Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 16, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba SALISBURY • • • • • HOUSE MAKE SURE TO USE SALS COUPONS TO GET THE BEST DEALS OF 2025! AMAZING DEALS FOR TI-IE NEW YEAR THURSDAY JANUARY 16, 2025 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM SECTION B CONNECT WITH WINNIPEG’S NO. 1 NEWS SOURCE ▼ CITY ● BUSINESS Education minister remembered as ‘mayor of Transcona’ “THE mayor of Transcona” dedicated his life — the last 15 months as Mani- toba’s education minister — to bettering the lives of public school students. During his final weeks, some of which were spent in palliative care, Nello Altomare tuned into the legisla- ture’s question period livestream. The retired principal died Tuesday, 14 weeks after he went on medical leave. He was 61. Despite being in blood-cancer remis- sion, the MLA for Transcona had been living with complications from chemo- therapy. Altomare was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma shortly after he was first elected to represent the constituency — his lifelong home — in 2019. Treatment took a toll on his heart and lung capacity, and his con- dition began to decline significantly over the summer. He gave in to his doctor’s orders to rest and agreed to go on medical leave to have surgery, which he’d been put- ting off, in October. He initially planned to return to work before the end of the year. After Altomare returned home from the hospital in late November, Premier Wab Kinew addressed him through the legislature’s livestream. “We love you. We love you so much, my good friend,” Kinew said in ques- tion period. He noted that Altomare’s boisterous voice had been greatly missed in the house and recalled their first time cam- paigning together at the Transcona Hi Neighbour Festival. The duo was walking in the 2019 parade and attendees were yelling at Kinew to get out of the way so they could see Altomare, he recalled, fol- lowed by a chuckle, noting the birth of the MLA’s nickname — “The mayor of Transcona.” MAGGIE MACINTOSH NELLO ALTOMARE OBITUARY Tributes pour in for MLA for Transcona Premier Wab Kinew: “Nello, you were a hell of a guy. We did great things together — like putting food in every school for every child in Manitoba. Love you till the end of time. I’ll see you again, my friend.” Nathan Martindale, president of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society: “His passion for our shared profession and deep under- standing of the challenges faced by educators will be remembered and appreciated by all who had the privilege of working with him. He was, and always remained, a teacher.” Josh Watt, executive director of the Manitoba School Boards Association: “An incredibly sad day. Nello was a friend, a firm believer in the power of public education and an authentic human being. Farewell dear minister. There are few who exude the high standard of humanity that you so richly displayed.” Wayne Ewasko, interim leader of the Progressive Conservatives, former education minister and a fellow teacher: “Political stripes aside, we’re all human beings and we want what’s best for not only the stu- dents, but for Manitobans — and Manitoba has lost one of the good ones today, for sure … 61 is way too young.” Kelvin Goertzen, PC MLA for Steinbach and a former education minister: “We both spoke of how we wished politicians could be more than adversaries, but civil in working to a common goal … Nello was a good example of what we can all be. Better. Rest in peace, my friend.” Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham: “He was passionate about education and dedicat- ed his life to building a better Transcona.” ● TRIBUTES, CONTINUED ON B2 MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Education Minister Nello Altomare died Tuesday. He was 61. LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER ● ALTOMARE, CONTINUED ON B2 Police, mayor push for new $13.5-M police chopper A CITY police report is recommending a new $13.5-million helicopter be cleared for takeoff, with the current aging chopper outdated. The report, on the city’s executive policy committee’s agenda for next week, recommends council approve a contract to provide a lease-to-own Air- bus H125 helicopter from Calgary firm Eagle Copters, replacing the current Airbus H120, purchased in 2010 for $3.5 million. The estimated $13,481,100 price tag (PST and GST extra, as applicable) is based on a monthly lease of $74,895 for 180 months (roughly $900,000 annually for 15 years) from the contract start date. The bid is open for acceptance until the end of the month. After that, the matter would have to be re-tendered, with price escalations six to eight per cent on the base aircraft (US$3.8 mil- lion) expected. Costs associated with the initial lease period are included in the Winnipeg Po- lice Service’s 2025-2028 budget, which requires adoption by council to replace the 15-year-old aircraft. The report suggests the production, customization and delivery of the new aircraft would take 18 to 24 months, “meaning action should be taken as soon as possible to strategically co- ordinate aircraft replacement,” the re- port’s author, WPS chief pilot Malcolm Murray, wrote. Winnipeg mayor Scott Gillingham, speaking at an unrelated event on Wed- nesday, acknowledged the significant cost but said it would be worth it. “I’ll be supporting their request for the lease-to-own,” he said. “When I campaigned, I committed to keeping the helicopter in the air. There is value in ensuring that our Winnipeg Police Service has the tools necessary to do the work they’re doing to try and keep our city safe. “It’s been shown time and again, po- lice have been clear on that, the value the police helicopter provides.” Gillingham added in the long term, he’d like to see the WPS look into ways to incorporate drones. The new aircraft is said to be louder than the one it would replace, and that the flight ops unit will continue to use “best practices” to mitigate the sound while airborne over the city. SCOTT BILLECK ● CHOPPER, CONTINUED ON B2 Sutherland Hotel destroyed by fire A CRID smoke clouded parts of Winnipeg’s inner city Wednes- day afternoon, as fire crews frantically tried to contain an inferno that raged in the former Sutherland Hotel. “It’s free burning right now,” Win- nipeg Fire Paramedic Service platoon chief Steve Kumka told reporters around 3:15 p.m., as flames destroyed the building at 785 Main St. “It’s going to be a long day.” Firefighters were alerted to the blaze in the boarded-up, three-stor- ey structure around 1:25 p.m., after a passerby called to report heavy smoke. By the time crews arrived, every floor was engulfed in flames that compromised the building’s in- tegrity, Kumka said. Additional resources were called in after fire ignited a single-storey struc- ture attached to the rear of the building. By 2:30 p.m., more than a dozen emergency units were on scene, in- cluding numerous fire engines, police cruisers and an ambulance. Police di- verted traffic away from northbound and southbound Main Street between Higgins and Jarvis avenues. Firefighters trained their hoses on the top floor and doused the inside with water through broken windows. A drone buzzed overhead, hovering between two fire engines with aerial lifts extended. Firefighters were enveloped in thick smoke as they sprayed the roof of the building from above. “We’re surrounding the fire with a defensive strategy right now because it’s not safe to go in,” Kumka said. “We think it’s vacant because it’s boarded up, but we don’t know if someone got in or anything. We would not know, we didn’t check it because … it’s just not safe.” As of last month, the former hotel was up for sale — listed at $575,000 — for likely the third time in four years. No guests were staying or living in the century-old building at that time. The fire intensified as the platoon chief provided an update to reporters. Flames briefly soared out the win- dows, devouring the exterior signs and causing smouldering debris to cascade to the ground. Water pressure from fire hoses had peeled some bricks from the exterior, and Kumka ordered his crews to es- tablish a larger perimeter because he feared the structure would collapse, he said. Neighbouring buildings were evacuated as a precaution. A Winnipeg Transit bus arrived to provide shelter for anyone who was displaced and the City of Winnipeg’s emergency social services team was on hand. Kumka expected crews to remain at work throughout the night, and pos- sibly into early today, he said. In a news release, the WFPS said the cause of the fire is under investi- gation and the building is likely to be a complete loss. The fire service urged people to avoid the area. Decimated Main Street now looks like it’s missing a bunch of teeth: area BIZ chair TYLER SEARLE RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS The Sutherland Hotel opened in December 1882 and was one of the first major buildings north of the CP Rail tracks on Main Street. ● FIRE, CONTINUED ON B2 ;