Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 9, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2024 VOL 153 NO 227 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2024 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published six days a week in print and always online at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204-697-7000 CEO / MIKE POWER Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor News / STACEY THIDRICKSON Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS NEWSMEDIA COUNCIL The Winnipeg Free Press is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to determine acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please send them to: editorialconcerns@freepress.mb.ca. 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INSIDE Arts and Life C1 Business B5 Classifieds D8 Comics C5 Diversions C6-7 Horoscope C6 Miss Lonelyhearts C6 Obituaries D7 Opinion A6-7 Real Estate B8 Sports D1 Television C4 Weather C8 COLUMNISTS: Peter Denton A7 READER SERVICE ● GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 CIRCULATION INQUIRIES MISSING OR INCOMPLETE PAPER? Call or email before 10 a.m. weekdays or 11 a.m. Saturday City: 204-697-7001 Outside Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 press 1 6:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.; 7 a.m. - noon Saturday; Closed Sunday TO SUBSCRIBE: 204-697-7001 Out of Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of Canada Provincial court Judge Darcie Yale, who sentenced Noel after his guilty pleas earlier this year to possession of a restricted or prohibited firearm and two counts of possessing a weapon contrary to court orders, revealed the circumstances of the slaying in an Aug. 1 written sentencing decision. Yale wrote that Winnipeg police found the sawed-off shotgun in the basement of Noel’s girlfriend’s moth- er’s house, after determining Noel had it in his possession on the day of the killing. “Why WPS were searching for the gun is relevant. A person… who said he wanted to buy drugs from Mr. Noel was shot and killed. Mr. Noel was a suspect in the death. After his arrest, Mr. Noel gave a statement to police admitting his involvement in the shoot- ing,” wrote Yale. Noel, who was released on bail for unrelated matters 15 days before the shooting, was required to live at his Young Street suite by a court order that also barred him from possess- ing any weapons, on top of a 10-year weapons ban stemming from a prior conviction. He was sitting in his bedroom, sell- ing fentanyl, when Catcheway and his girlfriend showed up on the pretense of wanting to buy an ounce of the power- ful opioid. Noel told Catcheway he did not have the amount of fentanyl he wanted, but would sell him what he had, the judge wrote. Catcheway was armed with two guns concealed under his jacket. Noel had been warned by others that Catcheway had been robbing people in the drug world and when he began to “act erratically,” Noel grew concerned he was about to be robbed, wrote Yale. “When the deceased started to reach behind his back, Mr. Noel pulled out the gun which he had been storing loaded with ammunition beside him in his bed. He did so to deter the de- ceased from escalating further,” wrote Yale. “Mr. Noel and the deceased pointed their guns at each other. Fearful for his life, Mr. Noel pulled the trigger of the gun. He shot the deceased in the neck, killing him.” Noel, who turned to living the life of a hustler as a teen amid a difficult childhood and has long struggled with drugs, is no stranger to the criminal justice system. Yale called his record “unenviable.” Noel estimated he has spent 20 of his 55 years behind bars in provincial and federal facilities. “His adulthood evidences a life spent struggling with addictions, violence, instability in housing and employment, and complex loss,” wrote Yale, noting Noel was dealing fentanyl, in part, to support his own addiction. But Yale said he has made progress in trying to recover from the drugs since his incarceration, though he has struggled with his mental health. “Mr. Noel recognizes that but for his offending behaviour (having the gun with which he defended himself), he would be dead,” said Yale. “The profound impact of this realiza- tion, coupled with overwhelming stress associated with being charged with murder in the death of the deceased… have hit home and have given him incentive to change his life.” Noel immigrated to Canada from Grenada with his family when he was around four or five. His parents, who worked long hours, were largely absent. His father beat him with a belt, the judge wrote, leading him to leave the family home at 14, struggling while living with another teen. His parents later decided to move back to Grenada, where he did not adjust as a teen, so he moved back to Winnipeg with his brother to live with their godfather, who kicked Noel out when he dropped out of school. That is when he began to drink and use drugs, getting in trouble and becoming transient, leading to a life of criminal behaviour and addictions, Yale wrote. Noel, who has been in custody since his June 2022 arrest, has just over 2 ½ years left to serve of his sentence. He will be banned from owning weapons of any kind for life. erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca The deal covers all educators except employees of the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine and those who be- long to MTS federal bargaining units in Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation and Nelson House. Its expiration will coincide with the September 2026 rollout of a new prov- incewide teacher salary schedule. Under the harmonized grid, new hires with a bachelor’s degree in education will make more than $70,000 annually. Within a decade, those em- ployees will earn six-figure salaries, even without additional credentials. Teachers in the Frontier, Flin Flon and Kelsey school divisions will receive an additional $3,000 northern allowance. In Thompson-area schools, employ- ees will maintain status quo salaries. These educators now no longer have to forfeit pay if they are unable to travel to work due to inclement weather. The Manitoba School Boards Associ- ation highlighted new language in the agreement that is “in support of truth and reconciliation” in a news release Thursday. Educators who teach at least 12 per cent of the time in an Indigenous language will be compensated with a $500 allowance. The contract also guarantees paid leave for up to three days for tradition- al Indigenous ceremonial, cultural and spiritual observances. Other non-salary articles include a 5.5-hour limit on instructional days and an increase in the minimum preparation time so teachers are enti- tled to 210 minutes of prep every cycle (typically a six-school day rotation) in 2025-26. A single day off is to be credited for 50 hours of voluntary extracurricular activity, up to a maximum of three days. Divisions will have to recognize professional development over the summer months and grant up to two more days of personal leave during the year. Following an on-the-job injury, be it physical or psychological, teachers will be reimbursed with sick leave days and up to $1,000. While describing the deal as a win for roughly 16,000 public school teach- ers, Hauseman questioned the absence of specific language surrounding class-size caps and composition. The associate professor’s other criticism is the agreement’s generous pay and “advertising” for uncertified substitutes because he said it does not encourage certification. Substitute pay is being standardized by geographical region for September 2025. When that grid comes into effect, employees with temporary teaching permits will earn 80 per cent of their certified colleagues’ wages. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca It was a devastating loss, Park said, and ended her dream of an Olympic gold in Paris. It also meant her chance at a repe- chage round depended on the Korean advancing to the final. In Olympic taekwondo, two repechages are held to decide two bronze medallists. The system is intended to give competitors who may have been drawn against the top contender in earlier rounds a fair chance at a medal. Con- tenders defeated by the finalists in the quarter and semifinals are matched to determine two third-place winners. Fortunately for Park, Kim beat No.1- ranked Zongshi Luo of China in a tight, three-round semifinal match. “That was really motivating for me and just made me fully focused on the task at hand and I was really hungry for that medal,” Park said. “Those last two matches are a good representation of that.” Park earned her place in the bronze match with a decisive 2-0 (6-4, 3-2) win over Turkiye’s Hatice Kubra Ilgun in the repechage. It was a roller-coaster of emotions, nerves and anticipation, but one Park said she handled well. “I have grown so much over the past three years and worked so hard with my team and my family to be able to deal with that,” she said. Earlier in the day, to open her Olympic tournament, Park defeated No. 13-ranked Dominika Hronova of Czechia in two rounds (6-2, 4-3) in the knockout stage. Park’s medal is the first for a Canadian in taekwondo since 2008, when Karine Sergerie won silver in the 67-kilogram event in Beijing. The bronze pushed Team Canada’s overall medal count to 21 Thursday. “I’m so thankful for all of Canada. We’ve truly felt the support while we’ve been here,” Park said. “Even after Tokyo (2020) when I fell short, I still felt all the love and support, so I think that gave me a lot of confidence coming into this tournament, know- ing that they have my back no matter what, allowed me to fight my best and fight free.” Park said she planned to celebrate the medal with her family on the Champs-Elysees Thursday night. Her dad was already planning the next move for Team Park. “It’s not done. We haven’t closed the book,” he said. “This is just one notch that we can actually add to motivate us to even train harder and go further. “I don’t know if we can dedicate our- selves even more than what we have, but we will surely try.” fpcity@freepress.mb.ca WEAPONS ● FROM A1 TEACHERS ● FROM A1 BRONZE ● FROM A1 SUPPLIED Neigel Ryan Noel MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Police found Catcheway dead outside the Young Street residence, after officers were called to the scene about a disturbance and assault at about 9 p.m. on May 4, 2022. ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS Skylar Park battles with Laetitia Aoun during the bronze medal match. U.S., Egypt, Qatar urge Israel, Hamas to restart Gaza ceasefire negotiations T HE leaders of the United States, Qatar and Egypt issued a joint statement Thursday evening call- ing on Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table on Aug. 15 to finalize a ceasefire and hostage release agree- ment, saying “there is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay.” “The three of us and our teams have worked tirelessly over many months to forge a framework agreement that is now on the table with only the details of implementation left to conclude,” said the statement, signed by President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Ha- mad Al Thani. “It is time to release the hostages, begin the ceasefire and implement this agreement,” the statement said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement it will send a delegation to the resumed negotiations, to be held in Cairo or Doha, Qatar, “to finalize the details for implementing the framework agree- ment.” Hamas gave no immediate re- sponse. The new initiative came as Iran has threatened a massive retaliation in re- sponse to an Israeli airstrike near Bei- rut last week that killed a senior leader of Iranian-backed Hezbollah, quickly followed by the killing of Hamas polit- ical leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Haniyeh was the main Hamas negoti- ator in the ceasefire talks. Since then, the United States has re- iterated its pledge to defend Israel and substantially reinforced its air and naval assets in the region, including the Middle East deployment early Thurs- day of Air Force F-22 Raptors. A senior administration official who briefed reporters on the new ceasefire initiative said it was “not tied to the lar- ger picture” of the Iranian threat. “This is about ‘we need to get this deal done.’” But “if it influences them,” the offi- cial said of Iran, “that’s fine. I would say if they launch a major war in the Middle East, with some massive attack on Israel — which they’re threaten- ing — that’s obviously going to signifi- cantly jeopardize any hope of getting a ceasefire in Gaza.” The last round of indirect talks medi- ated by the three governments ended nearly two weeks ago in Rome, when Israel presented new demands to the “framework” that Biden made public on May 31. Administration officials from Biden on down were reportedly furious at Netanyahu’s last-minute ultimatum, as were senior Israeli military and pol- itical leaders. The three-leader statement ex- pressed the same sense of urgency, in nearly the same words, that the ad- ministration has used over the past few months as hopes rose and fell that a ceasefire agreement was near. Both the statement and the official briefing implied that it was an ultimatum. “As mediators, if necessary, we are prepared to present a final bridging proposal that resolves the remaining implementation issues in a manner that meets the expectations of all parties,” the statement said. The senior official provided no details about how a “final” proposal by the mediators would be en- forced. The official, who spoke on the condi- tion of anonymity under rules set by the White House, added that “there needs to be a way forward here. We have lives on the line, particularly the hostages.” — The Washington Post KAREN DEYOUNG ;