Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 12, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A6 A 6 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2014 CANADA winnipegfreepress. com CLASSIFIED IS ON- LINE AT www. winnipegfreepress. com $ 99 APPLIANCES & UP REFURBISHED DISHWASHERS . STOVES . FREEZERS . FRIDGES . MICROWAVES . WASHERS/ DRYERS USED APPLIANCES WPG LARGEST SELECTION FREE 90 Day Warranty PROVENCHER APPLIANCE 316 DES MEURONS ST CALL 204- 237- 6868 126 MARION ST CALL 204- 504- 4403 4- 660 Osborne St. | 204- 475- 4250 oakwoodcafe. ca BREAKFAST SPECIAL Come in and enjoy our unbeatable breakfast special Monday - Friday 8: 00am- 10: 00am $ 4 44 ONLY plus taxes BAC O N' N EG GS Two pieces of crisp bacon, two eggs, potato wedges and toast Furniture . Windows . Doors & More 289 King Street . 204- 946- 0729 Winnipeg's best kept shopping secret. Mon- Fri 8: 30- 5: 00 . Sat 9: 00- 3: 00 . Closed Sun www. tagwarehouse. ca M New, factory seconds, and more. CLEARANCE ON NOW! Heel Spurs? Arch Pain? Proven relief with Shockwave Therapy! 204- 951- 6887 Unit 9- 1200 Waverley Street www. healthmedica. ca MPI, WCB and Insurance accepted A N organization of lawyers defending animal rights has filed a petition in an Argentine court on behalf of Arturo the polar bear. He's being " unlawfully deprived of his liberty" at Argentina's Mendoza Zoo, argues the Association of Professional Attorneys for the Rights of Animals. The association said the " unprecedented action" was taken when Arturo's South American zoo announced last week the polar bear couldn't leave for a zoo in Winnipeg and would be left there to languish. " They're not asking for freedom - they're asking for good conditions and to transfer Arturo to Assiniboine Park," said Maria Fernanda Arentes, the Winnipegger who spread the word about Arturo's plight. Last year, video of the arctic animal pacing back and forth in a substandard enclosure in a steamy South American zoo caused an uproar around the world. This past week, a group of lawyers came to his defence. " What they are trying to do is changing the law by setting precedents," said Arentes. " They're saying to the judge they think we don't have the right to keep this animal in this condition because animals have rights," said the Argentine expat. If their case is successful, " it will not be easy after this to openly exert abuse on animals like this." Last year, the International Polar Bear Conservation Centre in Winnipeg offered to move Arturo here, causing a backlash from some in Mendoza who said " pirates" were coming to take their bear. Last month, the Assiniboine Park Conservancy that runs the polar bear centre said it couldn't get a Canadian import permit for Arturo because the Mendoza Zoo officials didn't have the required medical records. Last week, Winnipeg zoo representatives met with Arturo's keepers via Skype and offered to go to Argentina and advise them on how to better care for the bear. Mendoza Zoo officials were reportedly considering it. Animal rights lawyers in Argentina are asking the court for Arturo's immediate transfer to the polar bear centre in Winnipeg or " some other place of similar characteristics in the world," a translation posted online said. They've turned up the heat on Arturo's keepers but Arentes doesn't expect the wheels of justice will move quickly. It's summertime in Argentina right now and courts grind to a halt with so many people on vacation, she said. Meanwhile, Arturo has to endure daytime highs of close to 40 C, she said. " This summer is very hot." carol. sanders@ freepress. mb. ca SCAN PAGE TO SEE ARTURO'S LIVING CONDITIONS CHILLIWACK, B. C. - A veteran British Columbia hang- glider pilot sentenced to jail after his passenger plummeted 300 metres to her death should never have missed several fundamental steps during a pre- launch safety check, a judge said Tuesday. William Jon Orders, 51, received a five- month jail sentence for criminal negligence causing death. Lenami Godinez Avila, 28, died on April 28, 2012, after she fell during a tandem flight across B. C.' s Fraser Valley. The court heard Orders didn't hook Godinez- Avila to the glider and also failed to conduct several tasks during a required safety check before launching. After he landed, he swallowed a memory card containing video of the incident. Had Orders performed those safety checks, Godinez- Avila's family would have been spared the heartbreak they now endure, said B. C. Supreme Court Judge Brian Joyce. " I do not accept the suggestion made... that what occurred here was merely a momentary loss of attention," Joyce told the court. " There is a clearly established procedure that is to be followed in conducting a tandem hang- gliding flight. ... Mr. Orders failed to do all of these things." Godinez- Avila was from Mexico and had lived in Canada for 10 years. She was working for B. C.' s Environment Ministry while studying at the University of British Columbia. The hang- gliding adventure was meant to be a celebration of Godinez- Avila's anniversary with her boyfriend. Her father, Miguel Godinez, who was in court to watch the proceedings, said the sentence didn't go far enough. " I think it was a very light sentence," he told reporters outside the courthouse in Chilliwack, east of Vancouver. " I don't think any father in the world - any parent - would stand for this situation." After Godinez- Avila fell from the glider, Orders landed the aircraft and swallowed a memory card containing video of the incident. He was charged with obstruction of justice, but the charge was dropped by the Crown. During a court hearing last Friday, the Crown described the contents of the video, which was not shown. The video starts with Orders and Godinez- Avila taking off from the mountainside. Shortly after, it becomes obvious Godinez- Avila's harness was not hooked onto the glider, the court heard. The footage shows her clinging desperately onto Orders and the hang- glider while Orders attempts to clip her in, but she slips off and falls. Defence lawyer Jeff Campbell told the court last week Orders was distracted by a number of things prior to the launch, including an argument with his assistant earlier in the day and by his new video camera, which was attached to the hang- glider. But the judge said Orders, who was a hang- gliding instructor, was expected to be vigilant at all times. " Mr. Orders was a well- trained, experienced pilot who is expected to work through these kinds of distractions," the judge said. " Connecting Ms. Godinez- Avila was a fundamental step in the procedure, not a minor step that should be overlooked because of these kinds of distractions." After the incident, Orders apologized to Godinez- Avila's family and friends for his role in her death, and he apologized again in court last week. Joyce said Orders' remorse is " genuine and deeply felt." He also noted Orders' failure to connect Godinez- Avila was unintentional, and that his guilty plea allowed Godinez- Avila's family to avoid the pain of having to watch the video of her last moments. " While the result of Mr. Orders' negligence could not be more tragic, I accept submissions of counsel his moral culpability is at the lower end of the spectrum," Joyce said. Outsidecourt, CrowncounselCarolyn Kramer said the jail sentence doesn't change the wide shadow the case has cast over two families. " The family, they lost somebody they clearly loved. Those gutwrenching victim- impact statements were amazing and they are just so sad," she said. " The spillover to Mr. Orders and his family, and then the community at large - it's just very tragic." - The Canadian Press ' Unprecedented action' in fight to save polar bear By Carol Sanders Pilot's neglect leads to jail time Harness not hooked, woman fell to death By Vivian Luk YOUTUBE Arturo has been subjected to highs of close to 40 C in an Argentine zoo. William Orders swallowed evidence. A_ 06_ Feb- 12- 14_ FP_ 01. indd A6 2/ 11/ 14 11: 18: 17 PM ;