Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 15, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba Capturing the moments of your Manitoba Choose from 150 years of Free Press archived photos. M A K E S A N I D E A L G I F T winnipegfreepress.com/ photostore MANITOBA’S highest court has reduced the prison time given to a pro- lific shoplifter, despite a judge’s insis- tence a lesser sentence would diminish public faith in the justice system. Katheryn Laurel Audy, 35, was sentenced to three years and seven months in custody in 2023, after she pleaded guilty to a string of retail thefts and a robbery in Swan River. The Court of Appeals overruled that decision last month, cutting her prison time by one year. The successful appeal heightens the frustration of people living in the rural community, who feel there is little recourse against repeat offenders “de- stroying” their homes and businesses, said Municipality of Swan Valley West Reeve Bill Gade. “We have to see people actually pay for their crimes. Our hope is, when someone is incarcerated, they get some help along with that,” Gade said, noting Audy is one of roughly two-doz- en prolific criminals in the community. “I’m not sure we’ve ever helped her.” According to court records, Audy was addicted to methamphetamine in February 2023, when she repeatedly punched a 29-year-old grocery man- ager in the face and then “ran out of the store, laughing hysterically” with stolen goods. The victim, who had returned to work from maternity leave just two days before, suffered minor injuries in the attack, records show. In May of that year, Judge Geoffrey Bayly ruled the Sapotaweyak Cree Na- tion woman should serve three years in prison for the robbery charge. He noted she had “an astounding” crim- inal record that included convictions for 22 thefts and three assaults over roughly four years. SERVING MANITOBA SINCE 1872. FOREVER WITH YOUR SUPPORT. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2025 WEATHER SCATTERED FLURRIES. HIGH 1 — LOW -3 SPORTS CURLER HARRIS CLEARED FOR RETURN / D1 Implementation of $20-M strategy to relocate residents of tent camps to start next month Kinew unveils plan to move homeless to safe housing P REMIER Wab Kinew unveiled an ambitious plan Tuesday to move several hundred people out of tent encampments and into ‘attractive’ alternative housing beginning next month. “We’re here to say that as a prov- ince, people in Manitoba are no longer satisfied with having people live in tents,” said Kinew, who was flanked by Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith, Mayor Scott Gillingham and Siloam Mission CEO Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud inside the Granite Curling Club, where a neigh- bouring encampment was dismantled late last year. “We’re going to work together, ensure that everybody has a place to call home and, importantly, that you have the addictions and mental-health services to succeed in living with a roof over your head.” The 15-page strategy, called Your Way Home: Manitoba’s Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, promises to move residents of one encampment at a time into housing — including 300 new social units — owned either by the province or the non-profit sector, that will be supported by non-profit organi- zations, Kinew said at the morning news conference. Blaikie Whitecloud, referred to by the premier as the “MVP” from the not-for- profit sector, was recruited to quarter- back the plan as his senior adviser on ending chronic homelessness. Smith wasn’t able to provide details about the apartment buildings that the province is purchasing for social hous- ing, or say where Blaikie Whitecloud, who will leave Siloam Mission at the end of the month after three years at the helm, will be working, or if she’ll have a staff or budget. The former executive director of 1JustCity previously taught sociology at the University of Winnipeg. “Tessa is known for her ability to bring people together and build consen- sus,” Smith said. “(She) will help ensure that the work is co-ordinated, effective and lasting.” The plan is to work with the non-profit sector and the city on a 30-day timeline beginning in February to help move an estimated 700 Manitobans living in tent encampments. Camps will be selected based on health, safety and community issues and the availability of suitable housing for its residents. They’ll be offered access to social housing, help accessing market housing and an array of health supports. The approach will be “ground- ed in compassion,” the premier said. Kinew called it a $20-million, two- year commitment to work with people: “hitting the streets, going camp to camp.” CAROL SANDERS Cost-cutting measures ‘regrettable’: university president U of W kicks women’s soccer team, English Language Program to curb THE University of Winnipeg is shut- tering its English Language Program and benching female soccer players for the upcoming season as adminis- trators navigate “significant financial challenges.” University president Todd Mondor informed the campus community of the cost-cutting measures Tuesday. “Enrolment in the English Lan- guage Program (ELP) has dropped dramatically due to changes in federal policies affecting international student mobility. As a result, ELP is no longer financially viable. Individual programs currently in progress will run to com- pletion, but no additional programming will be launched,” Mondor wrote in an internal memo that has since been made public. The women’s soccer program is also being suspended in 2025. There is no men’s team. Mondor said administrators will work with affected Winnipeg Wesmen athletes to support them. While calling the decisions “regret- table,” he said they are necessary as part of a broader effort to find cost savings so the post-secondary institute can continue to provide high-quality education. “Losing a university soccer team is a huge blow to the development of wom- en’s soccer in Manitoba,” goalkeeper Camille Forbes told the Free Press. Forbes, a graduate student who has a soccer scholarship, has been partic- ipating in weekly training sessions to prepare for the summer season; Wesmen soccer typically runs from late August to October. MAGGIE MACINTOSH RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS HIGH-LEVEL CLEANING Chad Braun (right) and Gurjinder Singh, high-rise rope access workers with Insight Services, clean the outside of the elevators inside the Canadian Museum for Human Rights on Tuesday. The museum is closed for maintenance this week. LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER ● CUTS, CONTINUED ON A2 ● SHOPLIFTER, CONTINUED ON A2 ● HOUSING, CONTINUED ON A2 Manitoba’s top court cuts sentence for prolific shoplifter despite judge’s warning TYLER SEARLE ;