News briefs for December 3, 2020

Police say methamphetamine was likely an underlying factor in a woman’s decision to climb a crane in downtown Winnipeg on Tuesday. The 50-year-old woman has been charged with public mischief and an outstanding warrant.
 
The crane was at a construction site near Graham Avenue and Kennedy Street. Officers blocked off the area just before rush hour on Tuesday afternoon.
 
The woman climbed high above the ground, but first responders helped get the woman to a lower level of the crane where she was rescued. She was then transported to hospital in stable condition.
 
Police say the woman was arrested but has since been released from custody.

Seventeen Winnipeg agencies who work with the homeless will split $1.4 million in funding to help people experiencing homelessness this winter during the pandemic.

The agencies, which include 1 Just City, Ka Ni Kanichihk, Main Street Project, and Rossbrook House, are getting the funding to create initiatives to help homeless people deal with the effects of COVID-19.

For example, the funding allows 1 Just City to have a weekend drop-in, Ka Na Kanichihk to have a 24/7 safe space and COVID-19 community response, Main Street Project to have COVID-19 shelter cleaning and shelter diversion case work, and Rossbrook House to have 24/7 safe space.

The funding comes from the federal government’s creation of Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy with $236.7 million. Last month End Homelessness Winnipeg, with Service Canada and Reaching Home’s community advisory board, put out a call for projects.

Manitoba’s Independent Investigation Unit has closed an investigation into a man who died in custody of Winnipeg police, concluding that the police had acted appropriately in the situation.

Police arrested a 56-year-old man on April 16 2019 on two assault allegations. While the charges were processed, the man was placed in a holding room, where witnesses said he was later found by police having hanged himself and was unresponsive. He was sent to hospital and died shortly after.

The IIU’s investigation into the incident included six interviews with members of the Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service and designated nine WPS officers as witnesses. The report calls the level of expected care by police "closer to the minimal at best," it notes there was no evidence that any criminal law had occurred.

The report notes, however, that the IIU found there were missing recorded checks on the well-being of the man, no proper recording of a trip to the washroom the man took and the absence of video recording facilities within the district the man was held in.

An inquest into his death will be held under the Fatality Inquiries Act.

Provincial health officials announced 368 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 more deaths in Manitoba Thursday.

There are 9,130 active cases in Manitoba, with 357 people in hospital, 52 of them in intensive care.

The five-day test positivity rate is 13.1 in Manitoba, and 14.9 in Winnipeg.

The new deaths include:

• a man in his 30s from the Interlake–Eastern health region;  
• a man in his 50s from the Northern health region.

In the Southern Health region: 

• a man in his 50s and a woman in her 90s, both linked to the outbreak at the Menno Home; 
• two women in their 70s, one linked to an outbreak at Fernwood Place;  and
• a man in his 90s,

In Winnipeg, the deaths include:

• two men linked to the outbreak at Golden Links Lodge, one in his 90s and one in his 70s;
• a woman in her 80s;
• two women in their 90s, one of them linked to the outbreak at Maples Long Term Care Home.  

Of the new cases announced Thursday, 211 are in the Winnipeg health region, 57 in Southern Health; 21 in Interlake–Eastern; 31 in Prairie Mountain; and 48 in Northern Health.

Premier Brian Pallister announced Thursday that a dedicated COVID-19 rapid testing service will be piloted in Winnipeg for teachers this January. 

According to the provincial government, the pilot will coincide with the return to school following the winter break. However, few additional details were offered on Thursday.

The provincial government said it is also continuing to expand its rapid testing capacity throughout Manitoba. 

The government has also ordered $40-million worth of Songbird Hyris tests, which will increase capacity by 45,000 tests a month.

In the meantime, another 20 Abbott ID NOW tests have been deployed to communities in Manitoba. This is in addition to 13 units previously announced by the province. 

The new units have been sent to Boundary Trails, Portage la Prairie, Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Selkirk, Stonewall, Pine Falls, Gimli, Ashern, Dauphin, Neepawa , Virden,  Killarney, Russell and Thompson and The Pas.

These rapid tests will be prioritized for health-care providers and used to identify and contain outbreaks. 

In addition, the province said it has also purchased five ultra cold freezers capable of storing one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines awaiting Health Canada approval. The first freezer has arrived in the province and 20 portable units are on order. 

A RM of Gimli man has been charged with drug trafficking after RCMP found 27 kilograms of marijuana linked to organized crime during a traffic stop.

RCMP said officers with the force’s East District Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team made the seizure after stopping a vehicle on the Perimeter Highway in the RM of Rosser on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old driver was arrested and was released to appear in court later.

RCMP said the marijuana was being transported from Western Canada to be sold in the Interlake.

RCMP continue to investigate.

Two big-money bonspiels will likely be added to the curling ‘bubble’ in Calgary later this winter.

A pair of Grand Slam of Curling events — the Players’ Championship and Champions Cup — are being planned, to be staged at Winsport’s Canada Olympic Park. No dates have been finalized.

Curling Canada is already hosting the Scotties Tournament of Hearts women’s national championship, Brier men’s championship and Canadian mixed doubles championship, in addition the men’s worlds. Those events would last up to seven weeks — beginning Feb. 20 and remaining active until April 11.

The Slams would likely be held later in the spring.

The bubble is similar to the format the NHL used for its playoffs in Edmonton and Toronto, to ensure safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the second time in three weeks RCMP are looking for an armed robber who stole cash and cigarettes at the gas bar at the Pine Creek First Nation.

Winnipegosis RCMP said on Thursday that a lone male armed with a rifle walked into the gas bar on Tuesday at about 11:30 p.m., and demanded money and cigarettes.

The suspect fled on foot after he got the cash and cigarettes. The suspect was wearing a black jacket and balaclava and grey and blue work gloves.

RCMP said it was the second time in three weeks that a firearm was used during a robbery at the gas bar.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Winnipegosis RCMP at 204-656-7000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8471 or leave a secure tip online at www.Manitobacrimestoppers.com.

Manitoba’s premier is set to address the state of rapid testing in the province during a news conference this morning.

Brian Pallister will update the public on rapid testing during the COVID-19 pandemic at 11 a.m. during a live broadcast, the province announced Thursday morning.

Two dogs were killed in a house fire in the East Elmwood area Wednesday night, the City of Winnipeg said.

Firefighters were called to the blaze at the one-storey home in the 900 block of Consol Avenue shortly after 8:45 p.m. Wednesday and had the fire under control by about 9:30 p.m.

No people were inside the home. The cause of the fire is under investigation. No damage estimates were available.