News briefs for October 15, 2020

Long Plain Chief Dennis Meeches says COVID-19 has affected members of his First Nation, which is southwest of Portage.

He said the cases involve people who live in one home.

“We’re taking all the necessary steps that we need to take to protect the safety of the public,” he told CTV Winnipeg Thursday.

Christ the King School confirmed to parents and guardians of students Thursday that two individuals who had tested positive for COVID-19 were present at the school on Oct. 14 and may have been infectious at the time.

Public health officials say it is unlikely that the two individuals were infected while at the school, and no close contacts have been identified yet.

Within a 24 hours of announcing the COVID-19 swab course, Red River College has racked up a waitlist of people who want to sign-up. 

On Wednesday, the province and college announced a partnership to provide eligible health-care students and professionals with a “micro-credential” course to train to safely use a nasal swab to collect COVID-19 samples at test sites. 

College spokesman Conor LLoyd said Thursday all three sections — 90 student spaces in total — of the course are now full. The college plans to keep everyone informed as it adds additional sections, LLoyd said in an email. 

Students who pass the continuing education course, which is being provided through blended delivery, will be added to a pool of qualified candidates who can staff testing sites. The first course starts next week. 

OTTAWA — The Trudeau government will give Manitoba ranchers up to $2.5 million to compensate for pandemic-related delays in getting cows to slaughter.

Ottawa will give cattle owners $1.20 per day per animal that was ready for slaughter between mid-April and August, as ranchers awaited abattoirs.

During that period, slaughterhouses across Canada slowed down or suspended operations, due to COVID-19 outbreaks in meat-packing plants and disruptions to the North American supply chain.

“COVID-19 forced a bottleneck in our processing plants and a backup in demand that caused stress and added costs on our cattle producers,” reads a Thursday statement attributed to federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau.

“Our government is directly helping Manitoba cattle producers with added costs they faced during this unprecedented time.”

Melita RCMP have arrested a man after a search warrant at a residence in the RM of Brenda-Waskada on Oct. 14 resulted in the seizure of several weapons, methamphetamine, ecstasy and drug paraphernalia.

Regan Breemersch, 27, was already on conditions for several firearm-related offences due to a search warrant executed at his home in April. He has been charged with five counts of weapons-related offences, trafficking a controlled substance and failing to comply with a release order.

A Winnipeg woman reported missing in early October has been safely located, police say.

Cheyenne Pacey, 27, hadn’t been seen in more than two weeks.

Bloodvein RCMP are asking for public assistance in locating 46-year-old Charles Keith Littlechief, who was reported missing on Oct. 14 and last seen in Eriksdale on Oct. 9.

Littlechief, who is from Bloodvein, has not returned to the area since. He is described as 5-foot-6, 220 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information regarding Littlechief’s whereabouts should contact Bloodvein RCMP at 204-395-2311 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

The province is launching a campaign encouraging Manitobans to get their flu shot this fall, and it kicked off with Dr. Brent Roussin giving Premier Brian Pallister the vaccine at a news conference Thursday.

The campaign encourages Manitobans to "Add a Layer This Fall" by getting the influenza vaccine,which will protect people and help the province navigate what will be an especially difficult flu season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The province has increased its order of influenza vaccinations by 20 per cent, and providers will ideally have their full shipments within the next few weeks. High-dose influenza vaccines are also available for residents 65 and older that fit under criteria that was increased this year, including those who are living on a First Nation or remote community and residents of supportive and assisted living housing.

More Manitobans got their flu shot than ever last year, with 26.3 per cent of Manitobans registered with Manitoba Health receiving the vaccine.

The Canada West conference announced Thursday the cancellation of the basketball, volleyball, hockey and wrestling seasons owing to COVID-19 concerns.

Decisions on the staging of 2020-21 CW championships in curling, track & field, and swimming have been deferred to a later date.

Parkview Place personal care home staff working in the COVID-19 unit will get a pay boost and access to N95 masks and respirators after their union filed a grievance over unsafe working conditions.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2039 filed a grievance and met with Parkview Place officials on Oct. 14 to discuss their concerns, and the employer agreed to offer staff a $2/hour pay raise until the outbreak is over, retroactive to Sept. 15.

N95 masks and respirators, which were previously only given to staff after a risk assessment, will now be given to all staff in the COVID-19 unit, according to a union news release issued Thursday.

Nine Parkview Place residents have died of COVID-19, and there has been a spike in cases among residents and staff.

The province announced 173 new COVID-19 cases today, and another death.

The 38th person to die of the virus was a man in his 40s in the Winkler district, chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said today. The man who died was a previously announced case with underlying medical conditions, Roussin said.

Of the 173 new COVID-19 cases reported in Manitoba today, most (133) are in Winnipeg, followed by the Southern Health region (23), Prairie Mountain (8), Interlake Eastern (6) and Northern Health (3). 

The five-day test positivity rate in Manitoba is 4.9 per cent. 

A cyber security breach has resulted in the theft of about $447,000 from the Municipality of Westlake-Gladstone’s bank account.

The municipality, in a statement earlier this week, said several electronic withdrawals of $9,950 were made from its account at the Stride Credit Union during late December 2019 through the Christmas holiday season. The municipality says it has never used online banking for withdrawals or transfers of money.

The municipality says it contacted the credit union and the RCMP but, while it made a claim to its insurance company to cover the losses, the claim has been rejected so far.

Police have charged three people after a home invasion and armed robbery in the 500 block of Stella Avenue Wednesday morning.

Mary Frances Chartrand, 38, and Nikki Anne Cook, 31, have both been charged with armed robbery; use of an imitation firearm while committing and indictable offence; assault with a weapon; and possession of a firearm knowing it is unauthorized and possession of a firearm contrary to a prohibition order. Both Chartrand and Cook are from Winnipeg and are in custody.

An unnamed 27-year-old male, also from Winnipeg, has been charged with armed robbery, use of an imitation firearm while committing and indictable offence and assault with a weapon. He was released on an undertaking.

A plan to offer free bus rides to Winnipeg kids under age 12 is rolling forward.

Council’s public works committee cast a Thursday vote in favour of letting those children ride the bus for free, starting on Jan. 1, 2021. If council also approves the change, kids would be required to travel with a paying customer but wouldn’t need a special pass or identification to claim free rides.

Council previously approved $1.3 million in operating costs and another $1.3 million in capital funding to support the change.

Winnipeg Transit already offers free rides to kids of ages five and under.

Portage la Prairie RCMP responded to a report of a man who had broken into a residence on Westco Drive and was threatening people at 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

The suspect fled from the scene, but the description of him matched the description of a suspect from earlier in the day who had fled from police following an assault.

The Mounties tracked the suspect to a residence on Baker Avenue, where the suspect had “entered a tunnel under the house in an attempt to evade arrest.” Police determined the suspect had gotten stuck in the tunnel.

Police helped the suspect out of the tunnel and arrested him. The 25-year-old man is facing four criminal charges. He’s been detained in custody.

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Manitoba RCMP has launched an online crime reporting system for non-emergency incidents on a trial basis. 

The trial program goes into effect Thursday, with communities policed by Mountie detachments in Selkirk, Red River North and Grand Marais eligible.

Other surrounding communities will be eligible as well. 

People will be able to report the following crimes online under the trial program:

• Damage/mischief to property under $5,000
• Theft of bicycle under $5,000
• Theft under $5,000
• Theft from vehicle under $5,000
• Lost property

Manitoba chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin will hold a press conference Thursday to launch the province’s influenza immunization program.

The press conference is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at the Manitoba Legislative Building and will be streamed live. 

The Town of Altona has voted in favour of allowing the licensed sale of cannabis within town limits. The municipality held a plebiscite on the matter Wednesday. 

Voter turnout was roughly 34 per cent of the population, or 1,155 people; 692 people voted in favour of approving the licensed sale of cannabis.