Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 13, 2022, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A1 SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2022 FOR MANITOBA. FOR 150 YEARS. FOREVER WITH YOUR SUPPORT. SERVING WINNIPEG AND THE WEST SINCE 1872 The ® INSIDE CREASING THEIR BROW Should the Jets go with the proven but struggling Connor Hellebuyck tonight in St. Louis, or hot hand Eric Comrie? / B3 DAWN OF A NEW ERA Longtime lead for Jennifer Jones is hanging up her slider / B1 ARE OFFICES OVER? More companies are letting employees work permanently from home even as the pandemic shows signs of abating / A4 WEATHER MIX OF SUN AND CLOUD. HIGH -7 LOW -15 M ARIUPOL, Ukraine — Rus-sia bombarded cities across Ukraine on Saturday, pounding Mariupol in the south, shelling the out- skirts of the capital, Kyiv, and thwart- ing the efforts of people trying to flee the violence. In Mariupol, which has endured some of the worst punishment since Russia invaded, efforts to bring food, water and medicine into the port city of 430,000 and to evacuate civilians, were prevented by unceasing attacks. More than 1,500 people have died in Mariupol during the siege, according to the mayor’s office, and the shelling has even interrupted efforts to bury the dead in mass graves. Talks aimed at reaching a cease- fire again failed Saturday, and while the U.S. announced plans to provide another US$200 million to Ukraine for weapons, a senior Russian diplomat warned that Moscow could attack for- eign shipments of military equipment. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to break his country apart, as well as starting “a new stage of terror” with the alleged detention of a mayor from a city west of Mariupol. “Ukraine will stand this test. We need time and strength to break the war machine that has come to our land,” Zelenskyy said during his night- ly address to the nation Saturday. Russian soldiers pillaged a human- itarian convoy that was trying to reach Mariupol and blocked another, a Ukrainian official said. Ukraine’s military said Russian forces captured Mariupol’s eastern outskirts, tighten- ing their siege of the strategic port. Taking Mariupol and other ports on the Azov Sea could allow Russia to estab- lish a land corridor to Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014. An Associated Press journalist in Mariupol witnessed tanks firing on a nine-storey apartment building and was with a group of hospital workers who came under sniper fire on Friday. A worker shot in the hip survived, but conditions in the hospital were deteriorating: Electricity was reserved for operating tables, and people with nowhere else to go lined the hallways. Among them was Anastasiya Era- shova, who wept and trembled as she held a sleeping child. Shelling had just killed her other child as well as her brother’s child, Erashova said,. “No one was able to save them,” she said. In Irpin, a suburb about 20 kilome- tres northwest of central Kyiv, bodies lay out in the open Saturday on streets and in a park. Russians strike near Kyiv; ceasefire talks fail Calls grow for mandatory paid sick leave KEVIN ROLLASON THE union representing city bus drivers is predicting a bumpy ride ahead once the province drops its mask mandate next week. While riders won’t be required to wear masks starting Tuesday, face coverings will remain mandatory for drivers — a decision some operators aren’t happy about, said Amalgam- ated Transit Union president Romeo Ignacio. The city announced late last month that its employees will still be required to wear masks on the job. A survey of transit union members found two-thirds of its 200 members want the option to go maskless on the job, Ignacio said. He said those members believe forc- ing drivers to mask up, while allowing riders not to, is illogical and unfair. “There’s been some conversations, there’s some pushback from mem- bership,” he said, adding the union is encouraging all members to follow city policy. “I can tell you that I commu- nicated to the city that we will have a problem next week.” Ignacio said he worries some drivers will either be suspended for not follow- ing the rules or stop driving complete- ly, creating a gap in service. “And we have to make sure that the service isn’t affected,” he said. Ignacio said the mask mandate has been difficult on transit drivers, who were forced to act as enforcement officers, causing “friction” between passengers and operators. “Since two years ago, we have been having problems with mask enforce- ment,” Ignacio said. “Nobody’s enforc- ing it, even though they’re saying it’s required.” Meanwhile, some riders are worried about the end of the mandate. Hazel Snider said she has no plans to get on a bus without a mask and will continue to protect herself as long as she feels COVID-19 is still a risk. She isn’t happy with the province’s decision. “They don’t know what they’re doing…,” said Snider while waiting for her bus on McPhillips Street Saturday afternoon. The thought of being in a packed bus with unmasked strangers is anxiety-in- ducing for Rick Swidinsky. The Winnipegger has to take two buses to get to work from his East Kildonan home. Because he takes them during rush hour, the buses are almost always packed. “The buses are pretty full, and if you lift (the mandate), oh man, it’s just going to be a germ factory in there,” he said. He’s considering going back to driving to work to keep himself safe, but said he’s worried about riders who don’t have that option, adding the prov- ince’s decision will hurt lower-income Winnipeggers. “I know we need to get back and get the economy going again, but this seems to just throw away everything we’ve worked so hard for for over two years for the sake of the almighty dollar,” he said. malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca Some bus drivers pushing back on mask mandate: union MALAK ABAS MSTYSLAV CHERNOV AND YURAS KARMANAU DANIEL CRUMP / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A cyclist crosses Arlington Street as heavy and blowing snow make for treacherous road conditions Saturday afternoon. THE NEVER-ENDING WINTER Blustery conditions close Perimeter Highway for seventh time / A3 ● UKRAINE, CONTINUED ON A2 ● SICK LEAVE, CONTINUED ON A3 End to COVID isolation rule worries labour leaders WITH the clock ticking on COVID-19 isolation rules, the Manitoba Federa- tion of Labour is renewing its call for the provincial government to give all workers 10 days of mandatory paid sick leave. Kevin Rebeck, MFL president, said he is worried about what will happen to workers when the last public health mandates come off the board, leaving nothing but recommendations Tuesday. “I think it is terrible,” Rebeck said. “Workers have always felt pressure to come in when they were sick. “Now we have a premier (Heather Stefanson) saying we have to learn how to live with COVID, at the same time groceries and gas prices are going up. Staying home sick and not getting paid could be the difference between pay- ing a bill or putting food on the table. “This is the time when people should keep other people safe.” The MFL is asking the province to follow the federal government’s lead and put in place 10 days of paid sick leave for all Manitoba workers. “It needs to be standard for every- one,” Rebeck said. “This needs to be done in legislation. “The federal government did it, but only eight to 12 per cent of the workers here are federally covered — the other 90 per cent don’t have it.” Rebeck said he has asked the Stefan- son government to at least begin con- sultations about the issue, but doesn’t know if it will happen. “It may well take an election to make it happen.” The Tory government announced last month, beginning March 15, public health orders requiring mask use in public places would end. Last week, Shared Health said Manitobans would still need to wear masks inside at a health-care facility. WAR IN UKRAINE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS OFFICE VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to break his country apart, as well as starting ‘a new stage of terror.’ A_01_Mar-13-22_FP_01.indd 1 2022-03-12 11:51 PM ;