Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 29, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A2 A 2 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM VOL 149 NO 321 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2020 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published seven days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204-697-7000 Publisher / BOB COX Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor News / STACEY THIDRICKSON Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS NEWSMEDIA COUNCIL The Winnipeg Free Press is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an in- dependent organization established to determine acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please send them to: editorialconcerns@freepress.mb.ca. 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INSIDE Arts and Life C1 Classifieds D8 Comics C5 Diversions C6-7 Horoscope C4 Jumble C6 Miss Lonelyhearts C4 Obituaries D6 Opinion A6-7 Sports D1 Television C4 Weather B8 COLUMNISTS: Niigaan Sinclair A5 Peter McKenna A7 Mike McIntyre D2 READER SERVICE ● GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of Canada CIRCULATION INQUIRIES MISSING OR INCOMPLETE PAPER? Call or email before 10 a.m. weekdays or 11 a.m. Saturday City: 204-697-7001 Outside Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 press 1 6:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. Monday-Friday.; 7 a.m. - noon Saturday; Closed Sunday TO SUBSCRIBE: 204-697-7001 Out of Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 E-LEARNING ● FROM A1 DEBATE ● FROM A1 CLUSTER ● FROM A1 While Carter said English students started virtual classes last week, the division is still trying to hire a French teacher. “From our perspective, our virtual school is a good news story. We’re re- ally pleased with how quickly it’s come together,” Carter said, adding that on Sept. 8, only four medical accommoda- tions had been approved. That number has since grown to 388, including stu- dents with notes and those who cannot attend class because of the bus drivers’ strike. Cory Cameron at the St. James-As- siniboia School Division echoed those comments. Cameron said families might have received limited course- work in September because in-class teachers have been busy teaching new public health protocols at school rather than curriculum. After Oct. 1, about 60 remote learn- ers can expect the division’s remote program, Cameron said, adding logistics are communicated through schools. Considering it will have taken four weeks to organize, he considers it a success in terms of timing. At the same time, given the sudden pivot to remote instruction in March, mother Lisa Young said she expected the program would be more organized for her daughter in Grade 6 and other students. Young said she was initially told St. James-Assiniboia remote in- struction would start Sept. 14. “I hope it comes all together and we’re able to do things every day and have it consistent,” said Young, who applied for remote instruction because she and her husband are at-risk, adding she has felt bad about continuously prodding the principal and teachers for more work and answers. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie It’s worth recalling Biden’s perfor- mance in 2012 against vice-presiden- tial challenger Paul Ryan to remember he’s no stranger to the debate stage, said Karen Beckwith, the Flora Stone Mather professor in Case Western Re- serve’s political science department. “The former vice-president is an ac- complished debater,” Beckwith said of Biden, who continues to enjoy a comfort- able lead in national polls, and a nar- rower edge in key battleground states. “Biden also is a bit of a street fighter, and he knows how to handle bullies. Biden was not kind to Paul Ryan dur- ing the vice-presidential debate eight years ago, and he’s also unlikely to be knocked off his own debate agenda.” On that score, he needn’t concern himself with the last four years. The last four days should suffice. The number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., the highest on the planet, is closing in on 210,000, with the world on the cusp of a second wave. Unemploy- ment is hovering at 8.4 per cent, up from historic lows but with analysts bracing for another downturn. An explosive New York Times report paints a picture of Trump as a strug- gling, debt-addled businessman who paid just US$750 in taxes in 2016 and 2017, owes US$300 million in loans and wrote off more than US$70,000 for hair styling during his tenure on The Apprentice. On Saturday, despite what reports say was Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dying wish, Trump forged ahead with nomi- nating conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace the iconic Supreme Court progressive, his eyes set on a long-coveted repeal of Obamacare. “If they win, they will nominate justices who will destroy the American way of life, the American dream. They will destroy the American dream,” he said of the Democrats during a news conference Sunday. The president’s own musings about the integrity of the coming vote and apparent unwillingness to permit a peaceful transition should he lose, fuelled by baseless claims of looming mail-in ballot fraud, have experts de- scribing Trump as an existential threat to American democracy. Paradoxically, that could end up breathing fresh life into the democrat- ic process, said McKinney. “It may be that that perceived or real threat activates and motivates” voters on both sides of the political spectrum, something that the turnout for early voting suggests is already happening. “I think this could still go both ways, and it can end up being a toss-up,” he said. “Lord only knows what might happen in terms of all of the scenarios that might play out.” In true Trump style, meanwhile, the president doubled down on his pre-emptive excuse in case he is outperformed on Tuesday: his rival, he suggested, is using performance- enhancing drugs. “I’m not joking. I mean, I’m will- ing to take a drug test,” he said. “You can check out the internet. You’ll see. Plenty of people say it.” He also shrugged off the idea of debate prep, insisting that running the country has been preparation enough for Tuesday night’s showdown. Biden, for his part, has a strategy of his own. “What do you feel you have to accom- plish to be successful on Tuesday?” the former vice-president was asked Sunday during a news conference in Delaware. “What do you have to do to win the debate?” “Just tell the truth,” Biden replied, smiling. — The Canadian Press On Sept. 24, Chief Leroy Constant or- dered the shutdown of the community, except for essential services. When contacted Monday, Constant said he had no comment, pointing to a statement he released on Facebook. “That was the hardest thing I have ever had to do was deliver that mes- sage to our community,” Constant said in the statement. “We will continue to do our best, day to day, as we are faced with this pan- demic... It is not the family’s fault that their mother had to seek medical atten- tion in the Winnipeg health region. It is not their fault they came into contact with a positive case. It’s not our fault we don’t have adequate health care in the North. “Our people are forced to seek this urgent medical help. It’s a matter of life and death.” Constant also urged community members to remain strong. “Remember, we are all in this together. We all have a part to play... Just listen to the guidelines that we are putting in place and we will be just fine.” Tataskweyak Chief Doreen Spence said Monday she also would not be commenting at this time. Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee said he has “the utmost confidence in our leaders that they will continue to work diligently with public health to handle these cases and work to contain the spread of the virus.” Settee said he is proud of every chief and community in the North for their work the last few months. “It’s impossible to prevent CO- VID-19 from entering First Nations, but it is a miracle we have been able to keep it out of here for this long,” he said. “But the system is designed to fail because of the way the system is set up. This pandemic has revealed a lot of things.” Settee said MKO and the communi- ties will be pressing for the construc- tion of a northern health-care centre, so community members don’t have to fly to Winnipeg for numerous medical procedures. NDP MP Niki Ashton (Churchill— Keewatinook Aski) said she knows York Factory has asked for 300 COVID-19 test kits, more nurses, and mental health support services. “The federal government has been on notice that First Nations have the potential to be hit harder than other communities and that’s now,” Ashton said. “This is not an isolated experience — this has always been the concern that it will come to the community by someone who has been to medical treatment. “The federal government has known for a long time how easily COVID would spread in a small com- munity. And there’s nowhere to self isolate in these communities... Right now, this is go-time. Put these plans into action.” kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca T HE University of Manitoba’s win-ter term will look much like its fall, with the majority of staff and students expected to continue studies at home on a virtual campus. U of M president Michael Benarroch provided the public with an update about the upcoming term Monday. “We made this decision as early as possible in order to enable you to plan the rest of your academic year accord- ingly,” Benarroch wrote in a post on the Winnipeg-based school’s website. “Circumstances surrounding COVID-19 could potentially change, but today, with our priority your safety, health and well-being, continuing with primarily remote delivery is the most prudent course of action.” The winter term will be held primar- ily via remote delivery, except for a small number of in-person courses, he added. Few students and staff members have congregated on campus since March, when in-person classes were first sus- pended on both Fort Garry and Banna- tyne campuses. This fall, orientations went virtual, student groups pivoted online and less than 10 per cent of course offerings at the university have an in-person in- structional element. The latest update came as an early surprise to Brianna Gifford, a first-year student, who had her fingers crossed the COVID-19 situation would improve before the new year. Unable to cross the border, Gifford started her university career from her home in Minnesota. “I was really looking forward to my first semester on campus, as remote learning has been kind of difficult from home. It’s also kind of hard being so far away from campus trying to get study (resources), books, and of course, doing labs online,” she told the Free Press. Jelynn Dela Cruz, president of the U of M students union, said Monday con- tinuing remotely has its “tradeoffs.” Dela Cruz said it’s a disappointment students will still be unable to social- ize in and between classes, meet their instructors in person and attend school events, but they are playing an import- ant role in prioritizing public health. Everyone is always looking at a place to point the finger, Dela Cruz said, but in this case, “You can’t point the finger at the university, you’d have to point the finger at the coronavirus — the virus as a whole and individuals who aren’t necessarily playing their part in flat- tening the curve.” She said the union urges students to be mindful of setting an example for others when it comes to following pub- lic health protocols. “One hint of optimism will just be that the issues that we’re seeing now, moving into the winter term, operat- ing remotely, are no longer unpreced- ented,” Dela Cruz added. “We’ve had months now in the making and identify- ing issues and points of improvement.” Neither the University of Winnipeg nor Brandon University has announced plans for the winter term. Their re- spective spokespeople said Monday community members can expect up- dates in the coming weeks. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie U of M sticking to online model for winter ‘Knowing how far behind I am and knowing how much I’m going to have to catch up on all my classes is really stressful’ — Brooke Beaulieu (below), a Grade 12 student in the Winnipeg School Division RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS MAGGIE MACINTOSH LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER U of M will hold a small number of in-person classes in addition to remote delivery. A_02_Sep-29-20_FP_01.indd A2 2020-09-28 10:51 PM ;