Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 9, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba B2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM A second man is suing the estate of a now- dead Winnipeg minor hockey coach and lawyer, alleging he was invited to live with him as a teen and repeatedly abused as a sex “slave.” Robert (Bob) Dawson, died of suicide at a Winnipeg hotel in October 2021 at age 57, six weeks after Winnipeg police charged him with sex assault and a number of other sexual offences over allegations he repeat- edly abused two boys between 1993 and 1995 while he was a coach in the Assiniboine Park Hockey Association. Police said shortly after his death that sex crimes investigators had located other po- tential victims after they publicly announced the initial charges. On March 26, lawyer Karen Wittman of Myers LLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of an an- onymous man, referred to as John Doe in the Court of King’s Bench, against Dawson’s es- tate, the second such civil action since 2022. The man alleges he was 17 when he met Dawson in 2008 shortly after he moved to Winnipeg to live with his sister and finish high school. The claim says the man was interested in attending law school and Dawson offered to help him pursue a legal career. The man claims Dawson pursued a rela- tionship of trust with him by offering to help him with school and taking him out for meals before persuading him in 2009 to move into his home rent-free. But after he moved in, the man alleges, Dawson reneged and insisted the man have sex with him instead of paying rent. Beginning in 2009 and continuing into 2010, the court papers allege Dawson would lock him in a cage in his basement for hours at a time, force him to wear a ball gag, make him recite statements Dawson wrote about “being Dawson’s ‘slave’ while tied to a sup- port beam,” spank him repeatedly, fondle his genitals and photograph and videotape him. Dawson also allegedly made him wear a lock and collar while in public, the court pa- pers claim. The alleged abuser would also tell him after the sex assaults that he should not tell anyone about it as “no one would believe a young person’s word over that of a respected lawyer,” reads the statement of claim. The man says Dawson’s alleged actions in- flicted severe emotional distress. He is seek- ing damages from the estate for his pain and suffering, psychological injuries, including post-traumatic stress disorder and addic- tions, as well as other effects of the alleged abuse on his life and well-being. “The plaintiff’s ability to carry on the nor- mal tasks of daily living has been impaired and his enjoyment of life has been dimin- ished,” reads the claim. “The plaintiff has at- tempted to commit suicide and such attempts were directly caused by the sexual assaults.” The court papers say the man has and con- tinues to need medical attention and psycho- logical treatment and struggled to continue his education and work. He is seeking general and special dam- ages, including for medical expenses, as well as aggravated, punitive and exemplary dam- ages. The claim says the man only came to rec- ognize that Dawson’s conduct was sexual as- sault later in life, but that he was afraid of reporting it, considering Dawson’s position as a lawyer. No dollar figure is cited in the court pa- pers. The new lawsuit comes after an Ontario man filed suit against Dawson’s estate in December 2022. That lawsuit, which alleged Dawson groomed and then sexually abused the plaintiff while Dawson was a hockey coach, appears to still be before the court. No further documents have been filed. The Ontario man reported the abuse to Winnipeg police in 2021, his court filings said. erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca NEWS I CITY TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2024 JOHN LONGHURST / FREE PRESS Elder Gerry Shingoose (from left), Rizqa Sulaiman-Baradien, Doug Koop, Faisal Siddiqui, Natasha Ali and moderator Edgar French address the topic of faith and medicine at a Ramadan iftar at the University of Manitoba’s Bannatyne campus Friday. Spirituality, science meet on road to healing at Ramadan iftar ‘A S a Muslim, I am reminded daily that I answer to Allah for how I treat my patients. It is part of my identity.” That’s how Dr. Rizqa Sulaiman-Ba- radien, a medical geneticist and assistant professor at the University of Manitoba, answered the question of how faith influences her work as a health-care professional. Sulaiman-Baradien was one of five panellists addressing the topic of faith and medicine at a Ramadan iftar at the university’s Bannatyne campus Friday. The event, which brought togeth- er a mix of Muslim and non-Muslim medical students, faculty and others, was the first ever Ramadan iftar or- ganized by students from the U of M’s Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. For panellist Dr. Natasha Ali, a registered psychologist who also works as a Muslim spiritual care pro- vider at the U of M, her faith gives her a framework for engaging patients. Noting that Islam sees humans as body (jism), soul (nafs) and spirit (ruh), she said all three “need to be ad- dressed for healing. If we only focus on the body, we missing a big part of what it means to be a human being … spirituality is an important compon- ent of health.” Ali said there is a lot of research showing how faith can help mitigate psychological problems and that ig- noring the spiritual dimension can be harmful for patients. Dr. Faisal Siddiqui, a critical-care physician at Health Sciences Cen- tre and St. Boniface Hospital and an assistant professor in the departments of internal medicine and anesthesia, pain and perioperative medicine, said that for him spirituality “is an essen- tial part of health care.” “My own spirituality helps me to help patients,” he said, adding when faced with a challenging medical situation “I will pray and ask God to hear me, pro- vide me with the ability to do the right thing.” “I always ask God for help.” While agreeing that faith is an im- portant part of health care, the three panellists noted medical professionals need to ensure they don’t see their faith as the only true one. “We need to avoid exclusivism,” Ali said. “We need to honour people where they are, those with faith or no faith,” Siddiqui said, noting Islam is about loving and caring for others. “I want to take good care of all my patients like they were my own family.” “We have to be careful not to impose our beliefs on patients,” Sulaiman-Ba- radien added. “We have to respect their autonomy.” Also speaking at the iftar were Doug Koop, a spiritual health practi- tioner at Health Sciences Centre and elder Gerry Shingoose, a member of the Anishinaabe Nation. Koop noted that while religious af- filiation is declining in Canada today, “many people still claim some sort of spirituality.” His role as a spiritual care provider is to discover what that faith might be. At the same time, he needs to “ac- knowledge my own soul and tradition … the deeper I dive into my own faith, the better I am able to view and under- stand the beliefs of others.” Shingoose, a residential school sur- vivor, noted that Indigenous people also believe in the importance of mind, body and spirit. By reconnecting with her Indigenous roots, she was able to deal with the trauma of residential school and discover “a holistic way of being.” Modern medicine, she said “tends to focus on one aspect, the physical. The others are forgotten,” which has a detrimental affect on Indigenous people, since they go to doctors for care “as whole beings.” Students Heba Elgubtan, MacKen- zie Alexiuk and Haley Farion organ- ized the event. “It’s unbelievable how much spirit- uality and medicine intersect,” said Alexiuk. “The problem is the lack of connection between them in modern medicine that leads to worse health outcomes.” Elgubtan added, “Faith is important to my identity as a Muslim, but faith isn’t brought up much in our training. Through this event, we want to let stu- dents know it is OK to bring their faith into their studies.” faith@freepress.mb.ca Health professionals explore faith and medicine JOHN LONGHURST Second man sues estate of ex-hockey coach, lawyer accused of sex crimes ERIK PINDERA Manitoba saves significant number of international student places THERE will be fewer international students in most Manitoba post-sec- ondary classrooms next year, but the number could have been even lower. Education Minister Renée Cable said the federal government initially advised provincial officials that Mani- toba would get 15,232 provincial stu- dent attestation letters, which the fed- eral government introduced as part of their national cap announced earlier this year. International students who receive an attestation letter are then able to apply for a study permit from the federal government. But Friday, after Cable said she pushed for more during meetings, Manitoba was told it would get 3,420 more attestation letters. “I’m super proud of that,” she said Monday. “The original number, to be clear, was not ideal and, rather than scream- ing into the wind and carrying on, we decided we would work with the fed- eral government and try to move that number. And we did.” A provincial spokesperson said historically about half of the inter- national students who want to study in Manitoba are granted study permits. “At the end of the day, first and fore- most, we think about the students and the student experience,” Cable said. “I know some other places say it is a back door to immigration. We want to be a front door. We know that our institutions are delivering quality edu- cation. I guess we were compelling in relaying that.” The federal government decided to reduce the number of foreign stu- dents entering the country after crit- ics turned up the heat, arguing that the 404,668 currently studying at Canadian facilities are exacerbating the housing shortage and driving up prices. Immigration, Refugees and Citizen- ship Canada said last week it will ap- prove only about 292,000 study per- mits, down 28 per cent. “They’ve used a blunt instrument to tackle this,” said Mark Frison, presi- dent and CEO of Assiniboine Com- munity College, shortly before the numbers were released by the prov- ince. Assiniboine has 2,959 international students this year out of a total stu- dent population of 9,878 students. Next year there will be only 1,190. “It’ll mean fewer graduates for cer- tain, particularly in Winnipeg. Most of those would have been entering pro- grams in business and early childhood education,” Frison said. “These students are in programs that operate on a cost-recovery basis, so while there will be a financial im- pact, I’m more concerned about our ability to supply the labour market with the people it needs.” International students from 121 countries represented about 22 per cent of the University of Manitoba’s overall full- and part-time student population in the fall term. The university has been allocated 7,540 international students for the fall. “The reduced numbers will have an impact, but we don’t yet have full clar- ity on exactly what kind,” said spokes- person Eleanor Coopsammy. Red River College Polytechnic cur- rently has about 3,100 international students out of its more than 18,000 students, but registration will drop by about 400 in the fall. “Our programs and credentials are tied directly into labour-market needs here in Manitoba and international students who graduate from RRC Polytech are helping contribute to the economic growth of Manitoba in a var- iety of sectors,” spokesperson Emily Doer said. However, at the University of Winni- peg, where approximately 1,600 inter- national students — about 18 per cent of its population — are nearing the end of their cyber attack-interrupted term, the number is going up in the fall; the school’s allotment is rising to 2,341. “International students are an im- portant part of our diverse campus,” said university spokesperson Caleb Zimmerman. “Their unique perspectives and experiences enrich our academic programs and make our university a better place for everyone. We look for- ward to continuing to provide an ex- cellent quality of education for every student who joins our community.” kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca KEVIN ROLLASON Police seeking suspects in stabbing on bus Saturday night POLICE are investigating after a man was stabbed on a Winnipeg Transit bus Saturday night. Police were called at about 8:50 p.m. after a man in his 20s was stabbed by two suspects who had confronted him. Winnipeg Police Service spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said Monday there had been an altercation between the suspects and the victim before the stabbing. McKinnon did not know whether the victim knew either of the accused as he had not yet been formally interviewed by investigators. Officers found the man in the inner city, near William Avenue and Lark Street, after he got off the bus. He was receiving medical attention from a bystander, who had called 911, and offi- cers continued giving him first aid until he was transported to hospital in stable condition. McKinnon said the victim had gotten on the bus downtown. There wasn’t a transit safety of- ficer on the bus at the time, the police spokes- woman said. Police are asking anyone with information about the stabbing to call investigators at 204- 986-6219 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204- 786-8477 (TIPS). A new safety team began patrolling high-prior- ity bus routes after demands to boost safety on the transit system about a month-and-a-half ago. — staff ;