Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 2, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba Win your share of SOME CONDITIONS APPLY. DETAILS AT SOUTHBEACHCASINO.CA Free Press SERVING MANITOBA SINCE 1872. FOREVER WITH YOUR SUPPORT. 13-MONTH GIC SPECIAL (RRSP/RRIF/TFSA/FHSA*) 5.00%' SCU.MB.CA/GICS ^ *Rate subject to change. GICs require a $500 minimum deposit 8SCU FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2024 City orders tear-down, province orders it stoppedCity frustrated as demolition delayed again TYLER SEARLE T 1 HE demolition of an inner-city warehouse at risk of collapse has ground to a halt — the latest in a string of derelict properties left to rot as the province overrules orders issued by the city. The Manitoba government issued a stop-work order at 579 McDermot Ave. after inspectors identified the possible presence of asbestos. The situation prompted Mayor Scott Gillingham to call for co-operation from the provincial government. Gillingham told the Free Press Thursday governments must work together to develop new approaches to asbestos remediation and removal. The alternative is watching the blight of vacant and derelict buildings continue to grow, he said. “We do need to find solutions because it’s area residents who are impacted and who are rightfully frustrated,” he said. “I’m hopeful the province can work with us to find alternative approaches to address the safety hazards so we can reduce these delays.” The city and province have not yet had a formal discussion about the issue, but the presence of asbestos has stalled the demolition of buildings throughout the city, making them magnets for criminal activity, fires and safety hazards, Gillingham said. City officials ordered the emergency demolition of the McDermot Avenue warehouse last month after municipal inspectors concluded it was at risk of collapse. Demolition began July 18, but was quickly halted by provincial inspectors who “noted suspect asbestos containing material on the structure,” a provincial spokesperson said in an email. “The company responsible for demolition must provide a plan to ensure measures will be taken to prevent any materials with the potential to release asbestos into the atmosphere are removed in a manner that does not create a risk to the safety and health of any persons.” As of Thursday afternoon, roughly one-third of the building had been destroyed, leaving a large section of its interior exposed to the elements and piles of rubble at the structure’s base. No further work will be done until the issues noted in the stop-work order are resolved. • DEMOLITION, CONTINUED ON A2 MARCO DJURICA / REUTERS SUMMER'S OLYMPICS Canada's Summer McIntosh is piling up the hardware and rewriting history, winning her second gold medal — and third of the 2024 Games — Thursday in the 200-metre butterfly. The Toronto teen, 17, is the first Canadian woman to win two individual gold medals in one Games, and only the third swimmer — behind George Hodgson in 1912 and Alex Baumann in 1984 — to accomplish the feat. See Olympic coverage on pages D3, 4. Hospital eyeing new type of scanners They won't detect illnesses, but keep weapons out CAROL SANDERS MANITOBA’S largest hospital is sampling an array of weapon-detection systems after a surge in violent incidents, while one Winnipeg sports club has adopted the technology to keep patrons safe. Before the Health Sciences Centre began trying different systems on July 16, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers gave one a go at the start of the Canadian Football League season before making a commitment. “After positive results, we’ve expanded their use across all gates for the past three games,” Winnipeg Football Club president and CEO Wade Miller said in a statement Thursday before the Bombers took on the B.C. Lions at Princess Auto Stadium. The club has been using the Open-gate detection system for the automatic screening of people in transit, including their luggage, backpacks and bags, for improvised explosive devices and “mass casualty metal threats,” the security company website says. “This technology has quickly become an essential part of our fan-screening process, enhancing safety while making the entry experience less intrusive and quicker,” Miller said, noting fans entering the stadium don’t have to empty their pockets or remove items from bags and purses. Opengate boasts that its system has a “near zero rate” of false alarms, is portable, and suitable for all environmental conditions. The Bombers were the first team in the CFL to use the scanners, Miller said. HSC tested one system for about a week at the entrance to the adult emergency department and then moved the scanners to the Crisis Response Centre for four days, a Shared Health spokesperson said. A different vendor is scheduled to provide a scanner for use in the adult emergency department next week, and a third vendor’s system will be observed in action off-site, the spokesperson said. Feedback from staff, patients and visitors has so far been positive, leading to an increase in the use of “amnesty lockers,” he said. So-called amnesty lockers were installed at HSC’s adult emergency department two years ago for people to voluntarily lock up items that could be viewed as weapons. They were reportedly seldom used until the weapon scanner pilot project began. Shared Health will consider the feedback it gets while reviewing and comparing the three different systems when the pilot program concludes later this summer, the spokesman said, adding the process to formally select a vendor is expected to quickly follow. “We are pleased to hear that some action is finally being taken, despite the fact it is only a trial period,” Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson said Thursday. • SCANNERS, CONTINUED ON A2 Woman, 60, recounts decades-old assault, alleges she's not alone Former priest facing child sex charge MALAK ABAS A former priest has been charged with sexually assaulting a pre-teen parishioner more than 50 years ago, in what police say could be just the beginning of a larger case against the now 81-year-old man. A woman in her 60s told police in March 2022 that she had been sexually assaulted multiple times over the course of two years when she was a parishioner at St. Elijah Romanian Orthodox Church in Lennard, RCMP said in a news release Thursday. She was 11 and 12 years old at the time. Constantin Turcoane, 81, of Regina, turned himself into police after a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of rape and sexual intercourse under 14 — charges that existed under those names in the Criminal Code at the time. He was released from custody and will appear in court in Russell on Aug. 28. The church is one of just two remaining in Lennard, a small community close to the Saskatchewan border in the RM of Riding Mountain West, about 400 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. Police in nearby Russell conducted the investigation. Russell RCMP Cpl. Brett Church said the woman, who no longer lives in the area, does not believe she was the only victim at the time. “The survivor we’re dealing with here has told us there were others,” Church said Thursday. Investigators believe there are people who know about the alleged incidents and are urging them to reach out to police. Church said that while there was not a police investigation at the time, allegations were made. “From what I understand, he was transferred out pretty quick in 1970, when these allegations came out. I say allegations, I don’t know where or what happened back in 1970, but it definitely wasn’t a police investigation,” he said. • PRIEST, CONTINUED ON A2 TODAY'S WEATHER SUNNY. HIGH 29 — LOW 18 O SPORTS BOMBERS BEAT LIONS 25-0 / D1 ;