Winnipeg Free Press

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HIGH -5 — LOW -15 SPORTS THE ABCS OF THE JETS’ STINGY GS / D1 Trucks, trains to cover three-month repair timeline, premier says No panic as city fuel supply shut off T HE Kinew government promised to do everything it can — in- cluding expediting permits and expanding road weight limits, if need- ed — to avoid a fuel supply disruption after a pipeline shutdown diverted the main supply of Winnipeg’s gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. “This is a situation that we’re going to have to live with as Manitobans for the next few months,” Premier Wab Kinew told reporters Monday. “The first thing we’re doing is we’re using the weight of government to lean on these companies to do everything that they can to bring in gasoline, die- sel, jet fuel, by truck and by train.” Manitoba is also looking at backup plans, such as getting fuel brought in from North Dakota, if necessary, he added. Fuel restrictions are not on the horizon, the premier said. “We’re nowhere close to a conversa- tion like that,” Kinew said, noting emer- gency preparedness officials are closely monitoring the situation and there’s no reason for the public to panic. Imperial Oil announced Sunday it has temporarily shut down its pipeline that runs between Gretna and Winni- peg for necessary repairs. The pipeline will be down for about three months while crews replace a section that runs under the Red River about 30 kilome- tres south of Winnipeg. In the meantime, gasoline, diesel and jet fuel will be brought in by rail and trucks. There are more than 50,000 train cars on their way to Winnipeg to bring fuel in, and there will be in- creased traffic on Highway 75 because of trucks travelling between the city and Gretna, Kinew said. The Imperial terminal supplies about 12,000 barrels of gasoline per day to Winnipeg and surrounding communities. There’s about a week’s worth of fuel in Winnipeg right now, the premier said. Both the provincial and municipal governments have activated their emergency operations protocol to mon- itor the situation. Right now, Manito- bans are not being asked to make any changes to their gasoline usage. City of Winnipeg chief administra- tive officer Michael Jack said he is feeling much more confident about the situation after a long meeting Monday with Imperial representatives about what their inspection uncovered and how they’ll execute fuel distribution while the pipeline is out of service. “There are a lot of people working 24-7 right now just to ensure that there are no impacts, to do what they need to do to minimize or completely address any potential impact to the City of Win- nipeg. So as of today, I’m feeling good and confident about where we’re going,” Jack told reporters Monday afternoon. The impact on the city is expected to be relatively seamless, Jack said, but emergency preparedness officials are going over contingency plans and considering how the city can reduce its use of fuel over the next couple of weeks until Imperial’s rail work- arounds are in place. Most city vehicles, including Win- nipeg Transit buses, rely on diesel. So far, officials don’t see a need to pull any city vehicles off the road. “We have no reason today to believe that’s going to be necessary, but we are looking at every conceivable scenario,” Jack said. “Our emergency prepared- ness team do that constantly for any type of risk.” KATIE MAY Ukrainians rush to Manitoba to beat federal program deadline THOUSANDS of Ukrainians have rushed to Manitoba from their war-stricken country in recent weeks before the door slams shut on a federal immigration program at the end of the month. The Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel program has helped about 23,000 Ukrainians arrive in Manitoba — and almost a million across the country — since Russia launched its war against Ukraine more than two years ago. The program wraps up March 31. Ostap Skrypnyk, a spokesman for the Manitoba branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, said Monday around 4,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the province since December and another 1,000 could be on the way. “Right now there is a steady stream, more than summer, because the pro- gram is coming to an end,” Skrypnyk said. He said the federal government did a survey in November to see how many of the Ukrainians who had applied for a visitor visa last summer would come before the end of March. The deadline to apply was July 15, 2023. Skrypnyk said about 70,000 Ukrai- nians responded and said they were coming to Canada. It wasn’t known how many would come to Manitoba. “The benefit now is if they come in this program they get an open work visa and they can work any place. You can get health insurance and your kids can go to school. If you come after March 31, they would be on a visitor visa without work or the health bene- fit,” he said. “After March 31, there’s no reason for them to come unless there is no place else in the world to go.” The program allows Ukrainian na- tionals to apply for a free visitor visa to stay in Canada for three years, instead of the regular six-month visitor visa. The program also enables Ukraini- ans to apply for an open work permit for free. They are exempt from having to follow any COVID-19 vaccination entry requirements, as well as having to complete an immigration medical exam before arriving in Canada. A federal government fact sheet says while the program allows Ukrainians to come to Canada temporarily “due to the crisis resulting from (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and then return home when it is safe to do so, it is not a refu- gee immigration stream.” The Canadian government said the experience the Ukrainians will get, while working and studying in Canada, will help them with “future success should they eventually choose to seek permanent residency.” Police allege supervisor stole $1.3M of Apple, other electronics Ex-UPS worker accused in thefts A now-former employee of United Parcel Service is accused of pilfering more than $1.3 million worth of Apple laptops and iPhones from the shipping company’s Winnipeg warehouse to sell on the black market over just seven months. The case Winnipeg police property crime detectives have built against 30-year-old Orville Martirez Beltra- no is laid out in court documents in a lawsuit filed March 13 in the Court of King’s Bench by the province’s crimi- nal property forfeiture director. The civil case seeks the court’s ap- proval for provincial officials to seize Beltrano’s suburban house, a white Audi hatchback, $9,000 in cash and the money in his bank accounts as the proceeds and instruments of crime. Winnipeg police charged Beltrano with theft under $5,000, theft over $5,000, possession of property ob- tained by crime, trafficking property obtained by crime and possession of the proceeds of crime on Jan. 22, records show. Jan. 22 is the same day UPS was planning to fire Beltrano after its in- house security investigator determined he was responsible for hundreds of thefts, the court documents reviewed by the Free Press say. Beltrano, who was hired by UPS in 2013, worked as a local sorting supervisor at the shipping and receiv- ing company’s King Edward Street warehouse. Between July 2023 and January, police allege Beltrano stole at least 866 Apple products — including iPhones and laptops — then sold them in bulk to a person he met on the online market- place Kijiji. Police also suspect he stole $9,150 worth of jewelry from the warehouse. ERIK PINDERA MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS A crew works along the Imperial Oil pipeline just south of St. Adolphe, near the Red River, on Monday. The line that supplies Winnipeg with fuel will be closed for up to three months for repairs. Thousands have arrived since December, another 1,000 expected before month’s end KEVIN ROLLASON ● THEFTS, CONTINUED ON A2 ● PIPELINE, CONTINUED ON A5 ● DEADLINE, CONTINUED ON A2 ;