Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 18, 2013, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A9 winnipegfreepress. com MANITOBA WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013 A 9 BUILDING IN THESE FINE COMMUNITIES: 204.231.8118 .. info@ discoveryliving. ca .. discoveryliving. ca PARTNERING WITH YOU TO BUILD THE HOME OF YOUR DREAMS. Furniture . Windows . Doors & More 289 King Street . 204- 946- 0729 New, factory overruns, discontinued stock and more. Save now on windows and doors for your summer project! Winnipeg's best kept shopping secret. Mon- Fri 8: 30- 5: 00 . Sat 9: 00- 3: 00 . Closed Sun www. tagwarehouse. ca M A FEDERAL cabinet minister has vowed to intervene to ensure Misty Lake Lodge receives the millions its owed for housing flood evacuees, but the Gimli hotel owner is skeptical. Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt assured his provincial counterpart, Eric Robinson, he would intervene to ensure lodge owner Michael Bruneau is paid more than $ 3 million owed to him, Robinson said Wednesday. " He assured me that the federal government is going to be addressing the issue of the outstanding amount of money owed to the Misty Lake Lodge. And he's going to be dealing with the Manitoba Association of Native Firefighters ( MANFF) on that issue," Robinson said. Bruneau said this week he will close the business Sept. 1 because he's been unable to collect the outstanding debt from the federal government through its agent, the Manitoba Association of Native Fire Fighters. The impending closure raises concern flood evacuees from Lake St. Martin and Little Saskatchewan First Nations will again be uprooted. By all accounts, they were being treated well by the hotel and some residents had found jobs in Gimli. All were forced to flee their homes in the spring of 2011 due to flooding. The federal and provincial governments, along with the First Nations, are still working on a permanent resettlement plan. In a joint statement, Valcourt and Robinson promised evacuees at Misty Lake Lodge they would work to ensure they continue to receive food, shelter and other services. " No one will be without shelter should Misty Lake Lodge close," the ministers said in the statement. Bruneau, who has received federal assurances before, only to see his hopes of payment dashed, said he will believe it when he sees it. " I don't believe ( anything) now," he said Wednesday, adding he's received no word from either level of government or MANFF that the outstanding bills, dating back to last fall, will be covered. As of Wednesday, Misty Lake Lodge hosted a few dozen flood evacuees. At one time, as many as 180 lived at the hotel. MANFF, which has provided services to flood evacuees on behalf of the federal government, has refused to comment on the outstanding hotel debt. The Manitoba government has been reluctantly drawn into the payment dispute because its Emergency Measures Organization acts as a kind of middle man between MANFF and the federal government. EMO reimburses MANFF for hoteland meal- expense claims submitted on behalf of the flood evacuees and the province, in turn, is reimbursed by Ottawa. Provincial officials say they are up to date in paying MANFF for all legitimate expenses it has submitted. Yet, Bruneau is still out millions of dollars. Ottawa is carrying out an audit of flood- evacuee expenses that will likely shed light on where the money has gone. The report is rumoured to be nearly completed. Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard said Wednesday the province can't wash its hands of the issue and pretend it's simply a dispute between Misty Lake and the feds and MANFF. " We don't know precisely where the mismanagement is, perhaps, but we know that there is a big problem here and we know that the province is right in the middle of it," Gerrard said. larry. kusch@ freepress. mb. ca JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES Children play at Misty Lake Lodge in the fall of 2012. The owner of the lodge expects he will be forced to shut down Sept. 1 because he says he is owed $ 3 million. Feds insist Gimli hotel will be reimbursed for evacuee costs By Larry Kusch A man who savagely beat a stranger on a summer night two years ago was given a five- year prison sentence Wednesday. Justice Christopher Mainella described Jerry Kondratiuk as a " violent offender. who was prepared to unleash his fury on strangers," in the July 27, 2011, attack. Kondratiuk pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for his role in the beating of a 51- year- old man on Main Street near Higgins Avenue. Mainella accepted the joint recommendation from Crown and defence counsel of a five- year sentence, with straight credit for the two years Kondratiuk spent in custody since his arrest, leaving him with three more years in prison. Crown prosecutor Cindy Sholdice said the victim had lost his glasses and was offering people a reward of $ 25 for anyone willing to help him find them. Kondratiuk confronted the man, demanded the $ 25 and then attacked him without provocation, Sholdice said, adding a correctional guard who was driving by saw Kondratiuk place the victim in a headlock, take him to the ground and repeatedly punch and kick him as the victim cried for help. " It was a savage and cruel act," Sholdice said of Kondratiuk's beating. " It was an unprovoked attack on a stranger." Sholdice said up to five other people who were walking by joined the attack, kicking and punching the victim as Kondratiuk held him down. Police responded to the correctional officer's 911 call and took the six attackers into custody. None of the people knew each other and all were intoxicated, including the victim. Sholdice said sentences for similar offences ranged from four to six years. Along with Kondratiuk, two other individuals were also charged for their role in the beating. One of the co- accused was given a four- year sentence this week and the other a sentence of two years less a day. " Decency was suspended for a period of time in this area of Winnipeg," Mainella said of the attack. The victim suffered a broken jaw and permanent damage to his hand. He suffers from paranoia and fears crowds. Kondratiuk was convicted in 2002 of aggravated sexual assault. He was deemed too violent to be eligible for early release and he served the entire sentence. - Aldo Santin Attack instigator gets 5 years for savage, cruel act A_ 09_ Jul- 18- 13_ FP_ 01. indd A9 7/ 17/ 13 10: 26: 32 PM ;