Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 19, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2024 B2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS I CITY He also criticized the new grant application rules, which would make operating costs ineligible for the funding. Ayoub said that change will limit community organizations’ ability to retain staff and avoid service interruptions. He alleged the grant rules reflect a misunderstanding of the importance of the work done by non-profit groups. “I think the people proposing this cut have not sat down and had con- versations and relationships with people who are unhoused or cooked a healthy meal for a roomful of chil- dren who have not eaten properly that day,” he said. EPC voted in favour of the grant changes on Tuesday, which still re- quire full council approval. Under the proposed grant intake process, future city budgets would note only the lump sum of $1.3 mil- lion for the community and neigh- bourhood grants, while previous budgets included the full list of re- cipients. Grants would be approved by an evaluation committee based on their alignment with council’s stra- tegic priorities, instead of being approved by council as part of the budget process. Mayor Scott Gillingham said the proposal to exclude operating fund- ing from city grant applications was linked to budget constraints. “We’re looking at difficult de- cisions we have to make with an ever-increasing demand on city re- sources,” said Gillingham. The mayor acknowledged the overall budget will be reduced but said the city still supports youth and crime prevention initiatives. Coun. Evan Duncan, chairman of community services, said organiza- tions could still seek funding directly from councillors’ community funds and other levels of government. “I think all of the concerns brought forward today are valid. (But) at the end of the day, there’s only so much money that can go around here at the City of Winni- peg,” said Duncan. Council is expected to cast the final vote on the grant changes on June 27. joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca X: @joyanne_pursaga GRANTS ● FROM B1 Siloam Mission CEO Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud wasn’t surprised with the re- port’s findings. “We see it every day,” she said. “We see 600 to 800 come to us every day and re- cently we asked who was housed. Over 25 per cent said they were housed, but they experience not being able to buy grocer- ies. It’s part of the staggering rise in food bank use.” Meanwhile, Agape Table itself needs help. Jim Steep, the organization’s executive director, said the record level of need in the community has emptied their shelves. It served 85,000 clients in 2019 and 155,000 in 2023. Last week, Agape Table served 4,162 people. “That pushes us to the limit,” said Steep. “I’ve just never seen it like (this). We’re just super low on everything.” Steep said it forced the not-for-profit to put out a news release asking for dona- tions, including sandwich fillings, fruit, water, jam and granola bars. “It’s a bit of a crisis situation,” he said. “A lot of people are phoning and just say- ing, ‘Well, I’ve never had to do this before, but can you help me out with some food?’ It’s tough out there for everybody.” Donations can be made Monday to Fri- day at the Wave Church at 364 Furby St. Although Nimik doesn’t have a family to support, she said paying for groceries takes an “exorbitant” amount of money out of her small budget and forces her to go to a food bank to supplement her food. She said “sky high” inflation rates hurt- woe even more. “(COVID) kind of (exacerbated) stuff for folks,” Nimik said. “Now that we’re kind of coming out of that … and things are relatively going back to a semi-state of normal, there’s still going to be that need for a lot of folks.” kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca jura.mcilraith@freepress.mb.ca AGAPE ● FROM B1 Guards attacked in Village retail robbery A PAIR of security guards are recover- ing from injuries after being assaulted during a robbery at the Shoppers Drug Mart in Osborne Village — the latest in a spate of retail crimes plaguing the city in recent months. The incident has sparked questions about the efficacy of provincial legis- lation, with a Winnipeg security expert arguing private security officers do not have the required training, equipment or authority to protect themselves. “Essentially, the guard service as an industry, as a whole, it has no teeth,” said Jeff Stone, president and CEO of Tacit Investigations & Security. “The criminals know that guards have virtually no authority, no safe- ty counter-measures, no self-defence. They have virtually nothing other than a uniform and a voice.” Stone, who described morale levels in Manitoba’s private security sector as “atrocious,” said he was dismayed but not surprised to learn two men suffered injuries in another attack Saturday. Three young people are facing char- ges in the incident that sent police to the store at 43 Osborne St. at about 8:30 p.m. for multiple reports of a commer- cial robbery in progress. The Winnipeg Police Service said officers arrested three suspects at the scene after learning several people were inside the store damaging prop- erty. A fourth suspect fled on foot be- fore police arrived. Police said the suspects confronted the security guards outside the busi- ness, physically and verbally assaulted them before following them inside and trying unsuccessfully to grab cash from the register. The suspects allegedly stole cosmetic products valued at about $800 and then caused approximately $5,000 worth of damage to merchandise, police said. Two male security guards, ages 20 and 21, suffered minor injuries but did not require medical attention, the WPS said. An 18-year-old man, an 18-year-old woman and a 17-year-old girl are facing robbery and mischief charges. They were released on undertakings. Shoplifting incidents rose by 45.2 per cent last year in Winnipeg and 13.7 per cent over the five-year average, accord- ing to the WPS annual statistical report released Tuesday. “Retailers won’t be surprised by the statistics reported today. Many are ex- periencing a rise in shoplifting within their stores,” said John Graham, direc- tor of government relations for the Re- tail Council of Canada’s Prairie region. “Whether you’re an employee within the store or playing a role as a third- party security person, you are increas- ingly dealing with difficult situations, (including people being) potentially violent or behaving more aggressively.” Over the past seven months, police have detailed crimes in which secur- ity guards have been stabbed, sprayed with bear repellent and physically as- saulted while working in businesses, public spaces and institutions. “Incidents like this are occurring throughout the city,” WPS Const. Jason Michalyshen said. “It’s incredibly unfortunate. The loss of property or damage is one thing, but public safety is the highest of prior- ities.” Police have initiated crackdowns on retail crime and increased patrols in some areas, including Osborne Village. Provincial legislators have also stepped up, pushing through long-awaited amendments to the Police Services Act. The legislation allowed government institutions like universities, hospitals and Winnipeg Transit to deploy institu- tional safety officers with the authority to detain unruly suspects, carry per- sonal protective equipment and wield non-lethal weapons. Those powers should be extended to private security officers who meet the same provincial qualifications — par- ticularly those working in retail en- vironments, public spaces or at social services with a history of high-risk in- cidents, Stone said. Graham agreed, saying the retail council supports “the concept of a more highly trained security professional who has more authority.” “With the proper training, we think there is a real opportunity to provide that more experienced security person in some retail environments,” he said. He acknowledged some instances of shoplifting are caused by financial desperation or underlying issues such as addiction, homelessness and mental illness. “Arresting our way out of those prob- lems isn’t productive but at the same time, for those more violent, more prolific criminals who commonly use threats of violence … we are looking for greater commitment to prosecution, sentencing and addressing issues with bail and reoffending.” Police are asking anyone with infor- mation or video about the Osborne in- cident to call 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477. tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca TYLER SEARLE F OR 16 months, the view from Mar- shall Wiebe’s back window has fea- tured a massive rubble pile from a business destroyed by fire. He’s now part of a group of Point Douglas residents calling on the City of Winnipeg to “immediately” clean up the site where Surplus Direct at 843 Main St. burned down on Feb. 11, 2023. “It’s just a pile of rubble surrounded by a chain-link fence at this point. Sec- tions of that fence (are often being) pulled down by passersby and people load up their own garbage in there. It’s been 16 months and… there’s nothing going on as far as I can tell,” said Wiebe. The charred remains of two other businesses destroyed in the same blaze have been removed. As Wiebe and his neighbours fix fen- ces and plant vegetables in their yards, the resident said it’s frustrating to see no progress on the nearby eyesore. “As residents, everyone’s doing their part to improve their little patch of the street or the neighbourhood and it’s very discouraging… when we don’t get any response (to clean up this lot),” said Wiebe. Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski) said he’d like the city to set aside a budget to clean up rubble piles, arguing the prob- lem is growing worse each year. “If we don’t have money in the budget, our public service can’t (clean it) … (And) I’d say this is at an emergency level, when we have neighbourhoods with so many of those properties,” said Eadie. Cheryl Martens, a resident of the Spence neighbourhood, said neighbours counted 63 vacant lots in the area, as of May 30, including the remains of an apartment block that burned down at 694 Sherbrook St. on Feb. 14, 2022. “I’d like the city to clean up (these sites) and then charge the people who should have cleaned it up,” said Mar- tens. She said the vacant homes and rub- ble-filled lots discourage families from moving into or staying in the neigh- bourhood, underlining the need for the city to act. The city recently announced it will clear the site of 694 Sherbrook and add the cost to the owner’s property taxes. In an email, city spokesperson Kalen Qually said that work is expected to begin “in the coming weeks.” Qually said the city’s response to buildings destroyed by fire can vary, partly due to insurance assessment timelines and how quickly the owner responds to city orders to clean up a site. “Timelines associated with the demo- lition and remediation of a property fol- lowing a fire can vary a great deal de- pending on the actions of the property owner,” he wrote. Qually noted city remediation is a possible “final resort” and said the city is reviewing options to speed up that process. The property owner of the former Surplus Direct store says he shares residents’ desire to remove the massive rubble pile as quickly as possible but blames bureaucratic holdups for de- laying that work. “We want that gone… It bothers me every day of my life at this point,” said Robert McDonald. McDonald said he’s still trying to prove the property doesn’t contain as- bestos to get a Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health stop-work order for the site lifted. McDonald said he’s commissioned 54 tests that didn’t find asbestos at the site, while the province told him one of its tests did. If the province approved a regular demolition, the property owner esti- mates it would cost him about $600 per truckload to complete, which would soar to $4,000 per truckload for a wet demolition required to remove asbes- tos. With about 90 truckloads of materi- al to remove, he said the total cost of a wet demolition is “ridiculous” and un- affordable. McDonald stressed he is anxious to clean up the site. “The second we get a green light… the place could be cleaned up in under two weeks,” he said. A provincial government spokes- person confirmed a stop-work order remains in effect due to the risk of ex- posure to asbestos. “The province takes asbestos management very seriously, as asbes- tos-linked disease is a leading cause of occupational illness and death,” the spokesperson said, in a written state- ment. Meanwhile, a property owner is now cleaning up the site of the former Vul- can Iron Works building at 150 Suther- land Ave., which caught fire multiple times since July 2023. Mayor Scott Gillingham said the city has taken many steps to try to reduce the number of lots plagued by derelict structures or rubble, such as ramping up security standards for buildings re- peatedly set on fire, adding more bylaw enforcement officers and creating new inspection fees. Gillingham stressed property owners must maintain their properties and not expect the city to take over the work. “If you own a piece of property, you need to be prepared to deal with all of the costs associated with the prop- erty… If we start taking on the cleanup of all of these properties and the asbes- tos costs associated with it, we’re going to be asking taxpayers (to pay that),” he said. joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca X : @joyanne_pursaga RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES A property owner is now cleaning up the site of the former Vulcan Iron Works building at 150 Sutherland Ave., which caught fire multiple times since July 2023. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Surplus Direct, which burned down in 2023, is a ‘pile of rubble surrounded by a chain link fence’ that residents want immediately cleaned up. Point Douglas resident demands 16-month eyesore be cleared away Rubble trouble JOYANNE PURSAGA JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Cost of cleaning up remains of a Sherbrook St. apartment block will be billed to the owner. ;