News briefs for Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Hydro gas workers ratify contract

3:57 PM

A new contract for about 225 front-line gas workers at Manitoba Hydro was ratified Tuesday.

Wages for the workers, who are with Local 681, will increase up to 14.5 per cent over the three-year contract when factoring in a skilled-trades adjustment. Other contract highlights include a signing bonus of up to $1,800 and “improved overtime pay,” Unifor said.

Unifor said the workers voted 90 per cent in favour of strike action on Feb. 3 after bargaining reached an impasse. Negotiating resumed, and the workers did not go on strike.

Four MPI claims so far in 2025 for vehicles falling through ice

3:21 PM

Four claims have been made so far this year for vehicles that fell through the ice, Manitoba Public Insurance says.

MPI said 22 such claims were made in 2024. The Crown corporation held a news conference at St. Vital Park’s boat launch Wednesday afternoon to warn people about the danger of thinning ice as the spring thaw begins.

Spring officially begins Thursday morning.

Man caught making gun: police 

1:29 PM

A man has been charged after officers found a man making what was believed to be a homemade gun.

Police were doing “proactive” work in an area with concerns regarding gang- and drug-related crime when they went into a building on the 500 block of Furby Street at about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Officers heard a loud machine-drilling sound from a storage room and saw a man with the machine. He was in possession of .22-calibre bullets and a metal tube, believed to be for the purpose of a “zip gun,” the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Wednesday.

A 28-year-old Winnipeg man is facing weapons charges. He was detained in custody.

Shotgun fired in Dufferin dispute 

12:28 PM

A man fired a sawed-off shotgun into the air during a dispute on Dufferin Avenue early Tuesday.

Police were sent to a home on the 500 block at about 6:45 a.m. and found two men in a “heated” argument with people from the home.

The two men fled on foot when they saw the officers, the Winnipeg Police Service said Wednesday.

One of the men dropped a duffel bag with the butt of a loaded sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun sticking out of it, the WPS said. Police seized the gun and a shell and arrested two men.

Investigators were told a man was at the home earlier that morning when he was told to leave after an argument. He returned a short time later with another man, the WPS said.

Two Winnipeg men, ages 35 and 32, have been charged. Both were detained in custody.

Gun fired in home invasion

12:08 PM

Two men fired a gun and discharged bear spray during a home invasion late Monday night.

Police were called after shots were heard on the first 100 block of Battery Street at about 11:45 p.m. Officers were told a confrontation broke out after two men, who knew some of the people inside, entered the home.

No one was hurt.

One suspect was still inside when police arrived, and officers arrested another nearby. Two Winnipeg men, ages 35 and 20, have been charged with multiple offences. Both were detained in custody.

Man killed in Highway 8 crash

11:36 AM

A man is dead after a single-vehicle crash on Highway 8 early Wednesday.

Selkirk RCMP were sent to the intersection with Road 85 North in the Rural Municipality of St. Andrews at about 1 a.m. and saw a vehicle in the highway’s west ditch.

A 44-year-old Fraserwood man, the only person inside the vehicle, was pronounced dead after emergency crews arrived.

The driver was not wearing his seatbelt, RCMP said in a news release.

Riverview Community Centre gets nearly $1M in funds 

11:28 AM

Riverview Community Centre is getting nearly $925,000 from the federal government to replace aging mechanical systems, and inside and outside components.

The centre, located at 90 Ashland Ave., is getting $924,079 through the federal Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program. The City of Winnipeg is contributing another $53,677.

The enhancements are expected to reduce the centre’s energy consumption by nearly 31 per cent.