Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 19, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM ● B3 MORE than $11 million in fed- eral funding announced Thurs- day will go toward safeguard- ing areas across Manitoba that help keep carbon dioxide out of the air. The federal Liberals have earmarked $6.1 million to compensate farmers and other private landowners across the province in exchange for sign- ing agreements to not drain their wetlands, cultivate grass- lands or cut down forests. The project, led by the Mani- toba Habitat Conservancy, involves nearly 3,000 acres of habitats crucial for mitigat- ing climate change, including grasslands, wetlands and ripar- ian areas. Most of the lands are in rural Manitoba. “They essentially (will) pay farmers and others for con- servation,” Terry Duguid, the parliamentary secretary to the prime minister and special ad- viser for water, said. Most of the land has already been identified, with large swaths north of Neepawa and in the Interlake area that haven’t received conservation support. “It’s allowing us to work in areas where we traditionally haven’t in the past, but there’s really areas of high need,” Ste- phen Carlyle of the Manitoba Habitat Conservancy said. “We’re really focusing on carbon-rich areas. So, where the carbon is in the soil, and we can really keep it there.” Another $5.1 million will go specifically to conservation in Fisher River Cree Nation, to stop the conversion of land through peat harvesting, which releases carbon into the air. Fisher River leadership have long expressed concern about the impact of harvesting peat, a natural resource made of or- ganic matter, on Lake Winnipeg and moose and deer habitats. It can also impact the har- vesting of traditional medicines in the area. “As Indigenous people, we are stewards of this land. We have a deep responsibility to protect and preserve our nat- ural resources for future gen- erations,” Fisher River Chief David Crate said in a statement. “This funding will allow us to take meaningful action to safeguard our peatlands, which play a vital role in sequestering carbon and supporting the deli- cate ecosystems that our people have relied on for centuries.” Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and stor- ing carbon dioxide. The federal and provincial governments have committed to protecting 30 per cent of Canada’s lands and waters by 2030. Both governments, along with the First Nations that sit on the Seal River Watershed in northern Manitoba, signed on in January to do a feasibility study on protecting the water- shed by making it an Indigen- ous Protected and Conserved Area and possibly a national park reserve. The study is currently under- way. Should the conservation effort succeed, Duguid said that project alone would put the province 16 per cent closer to its goal. malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca NEWS I LOCAL FRIDAY, JULY 19, 2024 Traffic lights being installed outside busy Costco store THE City of Winnipeg is installing traffic lights at the Costco warehouse location on St. James Street after long-standing concerns over vehicle congestion in the area. Public works spokeswoman Julie Dooley said the installation began late last week. “Our plan is to get this done while mini- mizing impact to Costco operations. The de- sire is to complete it as soon as practical,” she said Thursday. A report by city staff in November found the level of traffic at the site met the criter- ia to add lights at the north entrance to the Costco store at 1315 St. James St. “(A) review of May 2023 traffic counts indicated that traffic control … criteria were met and the 75 vehicle-per-hour cross-street volume threshold was also fulfilled,” the re- port said. Costco frequently hired special duty Win- nipeg Police Service officers — who can be contracted to work in uniform on their time off — to help direct traffic. Because the new signal will benefit a pri- vate property owner, city developer rules dictate that the cost of the lights be covered by Costco. City council approved a plan to have the city enter into a cost-recovery agreement with Costco and green-light the installation of the signals at its May 30 meeting. The estimated capital cost was $250,000, eventually funded by the wholesaler under the agreement. Dooley said late Thursday evening that the city will invoice Costco for the final cost once the installation is complete. City staff estimate the annual mainten- ance and operating cost will be $5,000, which will be covered by the city. A city spokesman said last year 13,700 ve- hicles travel through the area on a typical day. fpcity@freepress.mb.ca Feds announce $11 million in conservation funds MALAK ABAS Sala said there’s a cost to keeping positions vacant. “We lost out on 2,000 potential new immigrants because the last government, and their cuts, resulted in that nominee program not being properly staffed. We didn’t have enough snowplow operators to keep our highways clean and safe for driving. “This is a sign that we’re doing the important work of staffing up, in important areas, to make sure that ultimately we can give Manitobans the help and support that they need and deserve.” Obby Khan, the Tory’s finance critic, claimed the NDP is cut- ting programs. “They’ve cut daycares, they’ve cut the green team, they’ve cut parks, they’ve made cuts to justice,” Khan said. “Forty million dol- lars to those vacancies, when Manitobans are still waiting, to me sounds like this NDP is like they’ve always been: spend, spend, spend and worry about that later.” Kyle Ross, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, criticized the taxpayers federation for tossing out numbers on how many government workers were hired with- out putting it into context. “We don’t know if they are right or wrong, but this is frustrating to see when Manitobans voted for more services at the last elec- tion,” Ross said. “Clerks provide a service at the front lines… hopefully, this is a good sign for increased services.” Ross pointed out the former Tory government reduced the civil service by 2,300 workers between 2016 and 2023. “When Manitobans complained about the lack of services, this is why,” he said. “I think Manitobans will be appreciative of all the people hired.” Niall Harney, a senior researcher with the Manitoba branch of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said its research found that by 2023, 27 per cent of civil servant positions had been left vacant by the government and, between 2016 to 2020, 17 per cent of the positions were cut. “We were at a large deficit with the civil service to deliver ser- vices,” Harney said. “This is just backfilling existing positions. “If anything, this is something we should be welcoming.” kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca HIRINGS ● FROM B1 African migrants paid thousands to smuggler: claim A GROUP of African migrants picked up by RCMP after they were smuggled into Canada this year paid a steep price to cross over from the United States. A recent court filing reveals the migrants each paid between $9,000 and $12,000 to persons unknown to be taken from the Republic of Chad, in north-central Africa, to Canada. RCMP said this winter that a traffic officer pulled over a van on McGilli- vray Boulevard in Winnipeg early on Feb. 22. RCMP arrested the driver, 30-year- old Abdi Hassan Ali, who has since been charged with human smuggling. Eight passengers — seven from Chad and one from the Republic of Mali, in west Africa — were in the van. Chad has been in political crisis since its longtime president was killed in 2021. The seven men and one woman were turned over to the Canada Border Ser- vices Agency for processing, while Ali was taken into police custody. The province’s director of civil for- feiture filed a lawsuit in the Court of King’s Bench on Wednesday seeking to keep Ali’s blue 2020 Kia Sedona and the $2,300 in U.S. cash allegedly hidden in his sock when arrested. The statement of claim reveals new details of the smuggling operation Ali is accused of participating in, and of his arrest. It states Ali was spotted sitting in another vehicle near the Emerson border crossing in October 2023. He claimed to Mounties who questioned him that he was in the area to “pick up friends.” Mounties again spotted Ali near the border on Jan. 24, “at a time when a known human-smuggling event was occurring.” He was arrested in relation to a smuggling probe but was released without being charged. RCMP spotted the van heading north on Highway 3 from the Canada-U.S. border at about 2 a.m. on Feb. 22, the court filing claims. RCMP pulled the van over when the driver allegedly travelled over the speed limit. Each of the passengers gave the of- ficers identification. Ali told RCMP he was an Uber driver taking the passen- gers to “the shelter,” the claim alleges, and he was let go. Traffic police checked and discov- ered Ali had earlier been investigated amid the January smuggling probe. Po- lice followed the van to Winnipeg and pulled it over. They arrested Ali and took the passengers into custody. The claim states Ali told RCMP he had picked up the men in Blumenort, where they had been hiding in a farm shed for 15 days, but the passengers had documents indicating they had ar- rived in Minneapolis between Feb. 15 and Feb. 20. Changes to the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement made last year mean people who walk into either country between ports of entry are to be turned back if found within 14 days of their arrival. The passengers, through an interpret- er, told police they had been dropped off at the U.S. border and given Ali’s phone number to get transport into Canada, the claim states. The migrants also revealed the cost of their travel and said Ali made up the story about Blumenort, advising them to “stick to it” if asked, the court filing claims. It is unclear whether the eight pas- sengers were deported to the U.S. or allowed to make asylum claims here. Limited exceptions in the amended Safe Third Country Agreement allow a person to remain in the country they entered while a claim is considered. Winnipeg immigration lawyer Alas- tair Clarke said in February some people from Chad have decided to seek refugee protection in Canada because of its francophone population and be- cause it is viewed as more welcoming than other countries. French is one of Chad’s official languages. Clarke made those comments after an earlier group of seven migrants from Chad were picked up by RCMP and transferred to border agents in late January. A Calgary man, 49-year-old Saleh Youssouf, was charged with hu- man smuggling in that case. RCMP found four men from Chad who had crossed the border near Emer- son in December. One suffered serious injuries in the cold weather. A family of four from India froze to death in a snow-packed field while trying to walk into the U.S. just east of Emerson in a blizzard in January 2022. Jagdish Patel, 39, his wife, Vaishali- ben, 37, their daughter, Vihangi, 11, and son, Dharmik, 3, were found dead just metres from the border. The Pa- tels were trying to emigrate to the U.S., where they have family. The RCMP and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol began reporting a spike in crossings after COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions started to ease. erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca ERIK PINDERA MAN FACES CHARGES IN HENDERSON BREAK-INS A man is facing charges after a cannabis store and a pizzeria on Henderson Highway were broken into. Police were sent to the cannabis store on the 1000 block of Henderson at about 6 a.m. Wednesday and saw a pickup truck with an Ontario licence plate driving away. The truck was driven erratically over sidewalks and at high speeds, weaving in and out of traffic, the Winnipeg Police Service said Thursday. Officers did not pursue the truck, the WPS said. They later determined it had been reported stolen from the 300 block of Ottawa Avenue on Monday, while the licence plate was reported stolen from a vehicle parked on Barber Street, also on Monday. Officers spotted the truck on the 200 block of Bowman Avenue at about 10 a.m. Wednesday and, while waiting for it to be towed, spotted a suspect walking nearby. Police obtained a warrant to search a home on the 200 block of Jamison Avenue and seized stolen cannabis products, about $40 worth of fentanyl and a vehicle reported stolen from a home on the 600 block of Castle Avenue on July 12. Investigators determined the man is also a suspect in the break-in at the pizzeria on the 600 block of Henderson that morning. MAN ARRESTED AFTER CONFRONTING POLICE A man who confronted two police officers while carrying a bag with two axes sticking out of it inside an Osborne Village store is facing charges. The officers were at the Dollarama at 230 Osborne St. as part of the violent crime retail theft program at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday when a man con- fronted them about their presence, bought an item and left the store. The officers went outside and saw two axes sticking out of a bag the man had with him. The 36-year-old man was arrested and is facing charges of possession of a weapon, failing to comply with a probation order and two counts of failing to comply with conditions of a release order. He was released on an undertaking. BODY OF SECOND MISSING FISHER FOUND The body of a second missing fisher from Misipaw- istik Cree Nation has been found in Lake Winnipeg. Tyler Ballantyne, 31, Rayden Dick, 28, and Delaney McGillvary, 29, went to lift fishing nets on the lake on June 27. Ballantyne’s body was found June 29. RCMP said Thursday that the body of a second man, believed to be Dick, was found by searchers Wednesday. The search for McGillvary continues. MAN RIDING STOLEN E-BIKE FACES WEAPONS CHARGES A 44-year-old Winnipeg man is facing weapons charges and a count of possessing property ob- tained by crime after police spotted the man riding a stolen e-bike. Winnipeg police saw the man riding an e-bike around Isabel Street and McDermot Avenue at about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. The e-bike matched the description of one reported stolen from a near- by neighbourhood, police said Thursday. The man was stopped on Kennedy Street and arrested after the bike was confirmed stolen, police said. Police also found a sawed-off rifle and an air pistol in the man’s backpack, resulting in six weapons charges. CHEMAWAWIN MOUNTIES SEEK ASSAULT SUSPECT RCMP in Chemawawin Cree Nation are searching for a man accused in the serious assault of a woman in the community on Tuesday. Mounties were called about the victim, who managed to get to a nurs- ing station despite severe injuries, at about 3:30 p.m. The victim was taken to hospital in Winnipeg. RCMP believe Jeremy Lachose, 26, was involved in the assault but weren’t able to find him during patrols. Mounties obtained an arrest warrant. Lachose is facing two counts each of aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and uttering threats, as well as single counts of assault causing bodily harm, assault while choking, common assault and forcible confinement. RCMP believe Lachose is still in the community, which is about 460 kilometres northwest of Winni- peg. He’s got a neck tattoo of flowers and a cross. Mounties ask anyone with information on his whereabouts to call the local detachment at 204-329-2004 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS). — staff MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS New traffic lights being installed at the Costco warehouse location on St. James Street on Thursday. IN BRIEF Rayden Dick Jeremy Lachose ;