Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 16, 2022, Winnipeg, Manitoba ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMB2 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2022 C M Y K PAGE B2 NEWS NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE MATTER OF: The Estate of NORAH ANASTAZIA FELDMANN, late of Winnipeg, in Manitoba, Deceased. ALL CLAIMS against the above estate duly verified by Statutory Declaration, must be filed with the undersigned at their offices, 2200-201 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 3L3 (Attention: DAVID C. KING), on or before the 16th day of March, 2022. DATED this 16th day of February, 2022. TAYLOR McCAFFREY LLP Solicitors for the Executor of the Estate Attn: David Charles King Legals IN the aftermath of a fatal house fire on a northern Manitoba First Nation, the community hopes the provincial government will work with them to im- prove a systemic lack of resources that led to overcrowded housing and no run- ning water. As he prepares to welcome the pre- mier to Pimicikamak (Cross Lake) Cree Nation, Chief David Monias said he hopes their meeting will be a step toward solving chronic problems the community faces, which he said con- tributed to the tragedy. Premier Heather Stefanson made arrangements to visit the community about 800 kilometres north of Winni- peg after a house fire claimed three lives Saturday. A toddler and two teen- agers died, while four other residents managed to escape. The identities of the deceased haven’t been publicly re- leased. Monias said autopsies are being conducted. There is no running water in the area where the fire happened, and the com- munity of 10,000 has no fire hall. There is a housing shortage and many homes are overcrowded, Monias said. He’s expecting to welcome Stefanson this afternoon for a meeting about the tragedy, hoping it will lead to positive change for the community. “All we’re trying to do is we’re try- ing to get parity, we’re trying to get equality,” Monias told the Free Press Tuesday. “We are impacted by tragedies like this when we don’t have those same type of resources and same type of op- portunities for our people in our com- munity.” It’s the first time in a “very long time,” that a premier has visited Pi- micikamak, Monias said, saying it’s a welcome visit. “Being here and being on site is the best (compared to) just reading a re- port about it. It’s always good to have face-to-face time, and also it gives us a (chance) to bring reality to the things that we’ve been talking about.” Monias said he’s also expecting Alan Lagimodiere, Manitoba’s minister of Indigenous reconciliation and northern relations, to make the trip, along with Grand Chiefs Arlen Dumas and Garri- son Settee of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and Manitoba Keewatinowi Oki- makanak, respectively. In a statement Tuesday, MKO’s Set- tee said he was extremely saddened to hear about the house fire and three young lives lost. “When a tragedy such as a house fire takes place, our grief is immense. Most community members have a personal connection to those who are impacted, and it is natural we grieve with them. Grief is an ongoing process and I en- courage all those who are hurting to reach out to others for support during this difficult time.” A mobile crisis team from MKO is providing counselling in the commu- nity. Monias said he is in shock about the fire, and the community is still coming to terms with what happened. “Everybody, when they hear about this, the first thing they want to do is hug their children, hug your family and make sure that everybody’s safe,” he said. “And then you want to reach out to the families that are affected and to support them.” It feels as though the community has been dealing with death over and over again, he added. “It’s hard to try and recover (from) one loss after another,” he said. katie.may@freepress.mb.ca THE public school system’s COVID-19 scars and the unlikely successes that have come out of emergency pivots are top of mind inside Manitoba’s largest school board, as leaders ponder what a post-pandemic classroom should look like. “Public health agencies and leaders around the world are signalling a shift from pandemic response to an endemic plan and response to COVID-19,” wrote Chris Broughton, a trustee in the Winni- peg School Division, about his rationale behind one of several notices of motion he introduced at a board meeting last week. “The (WSD), and school divisions across the country, need to shift focus from the crisis of the pandemic to plan- ning and implementing a recovery from (its) impacts.” The document states educators and administrators have undertaken “val- iant efforts” to adapt to alternative delivery models, but disruptions have resulted in student disengagement, chronic attendance issues, decreased credit attainment, a decline in academ- ic achievement, and a youth mental health crisis. It also notes impacts have dispropor- tionately affected families who were at- risk to the above before the pandemic. Broughton wants his board col- leagues to support the development of specific recovery plans for both K-12 education at-large and student mental health, as well as a review of the divi- sion’s information technology systems and infrastructure. An education recovery plan should consider: expanding existing outdoor and land-based teaching opportunities; improving planning for play-based learning; increasing digital literacy re- sources for educators; ensure equitable access to extracurricular programs; and, introducing alternative learning schedules or extended school year op- tions in some schools, among other items, according to the Ward 2 trustee. “We have a cookie-cutter school day and we have a cookie-cutter school year. There are some communities where that isn’t the ideal way of delivering ed- ucation. It doesn’t meet their needs. We need to start seriously thinking about what it is that we’re offering to ensure that every child has the best opportuni- ty to learn and grow,” Broughton said in an interview Monday. The trustee, who is also a parent in the division, said he has consulted the Royal Society of Canada’s recent re- port of peer-reviewed research on how COVID-19 has affected children and schools to brainstorm ways to build on WSD’s programs. He added: “We have to recognize that we went through a profound change just two years ago, and if we can make that significant of a change with intention, these types of things can be done. We just need to put the intention behind them.” Trustees are slated to debate whether it is time to draw up blueprints for divi- sion-wide recovery work and if so, what those documents should entail, at their next regular board meeting March 7. “The lack of interaction is a big deal,” said Ethan Brinkman, a Grade 12 stu- dent at Sisler High School, when asked about the greatest challenge he has faced over the last 23 months. Brinkman, 18, recently re-enrolled in Sisler after more than a year taking courses via WSD’s virtual school pro- gram, owing to a doctor’s note that out- lined his challenges with anxiety. The high school student said one positive thing about the pandemic is it has allowed for more flexible learn- ing options. However, he wonders how economical it would be to continue op- erating virtual classrooms with live instruction when there is no longer a global health crisis. One thing Brinkman said he wants schools to leave in the past is cohorting and alternate-day attendance models — measures introduced in 2020-21 to limit contacts and ensure physical distancing of two metres in classrooms. “Throw it all out… If you were going on a different day than your friends, then you never saw them,” he added. Andrew Cumming said his children, who are in grades 3, 6, and 8, have missed their friends and school life, and have all had “far too much screen time” in recent months. “We will have to focus on emotional health, social wellness, and directly supporting recovery learning (in the wake of the pandemic),” said the Winni- peg father. Cumming, however, said he is skeptical about how that can happen, given all of the budget constraints in WSD. Last week, the board released its draft budget for the 2022-23 academic year. Despite a decrease in annual operat- ing funding, the financial plan current- ly ensures existing programs are main- tained, as a result of the board voting to axe its full-day kindergarten pilot — which has cost the division around $500,000 annually in recent years — in autumn. As is, there is no room for any additions to the budget. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Class post-COVID: City school division ponders future MAGGIE MACINTOSH LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ethan Brinkman, a Grade 12 Sisler High student: pandemic has allowed for flexible options. Premier to visit First Nation grieving after deadly fire KATIE MAY B USINESS owners and operators still undecided about dropping COVID-19 vaccination require- ments want to see the Manitoba govern- ment maintain its immunization card program after provincial mandates and public health orders are lifted. West End Cultural Centre executive director Jason Hooper said board mem- bers for the non-profit Winnipeg venue will decide Feb. 22 if COVID-19 vacci- nation and masks will be required for patrons attending events starting next month. “It’s really about keeping people safe and reducing the risk of transmitting the virus at an event,” Hooper said in an interview Tuesday. “It’s still out there, it’s still a pandemic — so we’re looking at ways that we can keep staff, volun- teers, patrons and artists safe while still being open and operating.” On Tuesday, public health orders that capped capacity and placed a number of restrictions on businesses were lifted as the province moves towards the elimi- nation of restrictions by mid-March. By March 1, orders requiring people to show proof of vaccination to dine-in at restaurants, attend concerts, gyms and a number of other public venues will be lifted. Provincial mask man- dates will follow March 15. Premier Heather Stefanson was asked Monday if the provincial application — which checks unique codes against a da- tabase of vaccination records — would go dark when vaccination requirements are lifted. She made no guarantees the technolo- gy would still be available to businesses that choose to limit access. As a venue operator, Hooper said he’d like the option to use the Manitoba Im- munization Verifier application. How- ever, if it is not available, the venue may rely on the pan-Canadian vaccination certificate instead. Hooper expects the venue could face backlash if it chooses to keep vaccina- tion and masking requirements, and that’s why the decision is being made at the board level. Meantime, rough- ly $70,000 worth of ventilation im- provements are underway to improve COVID-19 safety, he added. “We have different expectations of ourselves and what the community ex- pects of us, and we are beholden to the community in ways that a privately owned organization isn’t,” Hooper said. A recent survey of about 200 restau- rants indicated 35 per cent of operators plan to keep vaccination requirements beyond March 1, Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association executive director Shaun Jeffrey said. “That’s unfortunately not available to them if the app is not available,” Jeffrey said. “They should be given that right to do so as operators of a private business, but without the technology, it’s hard to do that.” Reached by phone Tuesday, Brian Koshul was busy preparing to welcome crowds back to his Winnipeg nightclub this week. Koshul, who owns the Village Night- club, said no decisions have been made when it comes to proof of vaccination beyond March 1. He plans to reach out to customers to see how they feel. “I think it’s something we have to dis- cuss as a business, because you risk los- ing customers, but we’re of the mindset that our customers were double-vacci- nated anyway,” Koshul said. During the time the club was per- mitted to operate, Koshul said his staff found plenty of fraudulent immuniza- tion cards using the verification app. He hopes the government keeps the app ac- tive, should customers and staff favour vaccination requirements. “I don’t have an opinion one way or another. When you’re in hospitality, the opinion is of your customers.” A number of restaurant and venue op- erators have already decided they will follow the government’s lead and let requirements fall by the wayside once orders allow. “It’s been a very tough two years. For us, it’s been brutal, we’ve lost a lot finan- cially, so we need to open up and we’re going to follow the recommendations that are coming in,” King’s Head Pub owner Chris Graves said in Winnipeg. Graves acknowledged some custom- ers may be uncomfortable heading into a place where COVID-19 vaccination is not required, but said the government has forced his hand. The province should maintain its im- munization verification application for those who want to use it, Scoles said. “You want to watch out (not) to go out of your way to eliminate all of the ground you’ve gained,” Scoles said. “I don’t think we should be extraordinari- ly hasty here.” Previously, the province said it had budgeted $4.3 million to implement the Manitoba Immunization Card and the accompanying application to verify QR codes. danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca Venues await fate of vax verification app DANIELLE DA SILVA IN BRIEF DETAILS SCANT ON LATEST HOMICIDE WINNIPEG police have released few de- tails into a homicide investigation that began after a man was found injured at a beer vendor and later died. Shortly after 3 a.m. Tuesday, emer- gency services personnel were called to the vendor on the 1400 block of Notre Dame Avenue. The man, whose name and age were released, was taken to hospital, where he died. Police had not yet said how the man was injured nor whether any suspects have been identified. Police ask anyone with information to contact the unit at 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477. POLICE CADET VEHICLE STRUCK A marked Winnipeg Police Service ca- det vehicle, which was blocking traffic early Tuesday, was struck by an alleged impaired driver. The cadets were on Sherbrook Street at Sargent Avenue, around 1 a.m. A Ford Expedition SUV broadsided the cadet vehicle, police said. The driver was “determined to be impaired.” He was arrested at the scene and faces charges. Two police cadets were treated in hospital and released. MAN DIES AFTER ROLLOVER A 20-year-old man from the Rural Municipality of Souris-Glenwood died at the scene of a single-vehicle rollover Feb. 11. It was shortly before 2 a.m., when Brandon RCMP were called to Road 115 West near Road 52 North. RCMP said Tuesday a vehicle travel- ling on Road 115 West had left the pavement and rolled. The driver (the lone occupant) was pronounced dead at the scene. Brandon RCMP and a forensic colli- sion reconstructionist are investigat- ing. RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Jason Hooper, manager of the West End Cultural Centre, with his dog Walter, says the centre’s board will decide on COVID measures Feb. 22. Village Nightclub owner, Brian Koshul: no decision yet on proof-of-vaccination rule. B_02_Feb-16-22_FP_01.indd 2 2022-02-15 9:59 PM ;