fast, headed by Dumas, will continue until a decision is made on Bill 34.

The City of Winnipeg’s overall deficit is now expected to hit $30.3 million by the end of 2020, which includes a notable shortfall from Winnipeg Transit.

After ridership levels plummeted due to COVID-19, Transit now expects to complete the year with a shortfall of $32.4 million, based ondata as of Aug. 31.

While federal funding could cover some of the city’s losses, the municipal government has not factored that in to its finances, noting discussions over the final amount are still underway.

The Winnipeg Jets have added a Swedish winger to their prospect pool.

Daniel Torgersson was picked 40th overall in the second round of the NHL draft Wednesday morning. The 6-3, 205-pound left-winger is playing with Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League. 

Barring any trades, the Jets have two more picks today: 133rd overall in the fifth round, and 164th overall in the 6th round. Winnipeg took Canadian centre Cole Perfetti 10th-overall in Tuesday’s first-round. 

The Winnipeg Jets have locked up a big part of their blue-line.

Dylan DeMelo signed a four-year contract on Wednesday morning that will pay him an average annual salary of $3 million per season.

The 27-year-old was a pending unrestricted free agent who could have joined any NHL club as of Friday. But the Jets made a bold move to keep him after acquiring him in a trade last February with the Ottawa Senators, in exchange for a third-round draft pick.

He played on the top defensive pairing with Josh Morrissey, bolstering a blue-line that suffered significant losses in Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot.

Highway 101 has re-opened after a multi-vehicle collision on the Red River bridge caused the highway to be shut down overnight.

At approximately 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, RCMP Headingly received a report of a vehicle moving the wrong way in traffic on Highway 101 near McPhillips Road, RCMP said Wednesday.

Upon arrival, RCMP found a serious multi-vehicle collision on the Red River bridge. The highway was closed for several hours but re-opened around 8:00 a.m. Wednesday.

RCMP will provide further information later on Wednesday.

A new case of COVID-19 has been identified in an École Charleswood School class.

An email sent to parents Tuesday night said families and teachers of that class have been contacted by Manitoba Health and asked to self-quarantine for 14 days. A letter from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said someone who might have been infectious was at the school Sept. 24-25 and Sept. 28-30.

Students in the affected class will work remotely for the next 14 days, the school said, and Manitoba Public Health will follow up with affected families.