Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 15, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba Submissions must be received no later than 4:00 pm (CDT) February 6, 2025. Details and submission information can be obtained online at: MySelkirk.ca/Tenders. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any submission(s). Contact Information: City of Selkirk 200 Eaton Ave, Selkirk MB R1A 0W6 citizensupport@cityofselkirk.com or (204) 785-4900 REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY Selkirk West End Lands – Phase 1 RFQ No. SED-2024-05 The City of Selkirk is seeking submissions from experienced developers/ builders with respect to the purchase and development of approximately nine (9) acres of land in Selkirk’s West End for the purposes of new residential development. Subject land for RFQ – 9 acres 1 9 1 m 203 m WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM ● A5 O TTAWA — The decision Tuesday by a third Liberal cabinet minis- ter from Quebec not to seek the Liberal leadership is casting a spotlight on the party’s ability to organize sup- port in a province that has long been crucial to its electoral success. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced at a luncheon discussion in Toronto that he won’t be on the ballot when the Liberals choose their new leader on March 9. Champagne, long seen as a potential successor to Trudeau, said instead of running he will focus on ensuring the government is ready to protect Can- adian industry from the trade threats posed by incoming U.S. president Don- ald Trump. “It was probably the most difficult decision of my life, but I think it was the right one at the right time,” Cham- pagne said. “There are many ways to fight for Canada.” That decision came four days after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly decided not to enter the race and three days after Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said the same thing. Stéphanie Chouinard, an associ- ate professor of political science at Queen’s University, said the absence of a strong, bilingual Quebec candi- date could make the election a harder slog on the ground for the Liberals in the province and in other regions of the country with large francophone populations. “For the few who have said official- ly that they’re joining the race or who are strongly expected to join, they will have to prove that they understand the province of Quebec and that they can at least minimally convey their mes- sage in the language of the majority of that province,” she said. She said many Liberal supporters see fluency in both languages as an important quality in a leader and a mark of statesmanship. “It’s not just francophones who will be paying attention to this issue.” The race is starting to become more defined, though none of the perceived front-runners have officially declared they are running. The party gave them until Jan. 23 to do so, with the leadership vote set for March 9. Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is expected to formal- ly announce his candidacy later this week. Former finance minister Chrys- tia Freeland is planning to publicly announce before Jan. 20, and on Tues- day, government House leader Karina Gould hinted an announcement is coming from her as well. Gould played coy at a news confer- ence in Burlington, Ont., saying she would have more to say in the coming days. The 37-year-old Gould said she thinks it will be “extremely important to have a younger voice in the race who can relate to people where they are and the struggles they’re facing today.” Former B.C. premier Christy Clark withdrew herself from contention Tuesday, days after her team had sig- nalled she was very close to declaring publicly she was running. “I have made the difficult decision to step back,” she said. “While we have come a long way, in a short time, there is simply not enough time to mount a successful campaign and for me to effectively connect with francophone Canadians in their language. I have worked hard at improving my French but it’s not where it needs to be today.” Clark’s decision not to run also came days after she was forced to backtrack from her claim that she was never a member of the Conservative party. In an interview on CBC Radio’s Sat- urday politics show The House, Clark denied she became a party member and voted for former Quebec premier Jean Charest in the 2022 Conservative leadership race that elected Pierre Poilievre. Clark said in the interview she never joined the party or received a ballot for the race. But the Conservative party provided a screenshot of their electronic records showing Clark was an active party member from June 2, 2022 to June 30, 2023. Clark later posted a facepalm emoji on social media, said she misspoke in the interview and acknowledged that she had backed Charest to stop Poilievre from winning. Ottawa MP Chandra Arya and for- mer Montreal MP Frank Baylis both announced last week they will run. Cape Breton MP Jaime Battiste says he will run and would become the first Indigenous candidate for prime min- ister. Arya raised eyebrows in Ottawa pol- itical circles when he said it’s not im- portant for the next leader to be able to speak French. “I can’t imagine either the leader of our party or the next prime minister not being fluent in French,” Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said in an interview, when asked about the im- portance of having bilingual leader- ship candidates. “I don’t see the Lib- eral party or the country moving backwards on this. It’s something that makes Canada what it is.” Quebec has always been vital to the Liberals in elections and they current- ly hold 33 of the province’s 78 seats, equal to the seats held by the Bloc Québécois. The Conservatives now have nine seats in that province. Jonathan Kalles, a consultant at Mc- Millan Vantage and a former Quebec adviser in the Prime Minister’s Of- fice, said leadership candidates will have to quickly denounce Arya’s “out- rageous statements or they will have no credibility.” “It needs to be clear that while there is no francophone Quebecer running in this race, that they understand the priorities, needs and interests of Que- becers, that they have strong Quebec teams … that understand and respect Quebec,” he said. “Otherwise, it will come back to bite them in the next election.” Both Champagne and Joly are well connected to the party machinery in Quebec and the remaining candidates can be expected to seek their endorse- ments. Joly has a decent political or- ganization built up, Kalles said, while Champagne is Quebec co-chair for the Liberal campaign. Prospective candidates will be hunting for votes from all 78 ridings in Quebec. Each electoral district is allocated 100 points in the leadership contest, according to the party’s con- stitution. — The Canadian Press NEWS I LOCAL / CANADA WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2025 CITY police and Manitoba Public Insurance are mixing enforcement and education in their latest effort to show that cannabis and driving don’t go together. The Winnipeg Police Service re-launched its drug-impaired driving enforcement in- itiative, Project Underway, on Tuesday, which focuses on the dangers of edible can- nabis products. “Although alcohol impairment continues to be the leading cause of impaired driv- ing offences, cannabis impairment ranks as the second-highest contributor,” said Patrol Sgt. Stephane Fontaine, impaired driving countermeasures co-ordinator for the WPS. “As the stats indicate, drug-impaired driv- ers continue to pose serious risks on our roadways.” The WPS said it made 243 traffic stops during last year’s enforcement project, done in partnership with MPI and MADD Can- ada, that launched in mid-January. Police gave oral fluid tests to 148 drivers and 64 (43 per cent) tested positive for can- nabis. Officers also handed out 36 tickets for matters such as unlawful storage of canna- bis in a vehicle and passengers consuming cannabis in a vehicle. The legal limit for cannabis in a person’s system is five nanograms. WPS roadside screening devices won’t record a positive test until a person’s THC levels hit 25 nano- grams, five times the statutory limit. “If you’re below 25, you’re passing, it’s a negative test,” Fontaine said. Those who swab over can be subject to a number of consequences, including 24-hour roadside suspensions, tiered administration suspensions ranging from three to 60 days, licence suspensions and criminal charges. Impaired driving can devastate victims and their families, said Tony Rinella, vice president of MADD Winnipeg. A drunk driver took the life of Rinella’s mother in 1968 when he was 10 years old. Rinella was in the back seat behind his mother when an impaired driver, travelling more than 100 km/h on Portage Avenue, ran a red light and T-boned their vehicle as they were nearing home. “The profound impact of losing my moth- er at such a young age changed my life and the lives of my family forever,” Rinella said. “The impact continues to impact us 57 years later. “For me, it’s been a lifelong burden of wishing what it would be like had she sur- vived.” Rinella’s message was clear on Tuesday. “If you plan on going out and decide to con- sume alcohol or drugs, please make sure you plan a safe ride home,” he said. “Such a sim- ple decision can prevent a lifetime of grief and heartache.” Police are finding that more fatal colli- sions involve cannabis, which is often mixed with alcohol, Fontaine said. “Sometimes as an accompaniment, some- times in and of itself or mixed with other drugs,” Fontaine said. This year’s campaign focuses on educat- ing motorists about the potential dangers of edible cannabis products such as gummies, oils and baked goods. The sale of edibles has nearly doubled since cannabis was legalized in 2018, data from the Liquor, Gaming & Cannabis Au- thority of Manitoba show. The full effects of ingested cannabis can peak up to four hours after consumption and might linger for up to 12 hours, while the peak effects of inhaled cannabis occur with- in 30 minutes. “Those effects could very well be leading you into the next day,” Fontaine said. “That’s obviously concerning if the next day involves you driving anywhere at the next point.” Fontaine said one of the issues they find with edibles, especially with new users who have experience with smoking, is that the high doesn’t kick in as immediately, leaving people believing they aren’t working and consuming more. “So you take more and you’re still waiting, so you take more,” Fontaine said. He said one of the interesting things they found during last year’s campaign was the time of day many drivers were found to be impaired. “Our highest positive testing timeframe was between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., an interesting stat, even though our numbers were small,” he said. “It’s a different time of day we’re capturing these drivers under the influence of cannabis.” That will influence when officers concen- trate their enforcement efforts this time around. Funding for the enforcement-and-educa- tion initiative comes from MPI, the provin- cial government and a federal fund. The campaign will continue through March. scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca SUPPLIED An image being placed on billboards as part of a campaign against drug-impaired driving by Winnipeg Police Service and Manitoba Public Insurance. Road-safety campaign focuses on cannabis edibles, which can stay in system up to 12 hours SCOTT BILLECK Don’t drive high, police warn PERSON FOUND DEAD AFTER FIRE GIMLI RCMP are investigating after a person’s remains were found after a garage fire on Matheson Island was extinguished Sunday. The fire broke out at a home on Lakeview Road at around 7:55 p.m. Local crews and RCMP were on scene. After the fire was put out, the remains were found. RCMP do not suspect any criminal intent. The cause of death and the cause of the fire are still being investigated. SCHOOL EVACUATED AFTER THREAT RCMP say a 16-year-old boy is a suspect after Steinbach Regional Sec- ondary School was evacuated because of a bomb threat Thursday. Police, including a canine unit, and firefighters were sent to the high school — one of the largest in the province with roughly 2,000 students — shortly after 10:30 a.m. Officers learned an unknown male had called from a payphone with the threat, RCMP said in an afternoon news release. No suspicious devices were found inside the building. The Hanover School Division informed parents about the threat in an email. IN BRIEF CHRIS YOUNG / THE CANADIAN PRESS Federal Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne will not be entering the Liberal leadership race. Champagne, Clark not seeking Liberal leadership KYLE DUGGAN Party’s fortunes in Quebec may be troubled as third minister ends bid ;