Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 13, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM ● B3 NEWS I CITY / WORLD MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2025 STATION ● FROM B1 PHOTOS BY AARON EPP / FREE PRESS 'Our crews continue to show passion and commitment to serving the residents of Winnipeg,' said Christian Schmidt, fire and paramedic chief (above). Left: Politicians, members of the WFPS and support- ers gathered for a ribbon-cutting as part of the commis- sioning ceremony on Saturday. Sister of man who died waiting at HSC ER feels some comfort after hearing from premier, doctor ‘It’s just been a sense of relief’ T HE sister of a 49-year-old man whose death in the Health Sci- ences Centre emergency depart- ment waiting room is under investiga- tion said she feels some comfort after being contacted by Manitoba’s premier and the hospital’s chief doctor. “It’s just been a sense of relief and the weight (is) getting lighter,” Ronalee Reynolds told the Free Press Saturday following the death of her brother, Chad Giffin. She said Premier Wab Kinew and Dr. Shawn Young, HSC’s chief operating of- ficer, contacted her Friday afternoon to discuss Giffin’s death. Kinew offered his condolences and apologized for what Reynolds and her family — which includes Giffin’s 75-year-old mother, Marilyn — are go- ing through, she said. Reynolds said Young told her that Giffin was picked up by an ambulance near the Salvation Army Winnipeg Centre of Hope on Henry Avenue after a concerned citizen called 911 because Giffin was outside and looked cold. Young said that Giffin was known by emergency room staff at HSC. He also asked Reynolds questions about Giffin’s medical history. On Tuesday, Young told reporters the patient arrived shortly after midnight. Young said the man was assessed, triaged as low acuity, or less urgent, and directed to the waiting room with instructions to speak to staff if his con- dition changed or worsened. Staff noticed his condition had de- teriorated shortly after 8 a.m., and he was pronounced dead in a resuscitation room a short time later, Young said. Officials have not said how many times the man was reassessed by staff. Young told reporters that low-acuity patients, who can face waits of more than 10 hours, are typically reassessed every couple of hours. The ER was over-capacity, with about 100 patients and 50 of them in the wait- ing room, including Giffin. Young said the number of nurses on shift was just below the baseline, and a backlog prevented admitted ER pa- tients from being moved to a bed. Giffin’s death raised comparisons to the tragic end of Brian Sinclair’s life in 2008. Sinclair, a 45-year-old Indigenous man and double-amputee who used a wheelchair, died in the same waiting room 34 hours after he arrived seeking care for a blocked urinary catheter. An inquest judge concluded the acute peritonitis that caused Sinclair’s death was avoidable, and he died because he did not receive the initial treatment he required. Shared Health, which runs HSC, is carrying out a critical incident inves- tigation into Giffin’s death. His family said he had a mental illness and strug- gled with drug addiction and homeless- ness in his adult life. “It’s been a confusing few days,” Rey- nolds said. At the same time, hearing from the premier was meaningful. “It was really nice that he’s acknow- ledged the difficulties that our family is going through right now…,” she said. “It made me and my mom feel seen. I think that’s the best way to put it: it made us feel seen.” Vilko Zbogar, who was the lead law- yer for Brian Sinclair’s family, told the Free Press Saturday there are times when the homeless are mistreated by the health-care system. “Anecdotally I hear from some people that they’re treated like they’re worth- less and sometimes their complaints aren’t taken seriously,” said Zbogar, who is based in Toronto. Marion Willis, executive director of St. Boniface Street Links, said she’s come to view the province’s health-care system in a positive light in the last nine months. Last April, Street Links launched a pilot project supported by Manitoba Health that offers beds to homeless people who have been discharged from a hospital. Based in the Street Links shelter at 604 St. Mary’s Rd., the pro- ject has 20 beds where people stay until Street Links can find them housing. Willis shared the story of a man who was homeless for 15 years and landed in the hospital after breaking his hip. After he was discharged, he transi- tioned to Street Links — and has since been found a home. “For him, going to the hospital did more than fix his hip,” Willis said. “It actually resulted in him being housed with all the necessary supports around him.” aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca AARON EPP SUPPLIED Chad Giffin died while he was in the Health Sciences Centre emergency department waiting room. The temporary station is made up of five modular parts that were shipped to the site and assembled in just over a week. Additional time was required for site preparation and utilities connec- tion. Once a permanent fire station is built in Waverley West, the WFPS foresees the modular station being disassembled and reassembled in other locations. It has a 50-year life expectancy. The total cost for the project was $6.8 million and included the cost of the building, site preparation and assembly. The response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive, said Janice Lukes, councillor for Waverley West. “When I’m out and about in the com- munity, people are thrilled — they’re just thrilled,” she said. Christian Schmidt, fire and para- medic chief, said he was proud to offi- cially declare the building open. “Our crews continue to show pas- sion and commitment to serving the residents of Winnipeg, even amid un- precedented call volumes and increas- ing acuity of calls for service,” he said. “And this (station) is just one small ex- ample of that commitment.” A permanent station is set to be built near the South Winnipeg Recreation Campus in Waverley West, with con- struction starting in the spring. The $12.1-million station is expected to open in 2026. aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca Alexander’s lawyer had argued the dispute was essentially per- sonal, meaning Sabourin could be sued in his personal capacity. The lawsuit accused Cheadle and Zurawsky — a Winnipeg Po- lice Association board member at the time and “close associate” of then-union president Sabourin — of making up allegations Alexan- der uttered death threats to a WPS member because they wanted him removed as their supervisor. Alexander was transferred to north Winnipeg’s Hartford station in March 2019, where Cheadle and Zurawsky were assigned. Alexander claimed Cheadle emailed Zurawsky and police management in April that year, accusing him of uttering threats to another police officer, before Cheadle and Zurawsky made fur- ther alleged false statements to professional standards investiga- tors. The claim also accused the of- ficers of working in consultation with Sabourin to force Alexan- der’s retirement — Martin noted no facts were brought to court to support that assertion while he heard Sabourin’s motion. The two officers filed a state- ment of defence in May last year, which said Alexander had spoken to Cheadle and Zurawsky individ- ually about an officer scheduled to be transferred to the Hartford Avenue station. Alexander “exhibited tumultu- ous emotions, including palpable anger and made comments that he would violently attack the in- coming officer,” the statement of defence alleged. The filing said he continued to “exhibit erratic behaviour, out- bursts, and anger and repeated his intentions to violently attack the incoming officer.” Their court filing said they were required to report the inci- dents “to ensure the safety of all officers of the Hartford station, including Alexander” and as part of their duty as police officers. The claim against the other offi- cers remains before the court. erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca CIVIL SUIT ● FROM B1 WAYNE GLOWACKI / FREE PRESS FILES Maurice Sabourin retired from policing and left his union post in September 2022. Croatian president skeptical of aiding Ukraine wins second term in a landslide CROATIAN President Zoran Milanovic won a second term as voters in the Bal- kan nation delivered a resounding elec- tion victory to a populist leader who has denounced NATO expansion and military aid to Ukraine. The former Social Democratic leader took 74.5 per cent of the second-round vote on Sunday with 98 per cent of bal- lots counted, the most dominant result in a presidential election since Croatia became an independent country in the 1990s. Milanovic’s challenger, Dragan Primorac, a one-time science minister supported by the ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union, conceded defeat after the early count indicated he got 25.5 per cent of the vote. The turnout was 44 per cent. The president’s reelection is the latest sign of growing ambivalence among European Union voters toward continued support for Ukraine’s war effort. Milanovic last year condemned military aid to Kyiv as a “deeply im- moral” path to prolonging the war with Russia. A similar sentiment has be- come a fodder for populists in Slovakia, Austria and more recently Germany. “This is a big day,” Milanovic, 58, told supporters in Zagreb on Sunday. “I see this as an act of trust that people have in me, and a plebiscite-like message to people who should hear it.” The Croatian head of state has morphed over the last decade from a centre-left prime minister in the EU’s most recent member to a populist lead- er who has gained a following with his profanity-laced attacks on political op- ponents. Among his favourite targets is Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, whom he’s called a “protector of crime and corrup- tion” and a “flaming badger.” A staunch supporter of Ukraine, Plenkovic won a third term last year, though with a re- duced majority in parliament. Milanovic, 58, shook up the parlia- mentary contest in April by plunging into the race himself as the Social Democratic candidate, a move that was condemned by Croatia’s Constitutional Court and ultimately failed. — Bloomberg News JASMINA KUZMANOVIC ;