Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 15, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba <s> ■e- C MBK -e- PAGE A1 THE ANSWER TO CANCER Learn how donations have changed lives. answertocancer.ca 13 @ # @cancercarembfdn lW years ^ CancerCareManitoba "& FOUNDATION_ All funds raised stay in Manitoba. tj011 spa gift cards, available anytime 24/7 :enspa.ca Huge business deal Goldman Sachs buys People Corp. for more than $1 billion / B4 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020 M M MB FOUNDED IN 1872 ■ & & & B^^ Winnipeg tree Press' ► CONNECT WITH CANADA'S HIGHEST READERSHIP RATE 0 JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS COOL DISPLAY Lynda Tjaden, executive director of population and public health, Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living, shows Premier Brian Pallister the special -80 C freezers at the COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Health Sciences Centre Monday. See COVID-19 coverage on A2, A3, A4 and B1. City teachers give poor marks to contact tracing at schools MAGGIE MACINTOSH LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER “ARE you sure it was 15 minutes? It wasn’t 14 minutes? Or 13?” A Winnipeg teacher clearly recalls that specific query during a line of questioning from a public health nurse on a call earlier this fall to find out if any of the woman’s students were close contacts to a peer who tested positive for COVID-19. Anyone who has spent 15 minutes or more within two metres of a positive case during an infectious period is considered a close contact in Manitoba. The Winnipeg educator, explaining the phone conversation to the Free Press, said she identified five students who sat near the infected child. The students all struggle with keeping their masks on, need additional support from their teacher, and often wander around the classroom, she said. But despite her concerns, none was asked to self-isolate. Only the teacher, who worked closely with the young student who tested positive, as well as some students who take the same school bus as the individual, had to quarantine. “I called my public health officer back and asked her why, and she said, ‘Well I spoke to your admin and they assured me that there was two metres,’” said the teacher, who agreed to an interview on the condition of anonymity, on a recent school night. “(My principal’s) amazing, but (the administration) gave the information they could honestly give, which was the seating plan and the fact (students are) two metres apart. They’re not in my room, they don’t see what happens. “My explanation should trump theirs because I’m watching, constantly.” As the tally of schools with CO- VID-19 exposures grows, school staff are raising concerns about inconsistent contact-tracing practices. When pressed on the subject Monday, the province’s top doctor said public health nurses are investigation experts. “They wouldn’t be trying to deter someone from naming someone as a close contact, but they’ll go through what actually is a close contact — what requirements need to have occurred to be a close contact,” said Dr. Brent Roussin, following the daily COVID-19 briefing at the Manitoba legislature. Echoing similar concerns as the first teacher, a Grade 1/2 teacher in another metro division said she questions the process after her classroom expertise was ignored during a recent investigation. • SEE SCHOOLS ON A2 WEATHER: FLURRIES. HIGH -9 — LOW -12 Junior hockey recruit left with convicted sex offender JEFF HAMILTON Ik YOUNG hockey player Gra- L\ ham James recruited to play X Xfor the Winnipeg Warriors in the 1980s was placed in the home of a convicted sex offender as his billet. “I think it is shocking that the team would billet me with a convicted pedophile, chosen by another pedophile and that the team did not believe me when I complained," the unnamed player said in an affidavit filed last week in Ontario Superior Court. The affidavit is part of a lawsuit former junior hockey players have filed against the Canadian Hockey League. The lawsuit alleges underaged players were repeatedly subjected to sexual, physical and mental abuse for decades through a toxic environment of hazing and harassment created by the league, its teams and their executives. The allegations have not been proven in court. Although not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, James was head scout and assistant coach of the 1983-84 Winnipeg Warriors. The team was relocated to Moose Jaw the following season, with James taking over as head coach. It would be more than a decade later before he was convicted of sexually assaulting Sheldon Kennedy and another unnamed player. The revelation in his affidavit raises new questions about the pipeline of hockey players connected to James who would face unwanted sexual advances — and why no one took action when alarms were sounded. The player’s affidavit also details a litany of hazing horrors he experienced during the Warriors’ final season in the city; alleging the coaches and team staff were aware of some of the rookie initiations carried out by veteran players. • SEE AFFIDAVIT ON A2 • 'THE BOGEYMAN' D1 0 Former player launches official complaint with police JEFF HAMILTON FORMER junior hockey player Jay Macaulay has launched an official complaint with the Winnipeg Police Service alleging he was sexually abused by disgraced ex-Western Hockey League coach and convicted predator Graham James. Macaulay, 49, says during stints with the Swift Current Broncos between 1988 and 1990, he was subjected to abusive behaviour by James, including inappropriate touching, oral sex and, on one occasion, anal rape. He spoke with police just days after his story came to light in the Free Press. Over a period of months in 2019 and throughout 2020, he sat down with the Free Press every two weeks, at times chatting for hours. With his secret out, and backed by the support of family and friends, Macaulay filed a complaint to the authorities. City police haven’t made a statement about the onset of a formal investigation, although the accusation was only lodged Monday afternoon. • SEE POLICE ON A2 INSIDE MAN FOUND GUILTY Man who threw trailer hitch at Indigenous woman found guilty of manslaughter / A4 BIDEN WINS Electoral college casts votes cementing president-elect's victory / A8 CAUGHT ON CAMERA BACK IN BUSINESS Police officer recorded without face mask draws international attention / B1 Former Mondragon collaborators open plant-based café, used book shop / C1 o Stay Safe && Shop Smart shop online DELIVERY OR J\fei¡¡) CLICK && COLLECT AT LIQUORMARTS.CA WLIQUOR MART 1Q+1 ENJOY IO I RESPONSIBLY -e- -e- A_01_Dec-15-20_FP_01.indd A1 0 12/14/20 11:07 PM ;