Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 2, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba January 16-26 The Floral Event of the Year! Fleurs de Villes returns to The Leaf with a stunning tribute to the arts featuring creations by talented local florists. RESERVE TICKETS NOW AT ASSINIBOINEPARK.CA SERVING MANITOBA SINCE 1872. FOREVER WITH YOUR SUPPORT. THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025 WEATHER PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH -13 — LOW -21 CITY GAS (TAX) PAINS RETURN / B1 Postal strike taketh, Ottawa giveth: charitable deadline extended OTTAWA’S pledge to extend the dead- line for claiming charitable donations on 2024 tax returns is a relief to Man- itoba organizations facing year-end fundraising shortfalls in the wake of a postal strike. Charities had a nervous wait before the federal government confirmed Monday, one day before the Dec. 31 deadline, that it plans to amend leg- islation when Parliament resumes to extend the cut-off to Feb. 28. “We were relieved and excited about the potential to make up for a shortfall, but also trying to figure out how we’re top of mind for people at year-end when they make their donations,” said Anastasia Ziprick, director of devel- opment at Main Street Project, which helps people experiencing homeless- ness, substance use or mental-health issues. “I think we gave up thinking (the ex- tension) could happen. We were feeling a lot of anxiety that there was only one day left.” MSP did not disclose how much has been raised so far, but Ziprick said the non-profit is 30 per cent short of where it hoped to be by New Year’s Eve. Canada’s non-profit sector and pre- miers lobbied the federal government to extend the deadline, while many charities reported a drop in mail-in donations due to a four-week Canada Post strike that ended Dec. 17. Charities were unable to send request letters or receive donations by traditional mail during the strike, which overlapped with their busiest time of year and left a significant backlog of items waiting for delivery. About half of all private donations to MSP are received in December, and many are made via mail-in cheques, Ziprick said. The Winnipeg-based Ukrainian Canadian Congress said 47 per cent of its donations arrive by cheque. Ziprick said MSP sent about 5,000 request letters to potential donors via traditional mail the day the strike end- ed. Emails were sent as well. The letters cited a deadline of Dec. 31 for donations to be eligible for tax support on 2024 returns. Ziprick doesn’t expect MSP to send new letters with details of the proposed extension. Mike Duerksen, CEO of Winni- peg-based BuildGood, which helps non-profits raise funds, said direct mail is such a big revenue driver for charities that some of his clients have received only half of the donations they would typically get in December. “A lot of charities lost out on reve- nue, and many feel they probably won’t be able to get it back,” he said. Online donations are often triggered by direct mail, Duerksen said. CHRIS KITCHING A GREY AREA The challenges of long-term care in Manitoba Homes cater to residents’ spiritual needs at crucial time of life Care for the soul JOHN LONGHURST WHEN Renata Cook’s 90-year-old fa- ther needed to be placed in a personal care home, there was only one choice: the Holy Family Home in the North End. It wasn’t just because of the dedi- cated and compassionate staff at Holy Family, which is owned and operat- ed by the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate. It was also because of the deep commitment the home has to the spiritual care of its residents. “It was so important to have someone available to talk to about his spiritual questions,” said Cook of the spiritual care team at Holy Family. “It’s a place that feels safe for him physically, emotionally and spiritual- ly… God’s love is evident there.” Michelle Thiessen leads the spiritu- al care team at Holy Family, located at 165 Aberdeen Ave. “It’s an honour to serve the residents in this way,” she said. “It’s more than a job. It’s a calling.” Through her work, Thiessen focuses on the spiritual needs of residents by talking with them about issues like loneliness, grief, loss, health problems and facing the end of their lives. “It’s part of our holistic care,” Thiessen said, noting she is part of the larger team at Holy Family. “We don’t only care for bodies, but we also care for spirits — everyone, whether they are religious or not, has a spirit, and is interested in the meaning of their lives.” Thiessen organizes chapel services and ensures that residents who can’t leave their rooms get communion. She arranges for spirituality groups where people can talk, share, pray and build community together. Death is always present, Thiessen observed. “Every resident knows how they are going to leave,” she said, add- ing that it can be tough to say goodbye to people she’s grown close to. At Riverview Health Centre, Chris Salstrom provides spiritual care for personal care home residents and others. Driver displaying Islamic State flag rams New Year’s revellers, killing 15 Terrorism in New Orleans N EW ORLEANS— A U.S. Army veteran driving a pickup truck that bore the flag of the Islamic State group wrought carnage on New Orleans’ raucous New Year’s celebration, killing 15 people as he steered around a police blockade and slammed into revellers before being shot dead by police. The FBI said it is investigating the attack early Wednesday as a terror- ist act and does not believe the driver acted alone. Investigators found guns and what appeared to be an impro- vised explosive device in the vehicle, along with other devices elsewhere in the city’s famed French Quarter. President Joe Biden said Wednes- day evening that the FBI found videos that the driver had posted to social media hours before the attack in which he said he was inspired by the Islamic State group and ex- pressed a desire to kill. The rampage turned festive Bour- bon Street into a macabre mayhem of maimed victims, bloodied bodies and pedestrians fleeing for safety inside nightclubs and restaurants. In addition to the dead, dozens of people were hurt. A college football playoff game at the nearby Superdome that drew tens of thousands of fans to the city was postponed until today. Zion Parsons, 18, of Gulfport, Miss., said he saw the truck “barrel- ing through, throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air.” “Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering,” said Parsons, whose friend Nikyra Dedeaux was among the people killed. “This is not just an act of ter- rorism. This is evil,” New Orleans Police Supt. Anne Kirkpatrick said. The driver “defeated” safety mea- sures in place to protect pedestrians, Kirkpatrick said, and was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.” The FBI identified the driver as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen from Texas, and said it is working to determine his potential associations with terrorist organiza- tions. “We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible,” FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said at a news conference. Investigators found multiple improvised explosives, including two pipe bombs that were concealed within coolers and wired for remote detonation, according to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin obtained by The Associated Press. The bulletin, relying on prelimi- nary information gathered soon after the attack, also said surveillance footage showed three men and a woman placing one of the devices, but federal officials did not imme- diately confirm that detail and it wasn’t clear who they were or what connection they had to the attack, if any. Jabbar drove a rented pickup truck onto a sidewalk, going around a po- lice car that was positioned to block vehicular traffic, authorities said. A barrier system meant to prevent vehicle attacks was being repaired in preparation for the Super Bowl in February. ERIC TUCKER, JIM MUSTIAN, KEVIN MCGILL AND JACK BROOK MATTHEW HINTON / AFP A white Ford F-150 pickup truck crashed into a work lift after driving into a crowd of New Year’s revellers in New Orleans early Wednesday. ● SOUL, CONTINUED ON A2 ● DONATIONS, CONTINUED ON A2 ● ORLEANS, CONTINUED ON A2 ;