Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 11, 2022, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMA2 FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2022 VOL 151 NO 119 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2022 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 independent 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. If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the website at www.mediacouncil.ca and fill out the form or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information. ADVERTISING Classified (Mon-Fri): 204-697-7100 wfpclass@freepress.mb.ca Obituaries (Mon-Fri): 204-697-7384 Display Advertising : 204-697-7122 FP.Advertising@freepress.mb.ca EDITORIAL Newsroom: 204-697-7301 News tip: 204-697-7292 Fax: 204-697-7412 Photo desk: 204-697-7304 Sports desk: 204-697-7285 Business news: 204-697-7301 Photo REPRINTS: 204-697-7510 City desk / City.desk@freepress.mb.ca CANADA POST SALES AGREEMENT NO. 0563595 Recycled newsprint is used in the production of the newspaper. PLEASE RECYCLE. INSIDE Arts and Life D1 Business B4 Classifieds B8 Comics D5 Diversions D6-7 Horoscope D6 Jumble D6 Miss Lonelyhearts D6 Obituaries B7 Opinion A6-7 Sports C1 Television D4 Weather C6 COLUMNISTS: Tom Brodbeck A8 READER SERVICE ● GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 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. - 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.; 7 a.m. - noon Saturday; Closed Sunday TO SUBSCRIBE: 204-697-7001 Out of Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of Canada OFFICER ● FROM A1 Cassidy testified he had little train- ing in the database software and was fumbling through trial and error to figure out the problem. “It is plausible that a police officer for 24 years and a sergeant since 2014 responsible for investigating, identify- ing, and solving issues would attempt to figure out something on his own before seeking assistance,” Sholdice said. Wednesday’s acquittal doesn’t end Cassidy’s legal woes. In a separate case, a judge is scheduled to rule later this month whether Cassidy is guilty of assaulting a man following a prolonged highway chase from La Salle to Winni- peg in March 2017. Cassidy is accused of punching Jamie Cote in the head during what was described in court as a “high-risk” traffic stop. Cote testified at trial he and a room- mate were in La Salle to deliver flyers for Cote’s landscaping business when a van started following them from house to house and ultimately followed him to Winnipeg, where Cassidy pulled him from his truck and allegedly assaulted him. Cassidy, who testified he suspected Cote might have been involved in a rash of break-and-enters in the area, told court he thought he saw a weapon in Cote’s hand when he pulled him from his vehicle. In 2019, Cassidy was charged with unsafe storage of a firearm, a charge which was later stayed, and possession of a restricted weapon at an unautho- rized place. Cassidy pleaded guilty to the second charge in 2020 and received an abso- lute discharge. dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca Const. Sean Cassidy leaves court last winter. “You will definitely be prosecuted for complicity in war crimes,” Zelenskyy said in a video address. “And then, it will definitely happen, you will be hated by Russian citizens — every- one whom you have been deceiving constantly, daily, for many years in a row, when they feel the consequences of your lies in their wallets, in their shrinking possibilities, in the stolen future of Russian children.” Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed such talk, saying the country has endured sanctions in the past. “We will overcome them,” he said at a televised meeting of government offi- cials. He did, however, acknowledge the sanctions create “certain challenges.” In addition to those who have fled the country, millions have been driven from their homes inside Ukraine. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said about two million people, half the population of the metropolitan area, have left. “Every street, every house… is being fortified,” he said. “Even people who in their lives never intended to change their clothes, now they are in uniform with machine guns in their hands.” On Thursday, a 14-year-old girl named Katya was recovering at the Brovary Central District Hospital on the outskirts of Kyiv after her family was ambushed as they tried to flee the area. She was shot in the hand when their car was raked with gunfire from a roadside forest, said her mother, who identified herself only as Nina. The girl’s father, who drove frantical- ly from the ambush on blown-out tires, underwent surgery. His wife said he had been shot in the head and had two fingers blown off. Western officials said Russian forces have made little progress on the ground in recent days and have met heavier losses and stiffer Ukrainian resistance than Moscow apparently anticipated. But Putin’s forces have used air power and artillery to pummel Ukraine’s cities. Early in the day, the Mariupol city council posted a video showing a convoy it said was bringing in food and medi- cine. But as night fell, it was unclear if those buses had reached the city. A child was among those killed in the hospital airstrike Wednesday. Seventeen people were also wound- ed, including women waiting to give birth, doctors, and children buried in the rubble. Images of the attack, with pregnant women covered in dust and blood, dominated news reports in many countries. French President Emmanuel Macron called the attack “a shameful and immoral act of war.” Britain’s Armed Forces minister, James Heappey, said that whether the hospital was hit by indiscriminate fire or deliberately targeted, “it is a war crime.” U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris, on a visit to Ukraine’s neighbour Po- land, backed calls for an international war-crimes investigation into the inva- sion, saying, “The eyes of the world are on this war and what Russia has done in terms of this aggression and these atrocities.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed concerns about civilian casualties as “pathetic shrieks” from Russia’s enemies, and denied Ukraine had even been invaded. Lavrov and his Ukrainian counter- part, Dmytro Kuleba, held talks in a Turkish resort in their first meeting since the invasion. The two sides discussed a 24-hour ceasefire but made no progress, Ku- leba said. He said Russia still wanted Ukraine to surrender but insisted that will not happen. Lavrov said Russia is ready for more negotiations, but he showed no sign of softening Moscow’s demands. Russia has alleged that western-look- ing, U.S.-backed Ukraine poses a threat to its security. Western officials suspect Putin wants to install a gov- ernment friendly to Moscow in Kyiv as part of an effort to draw the former Soviet state back into its orbit. — The Associated Press WAR ● FROM A1 HIGHWAYS ● FROM A1 It’s been a challenge for Manitoba’s fleet of 340 plows, trucks, graders and loaders to keep up with the weather. “Strong winds and drifting snow have made it even more difficult to keep the roads in safe condition and require (transportation) staff to often repeat snow clearing, salting and sanding on the most travelled routes,” a spokesperson for the province said. “Additionally, the temperature has been mostly below the threshold where salt can effectively melt snow and ice.” Salt isn’t as effective when the temperature drops below -18 C. Sand is used at lower temperatures to increase traction. “There have been cases this winter where very low temperatures and high winds have resulted in sand being blown off the roadway,” the spokesper- son said. “Applying salt when there is strong ground drifting or heavy snow will cause the snow to stick and crust on the road, which can form more ice or heavy ruts.” Drivers had to contend with disrup- tion Tuesday when the Perimeter was closed and the Trans-Canada was shut down between Headingley and Portage most of the afternoon and evening due to ice and poor visibility. Two multi-vehicle crashes occurred on the Trans-Canada’s eastbound lanes between Elie and the St. Francois Xavier turnoff around 12 p.m., as the weather rapidly deteriorated. In one incident, five vehicles collided with a tractor-trailer that had jack- knifed, said RCMP spokesman Sgt. Paul Manaigre. A marked RCMP vehicle at one of the scenes was rear-ended, said Janzen, who urged motorists to drive according to the conditions, check the Manitoba 511 website and travel with an emer- gency kit and fully charged cellphone. Several drivers had to steer into the ditch to avoid colliding with vehicles stopped on the Trans-Canada, said Manaigre. One of them was Brooke deBruin, an eyewear sales rep who drives all over Manitoba, Saskatchewan and northern Ontario for work, which has been dis- rupted by poor weather and closures. “I’m constantly changing my sched- ule based on the weather,” she said. As she travelled to Yorkton, Sask., on Thursday, the Winnipegger said she noticed a difference when she crossed provincial boundaries. “The highway could be clear in Sas- katchewan with the same weather, and you enter Manitoba and all of a sudden it’s snow-covered with ice patches,” she said. Jeff Murphy, who owns Kitson’s Service Station in Portage, can receive up to 50 calls for help when roads and highways become hazardous. They mostly involve collisions, rollovers and cars in ditches. “I can’t remember having this bad of a winter with everything — snow, wind and cold,” said Murphy, whose ga- rage has a 24-hour emergency towing service. Hotels in Portage filled up while Highway 1 was closed Tuesday, so the city began preparing to open an emergency shelter at a seniors centre, said Mayor Irvine Ferris. It wasn’t needed, after the highway reopened late at night. Manaigre said the RCMP received reports of 51 collisions across southern Manitoba on Tuesday. An eight-car pileup on McGillivray Boulevard sent three people to hospital. Since Jan. 1, Manitoba Public Insurance has received about 35,000 preliminary collision counts, up from 20,000 in the same period last year, said spokesman Brian Smiley. Drivers in parts of southern Manito- ba had to contend with another bout of flurries and poor visibility Thursday. Blowing snow was expected today. In an advisory, Environment Canada urged travellers to check highway conditions before leaving and drive with caution. chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca Brooke deBruin says Saskatchewan does a better job of clearing highways. SCOTT MCDONALD PHOTO A multi-vehicle crash took place on the Trans-Canada Highway between Elie and St. Francois Xavier in whiteout conditions Tuesday. BERNAT ARMANGUE / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The coffin of senior police sergeant Roman Rushchyshyn is lowered during his funeral in the village of Soposhyn, near Lviv, Thursday. Rushchyshyn was killed in the Luhansk region. ● ● MORE WAR IN UKRAINE / A5 A_02_Mar-11-22_FP_01.indd 2 2022-03-10 10:30 PM ;