News briefs for Thursday, March 20, 2025

Olympiens force Game 3

7:45 PM

The Collège Jeanne-Sauvé Olympiens staved off elimination with a 3-2 victory over the Glenlawn Lions in Game 2 of the Manitoba Women’s High School Hockey League final at Seven Oaks Arena on Thursday.

Payton Durand scored a hat-trick for the Olympiens. Delainey and Vayda Rigaux had the replies for Glenlawn. Game 3 goes Friday at Seven Oaks at 4:15 p.m.

Natural gas customers to see smaller bills 

4:07 PM

Natural gas customers will see a significant change on their Manitoba Hydro bills after this month.

There will be no federal carbon charge on natural gas starting April 1 after newly installed Prime Minister Mark Carney cut the consumer carbon tax to zero per cent last week. The Public Utilities Board later authorized removing the charge for Manitoba Hydro gas customers.

The charges will apply to any gas used before April 1 and will show up in the next billing cycle. A typical Manitoba household paid about $338 in federal carbon charges on natural gas for 2024, Manitoba Hydro said in a news release Thursday.

Manitoba Hydro has about 298,000 natural gas customers.

Driver tried to run woman over, rammed RCMP vehicles: police

2:09 PM

A man was arrested after he allegedly tried to run over his partner in a domestic violence incident in Selkirk.

RCMP in the city were sent to an area near a local business at about 11:45 p.m. Wednesday and found a 39-year-old Selkirk woman. The woman, who was not injured, told officers a Selkirk man who is known to police was driving intoxicated, tried to run her over and left.

Officers found the vehicle and tried to stop it, but the driver rammed two police vehicles and sped off, RCMP said. Officers did not chase him because of concern for public safety, the release said.

Patrols later found the vehicle on Breezy Point Road and arrested the 36-year-old driver.

He is charged with flight from police, dangerous driving, assault with a weapon and three counts of assault on a police officer. He remains in custody, RCMP said Thursday.

Chacaby memoir, published by U of M Press, wins Canada Reads

1:50 PM

A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder, by Ma-Nee Chacaby with Mary Louisa Plummer, has won this year’s edition of CBC literary show Canada Reads.

Published in 2016 by University of Manitoba Press, A Two-Spirit Journey beat out the novel Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew in the final round of the show on March 20. Chacaby’s memoir details how, as an Ojibwa-Cree lesbian who grew up in a remote northern Ontario community, she moved beyond abuse and alcohol addiction to become a counsellor as well as leading Thunder Bay’s first gay pride parade.

Canada Reads sees five books in contention for the top book of the annual program, with each title championed by a notable fan. Each day a book is eliminated until only one remains. The theme of this year’s show was “one book to change the narrative.”

Chacaby’s book was championed by Shayla Stonechild, founder of the Matriarch Movement wellness podcast. Chacaby and Stonechild will be at Merchants Corner (541 Selkirk Ave.) on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. for a reading and conversation hosted by Michael Redhead Champagne. Admission is free; to reserve a spot at the event, see wfp.to/WO6.

Man charged in restaurant incident

12:34 PM

A man has been charged after he allegedly threatened staff members at a downtown restaurant Wednesday.

The Winnipeg Police Service said the man demanded food and alcohol at an establishment on the 300 block of Main Street at about 5 p.m.

He began acting belligerently and did not have the means to pay, the WPS said in a news release Thursday.

“When denied further service, he grabbed a knife and threatened the staff,” the release said.

Some off-duty WPS officers who were dining intervened and arrested a 33-year-old Winnipeg man. He is charged with robbery and fraudulently obtaining food or lodging. He was detained in custody.

Stranger punched in random attack downtown

12:13 PM

A man attacked a stranger who told him he didn’t have a cigarette and then threatened a stranger who tried to intervene at knifepoint, police say.

Officers were sent to the 300 block of Edmonton Street at about 10:35 p.m. Wednesday.

Police said Thursday that the attacker, after being told by a man in his 60s that he did not have a cigarette, turned around, confronted the victim and began punching him.

A man in his 50s tried to intervene. The attacker threatened the second man and fled, the WPS said in a news release Thursday.

While speaking with the victims, officers spotted a suspect walking nearby and arrested him on Kennedy Street.

The first victim suffered minor injuries and declined medical treatment, the WPS said.

A 32-year-old Winnipeg man is charged with four offences, including robbery. He was detained in custody.

Man from Mexico found slain on North End street

11:17 AM

Police are investigating the city’s latest homicide after a man was found dead outside a home Monday morning.

Officers were sent to the 300 block of Pritchard Avenue at 10:30 a.m. An autopsy determined the man’s death was a homicide.

The Winnipeg Police Service identified the victim’s as 28-year-old Diego Moscoza or Moscoza Jiminez, a Mexican citizen who had been living in Manitoba for the past two years.

Moscoza is known to police. WPS spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon couldn’t say what Moscoza was doing in Winnipeg but said he previously lived in the U.S.

Homicide investigators are asking anyone who might have had contact with the victim this month to contact them at 204-986-6508, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS) or online.

Humane society names new CEO

10:06 AM

The Winnipeg Humane Society has chosen its next chief executive officer.

Christina Von Schindler, who will begin work May 1, has been a member of the organization’s board of directors since 2023.

Von Schindler is chief privacy officer for Shared Health and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and previously served in leadership roles with Sara Riel and the Society for Manitobans with Disabilities, which is now called Manitoba Possible.

“Christina brings an exceptional combination of expertise, dedication and compassion to her new role as CEO,” humane society board chairman Howard Almdal said in a news release Thursday.

“Her passion for animal welfare and her commitment to community care strongly aligns with the values of the WHS. We are confident that her leadership will be instrumental in strengthening the WHS’ strategic pillars, enabling us to expand our impact and continue creating meaningful change for animals and the community we serve.”

Melissa Rogers, the society’s chief administrative officer, was appointed interim CEO on Nov. 15 after Jessica Miller “stepped down… effective immediately.”

Brandon police officer charged with assault in 2023 incident

9:52 AM

A Brandon Police Service officer has been charged with assault causing bodily harm after the province’s police watchdog investigated a 2023 incident.

Const. Brett Long was issued a summons Wednesday, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba said in a news release Thursday.

Police were contacted about a woman causing a disturbance in the area of 1st Street and Cornwallis Crescent late on Aug. 25 of that year. Officers arrested a woman and took her home.  

The woman filed a complaint about injuries she suffered during the arrest a few days later, on Aug. 31. The BPS learned on Sept. 15 that she had suffered a broken collarbone and contacted the IIU. The IIU notified the public about the incident on Sept. 26.