Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 01, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A4 A 4 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2015 winnipegfreepress. com COURTENAY, B. C. - A dramatic rescue effort to pull a woman and her infant son from a frigid Vancouver Island river has ended in tragedy, as the 26- year- old mother has died. Comox Valley RCMP say the woman was pronounced dead at hospital just before 7 p. m. Friday, after being pulled from the freezing Puntledge River hours earlier. Her seven- month- old son has been airlifted to B. C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver, where he remains in critical condition. " Our heartfelt sympathies go out to this family," said Sgt. Kevin Mazur in a statement issued Saturday. " Based on the evidence and information we have gathered so far, there is no indication that any third party was involved in the pair entering the water," Mazur said. Mounties say two passersby called police at about 2: 30 p. m. after seeing the pair floating in the fast- flowing river near Lewis Park and the Condensory Bridge in Courtenay. It is not yet clear how long they had been in the water. Officers arrived within minutes and deployed a boat and a helicopter. Comox Valley search and rescue had two or three boats in the water, and Courtenay Fire also responded, said RCMP Const. Don Sinclair. " It was a very big undertaking, a great response by all of our emergency crews in the area," he said by phone on Saturday. He said helicopter crews first spotted the baby and he was rescued just before 3 p. m. and taken to hospital. But the mother had disappeared under the churning waters, and she was not pulled out until 4: 12 p. m. The massive rescue effort drew a large crowd of bystanders, with more than 50 people watching the search unfold, said Sinclair. Once the woman was found, she was rushed to St. Joseph's General Hospital in Courtenay. Despite the efforts of multiple medical workers, she was pronounced dead at 6: 55 p. m. There is still no indication of how the pair wound up in the water, but a vehicle has been found parked near the Condensory Bridge that officers believe belongs to the woman, said Sinclair. He said the mother and son have been identified and next of kin have been notified, but their names are not being released at this time. The B. C. Coroners Service has now taken the lead in the investigation, with ongoing assistance from the Comox Valley RCMP. Investigators are asking anyone who may have seen the pair near or in the water before 2: 40 p. m. Friday to come forward. Sinclair said Saturday afternoon no one had contacted the detachment yet, to his knowledge. He said the Puntledge River is a mountain- fed river, so the water on Friday was frigid. He reminded Comox Valley residents to practise water safety. " Stay away from the river. It's moving extremely fast and it's very cold," he said. B OSTON, Mass. - Canada's foreign affairs minister used a trip to the United States to applaud that country's reopening of relations with Cuba. John Baird raised the issue during a news conference Saturday where he appeared alongside his counterparts from the U. S. and Mexico. " We want to acknowledge the truly historic change in American policy, with respect to Cuba," Baird said. " We are a country that believes that the more Americans - American values, American capitalism - that permeate Cuba, the freer the Cuban people will be. " Not only was it about time - but it was actually at the perfect time." Sources say Baird's remarks about perfect timing referred to a series of ongoing developments. One is economic, with the collapse of oil prices and its impact on Cuba's main partner, Venezuela. Another is diplomatic, with several countries having threatened to boycott the next Summit of the Americas over the exclusion of Cuba. The Canadian government played a cameo role in the discussions that led to the historic thaw, hosting a series of negotiating sessions between the Obama administration and the Castro government. That process was such a tightly guarded secret in Ottawa the announcement in December even caught some high- ranking federal officials off guard. The news finally broke on Dec. 17, when U. S. President Barack Obama announced the shift in policy and thanked Canada and Pope Francis for their role in facilitating it. Prime Minister Stephen Harper later acknowledged the Canadian role and also expressed his support for the shift. The novelty of that announcement has since given way to thorny questions about how to untangle a pile of irritants that in some cases even predate the Cold War. The Castro government has set conditions for normalizing relations that include closing the more than a century- old U. S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay and lifting a trade embargo the U. S. Congress is unlikely to reverse any time soon. What has changed is U. S. diplomats have already visited the island in an attempt to set up an embassy, visiting Cuba will become significantly easier for Americans and U. S. companies will have opportunities there in a few limited areas. Baird made the remarks after the North American foreign ministers met at the Boston home of U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and before a planned group outing to a Bruins hockey game. Baird joked the meeting concluded with Kerry imploring everyone to " get out of my house." One persistent irritant lingered over the otherwise chummy news conference, during which Mexico's Jos� Antonio Meade also saluted the shift with Cuba and Kerry said he'd become " good friends" in his two years working with his continental counterparts. That perennial irritant was the Keystone XL pipeline. Kerry is the lead cabinet member on the file and is expected to make a recommendation soon on whether the president should allow the oil pipeline to cross the border from Alberta. In response to a question about Keystone, Kerry simply offered a matterof- fact summary of where the process is: There's a deadline Monday for various federal departments to weigh in on the topic, and he'll make a recommendation based on all the input. " At that point it's in our hands for me to make a recommendation to the president," he said. " The president will make a decision at some point." Kerry didn't provide a date for a decision, just reaffirmed his plan to finish the normal regulatory process, which would have been circumvented by a pro- Keystone bill in Congress Obama has vowed to veto. Baird didn't mention Keystone, but did, in his opening remarks, speak about the importance of building energy infrastructure. Kerry's opening remarks, on the other hand, dwelled on the importance of fighting climate change. They both discussed the fight against the self- proclaimed Islamic State, which Baird referred to as a " death cult" and Kerry accused of hijacking the Islamic faith. - The Canadian Press MONTREAL - The Islamic community centre controversial imam Hamza Chaoui had hoped to open in east Montreal will not see the light of day, local officials said. R�al M�nard, mayor of the Mercier- Hochelaga- Maisonneuve borough, told a news conference Saturday he would not grant Chaoui an operating licence to open a centre in the neighbourhood. Chaoui, a Moroccan- born imam who has made statements deemed homophobic and sexist, had not yet applied for such a permit. He has described Islam and democracy as " completely" incompatible. M�nard said he based the pre- emptive decision on security considerations, but added places of worship were not permitted in the area the youth centre was planned to be established. He added the borough council would meet to redefine what constitutes a community and cultural centre, and religious instruction would be excluded. " The measure would freeze any demand for a certificate of occupation for a community centre," M�nard said. Reached over the phone by on Saturday afternoon, Chaoui said he was too busy to comment. - The Canadian Press Baird lauds U. S.- Cuba breakthrough At trilateral minister huddle River- rescue bid ends tragically Mother dies in B. C. incident; son critical ' Not only was it about time - but it was actually at the perfect time' - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird WINSLOW TOWNSON / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird ( from left) speaks with U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Mexican Foreign Secretary Jos� Antonio Meade in Boston Saturday. Islamic centre scuttled in Que. RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A work- in- progress Denis Vrignon- Tessier works on his snow sculpture for the Festival du Voyageur on Marion Street Saturday. A_ 04_ Feb- 01- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A4 1/ 31/ 15 9: 38: 22 PM ;