Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 7, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba WEDNESDAY AUGUST 7, 2024 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM SECTION B CONNECT WITH WINNIPEG’S NO. 1 NEWS SOURCE ▼ CITY ● BUSINESS Man riding at high speed when collision occurred Cyclist dies after crashing into parked semi A 67-YEAR-OLD male cyclist died after crashing into the back of a parked tractor-trailer on the side of Kenaston Boulevard, near Waverley Street, on Friday. The cyclist was riding at high speed when he collided with the rear of the trailer, which had its hazard lights activated on the northbound shoulder, shortly before 2:30 p.m., the Winnipeg Police Service said. “It’s always tragic. You feel for the family,” said Mark Cohoe, executive director of Bike Winnipeg, which advo- cates for increased cycling awareness and safety in the city. “The bottom line is it’s just tragic,” said local Coun. Janice Lukes (Waver- ley West). The WPS provided limited informa- tion in a news release Tuesday. Police would not provide more details about the cause of the crash, which is being investigated by the traffic division. The cyclist’s name was not released. His family has been notified, police said. He is at least the second cyclist to be killed on Winnipeg’s roads in as many months. Police wouldn’t say if the man was wearing a helmet. The crash happened on a stretch of Kenaston that has one separated cyc- ling route (on the west side) north of Waverley, and none to the south be- tween Waverley and the Perimeter Highway. While details are limited, the inci- dent points to a gap in Winnipeg’s ac- tive transportation network, and the importance of separated lanes for cyc- lists, said Cohoe. “You don’t have a pathway in that sec- tion,” he said. “It just showcases that we want to have a separation on those roadways.” There are plans to build a separated lane on the east side of Kenaston north of Waverley, said Lukes, chair of city hall’s public works committee. She said there are currently no plans for bike routes on Kenaston between Waverley and the Perimeter, given the province’s previously announced plans to build a bypass in the area. “When the St. Norbert bypass comes into play, then stuff like (bike lanes) will happen,” said Lukes. In 2015, the former NDP government said construction of a new $400-million route bypassing St. Norbert — by link- ing Kenaston and Highway 75 — would begin in five years and be completed within 10 years. The proposal included a cloverleaf interchange at Kenaston and the Per- imeter. Almost 10 years later, no construc- tion has taken place. The NDP lost the 2016 provincial election to the Progressive Conserv- atives, who ordered studies and held public information sessions while in government. The Tories lost last year’s election to the NDP. A provincial spokesperson said a 2020 design study proposed an inter- change at Kenaston and the Perimeter as part of the long-term Winnipeg One Million Perimeter Freeway Initiative. CHRIS KITCHING ● CYCLIST, CONTINUED ON B2 RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS CARRYING THE TORCH Ken Galanchuk, a resident of Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre and once among the province’s top athletes in hockey and a former Olympian in basketball, lights the cauldron Tuesday for the first Interfacility Olympics at the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre. Starting with the opening ceremon- ies, the two-day event, which continues Thursday, will include such activities as balloon net volleyball, axe throwing and shuffleboard. Condo board says Aurora in violation of its bylaws Recovery centre fight headed to courtroom ERIK PINDERA THE fight over an addiction treatment centre in a residential condo develop- ment on Waverley Street has moved to litigation, despite the operator’s prom- ise to relocate. Michael Bruneau, president and chief executive officer of Aurora Recovery Centre — a private drug and alcohol treatment centre north of Gimli — purchased 23 units at 873 Waverley St., with plans to renovate and rent the suites out as the Aurora Family Re- unification Village, in which children would live with their parents as they undergo treatment. But the condo’s board and owners in the development opposed the move, tell- ing Bruneau the paperwork he signed to buy the condos clearly indicates he can’t operate a business of any kind in the residential suites. In late July, the condo board lawyer, Lynda Troup of Thompson Dorfman Sweatman, filed a notice of application in Court of King’s Bench under the Con- dominium Act, seeking a declaration that Bruneau and his company are vio- lating the condo’s bylaws by using the suites for business purposes. The application also seeks a court order for Bruneau and his company to cease and desist from carrying out business in the development. The court application was filed July 19, two days after Bruneau first told the Free Press on July 17 he was going to relocate from the development. Bruneau said last week he still plans to move. “To find an empty apartment block is quite hard, but I’ve… got an offer on a site right now to build and I think I’m going to get it,” he said Friday. But he insisted he’s moving out only because of opposition from the board and other owners, not because his plan violates the condo rules. “(The clients) rent a place, it’s in their name, and we get their children to move back with them,” he said. “Aurora staff are hired to help these parents live in a home.” He argued providing services to the residents, such as counsellors and so- cial workers, is equivalent to a private homeowner hiring a home-care nurse to provide services. “The condo is saying I’m running a business, I guess we’ll have to find out in court,” said Bruneau. “The only reason I’m looking to move — I really think I can legally do what I’m doing — but the clients feel very hurt, people are walk- ing by taking pictures of them, staring. I would not move if the clients were happy and could handle the stress… but they know they’re not wanted.” The Free Press has confirmed that people — apparent residents of the treatment village — have continued to move into the development. ● RECOVERY, CONTINUED ON B2 More than 130 dogs seized north of city MANITOBA’S animal health and wel- fare branch seized more than 130 dogs from a home north of Winnipeg last week as local shelters are struggling — in some cases unable — to meet the demand created by people who have abandoned their pets. The province and the Winnipeg Hu- mane Society are working together to provide shelter and care for the seized dogs. “This is putting a massive strain on our shelters for financial gain, and you just cannot care for animals in that amount properly,” humane society CEO Jessica Miller told a news conference Tuesday. “They’re (living) on top of each other. It’s selfish to create animals when shel- ters are bursting.” She said details she could share were in short supply because the investiga- tion is ongoing, but pointed to backyard breeders as a major contributor to the overpopulation problem in many parts of the province. Latest case puts ‘massive strain’ on shelters already struggling to meet demand MATTHEW FRANK ● DOGS, CONTINUED ON B2 MATTHEW FRANK / FREE PRESS Jessica Miller, CEO of the Winnipeg Humane Society, with Andrew Clark, director of the soci- ety’s investigations team, said 130 dogs were seized from a home north of Winnipeg. ;