News briefs for Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Province warns of more potential measles exposures

3:26 PM

Manitoba public health officials have issued a warning about two new sites where people could have been exposed to measles recently.

The two locations are:

• Winkler Medical Clinic at 2-344 First St., Winkler, on Dec. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Access Event Centre at 111-D Gilmour St., Morden, on Dec. 15 from 4 to 9:30 p.m.

Anyone who was at the locations during the exposure times should monitor for symptoms through the first week of January. They should also ensure they are up-to-date with the measles vaccine, the province said Tuesday.

Measles is a highly infectious disease that spreads through coughing and sneezing. Symptoms generally appear seven to 21 days after exposure and include fever, runny nose, drowsiness, irritability and red eyes.

Several days after the initial symptoms, a red blotchy rash appears on the face and progresses down the body.

Police stop 36 impaired drivers in third week of checkstop campaign

2:32 PM

The Winnipeg Police Service stopped 1,183 vehicles during the third week of its annual holiday checkstop campaign.

Thirty-six of the drivers stopped between Dec. 15 and Sunday were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the WPS said Tuesday. Twelve were given an immediate roadside prohibition for failing a breathalyzer, one failed a drug-screening test and 21 were given a warning based on their blood-alcohol level. Two were charged criminally with impaired driving.

Every driver stopped at a checkstop is required to provide a breath sample, while drug-screening equipment will be used to check for cannabis impairment, the WPS said.

The campaign will continue until New Year’s Day.

Breast cancer screening for those 45 and older to begin Jan. 2

1:58 PM

The province has officially lowered the self-referral breast-cancer screening age to 45 and will begin accepting appointments Jan. 2, 2026.

The NDP government made good on its promise to expand early detection and follow recommendations from advocates, the province said in a news release Tuesday.

In September 2024, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced the government would lower the breast cancer screening age from 50 to 45 by the end of 2025, and eventually, lower it to 40.

CancerCare Manitoba has hired seven new mammographers to address the increased demand for screenings, the release said. Asagwara has previously said the province would need at least 13 to support the need for screenings.

Recruitment for more mammographers is underway, the release said.

For information on screening locations, visit the website. To book an appointment call 1-855-952-4325.

Hepatitis A outbreak threatens northern Manitoba communities

1:09 PM

The provincial government is expanding access to hepatitis A vaccinations, amid an outbreak of the virus in northern Manitoba.

Free vaccines are being offered to people living in the Island Lake area — including community members from the Garden Hill, St. Theresa Point, Wasagamack and Red Sucker Lake First Nations.

The vaccine eligibility includes anybody who lives in the region or is travelling to work there, and people who might have household visitors from those communities. People aged six months and older can safely take the vaccine, the province said in a news release Tuesday.

Hepatitis A is a serious liver infection which can include symptoms of fever, nausea, vomiting and jaundice. While the infection can be minor in some cases, people with weakened immune systems or chronic diseases can experience symptoms for months.

The province had tracked 215 cases of hepatitis A infections associated with the ongoing outbreak as of Dec. 11. It said the overall risk to the general public is low.

Bank robbery foiled after teller spots “clearly fake” gun: RCMP

11:35 AM

An attempted robbery in The Pas was foiled on Dec. 19, when a bank teller refused to be intimidated by a suspect armed with a fake gun.

Mounties responded to a bank in the community shortly after 1 p.m., after receiving reports of an armed robbery in progress, RCMP said in a news release Tuesday.

“Information provided to police was that a male suspect had entered the bank, displayed a firearm and demanded money from the teller,” the release said.

“The teller noted that the firearm being held was clearly a fake and refused to provide any money to the suspect and then called police.”

Officers confronted the suspect who had just entered the vestibule and placed him under arrest after a brief struggle.

A 38-year-old man from Mathias Colomb Cree Nation was charged with robbery and failing to comply with a probation order. He was released with a court date on Jan. 19, RCMP said.

WPS to receive cash from proceeds of crime

10:59 AM

Cash from criminals is financing the fight against crime, with the Manitoba government giving $644,000 from the criminal property forfeiture fund to the Winnipeg Police Service.

“The Criminal Property Forfeiture Fund redirects the proceeds of crime to community initiatives that help create stronger law enforcement organizations and safer communities across the province,” Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said in a news release Tuesday.

“Providing the Winnipeg Police Service with CPF funding is an important government investment in the safety of all Winnipeggers and those who work tirelessly to protect us.”

The fund is composed of cash and proceeds from the sale of criminal property seized in Manitoba.

WPS will use the money to train and equip members with ballistic safety shields and long-range less-lethal weapons; provide emotional survival training; buy an inflatable shelter for the underwater search and recovery unit; buy new equipment for crisis negotiators; and purchase a van for Salvation Army outreach teams.

The funding will also help train WPS aerial surveillance pilots and investigators working on sex crimes, missing persons, unidentified remains, pedestrian collisions, cyber crimes and cryptocurrency.

Police divers recover body of missing Lake of the Woods ice fisher

9:29 AM

Winnipeg Police Service divers have found the body of a 71-year-old man whose off-road vehicle went through the ice on Lake of the Woods last week.

RCMP were contacted about a missing 71-year-old man from Buffalo Point First Nation shortly before 9 p.m. on Dec. 16. He had driven to his ice-fishing shack on Buffalo Bay, near Manitoba’s borders with Ontario and Minnesota, in a side-by-side utility-terrain vehicle earlier that day.

The shack is about five kilometres north of the Buffalo Point marina, RCMP said last week.

Mounties could not search the ice due to the conditions that night. Using a drone the next day, they found tracks headed to the shack and then to a pressure ridge — a pileup of ice fragments.

RCMP called in Winnipeg police to assist, as the Mounties’ dive team had already deployed north to search for two others who were presumed dead after their truck went through ice on Cedar Lake last week.

WPS divers recovered the man’s body on Friday.

Winnipeg man accused of publishing child sex abuse images

8:47 AM

A Winnipeg man accused of publishing images of child sexual abuse on an online platform has been arrested.

Winnipeg Police Service internet child exploitation investigators took the man into custody on Friday at his home on the 100 block of Nassau Street North in Osborne Village.

Officers with a search warrant, using a specially trained police dog, located several hard drives which have been sent for analysis.

The 31-year-old has been charged with several offences related to publishing, possessing and accessing child sex abuse materials. He was released on conditions barring access to the internet and to anyone under 18.

The investigation began after the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children discovered videos and images of child sex abuse had been uploaded online between October last year and February this year.

The centre traced the I.P. address to Winnipeg. The centre tipped RCMP, who then advised Winnipeg police.