Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 23, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2025 A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS VOL 154 NO 62 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2025 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published six days a week in print and always online at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204-697-7000 CEO / MIKE POWER Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor News / STACEY THIDRICKSON Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS NEWSMEDIA COUNCIL The Winnipeg Free Press is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to determine acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please send them to: editorialconcerns@freepress.mb.ca. 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INSIDE Arts and Life C1 Business B5 Classifieds D7 Comics C5 Diversions C6-7 Horoscope C4 Jumble C6 Miss Lonelyhearts C4 Opinion A6-7 Sports D1 Television C4 Weather B8 COLUMNISTS: Dan Lett B2 READER SERVICE ● GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 CIRCULATION INQUIRIES MISSING OR INCOMPLETE PAPER? Call or email before 10 a.m. weekdays or 11 a.m. Saturday City: 204-697-7001 Outside Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 press 1 6:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.; 7 a.m. - noon Saturday; Closed Sunday TO SUBSCRIBE: 204-697-7001 Out of Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of Canada Smith posted on social media on Wednesday that the meeting was “more positive this week” and that there’s a growing consensus Canada needs to commit to improving security at the border and boosting defence spending. When he initially threatened to im- pose the tariffs, Trump said they were a response to what he called inaction by Canada and Mexico on illegal drugs and migrants entering the U.S. Canadi- an officials say less than one per cent of fentanyl or migrants entering the U.S. come from Canada. The federal government still an- nounced a $1.3-billion plan to boost se- curity at the border in December, and this week the RCMP deployed two new helicopters to surveil the boundary. Trump also has said the tariffs are a way to put pressure on Canada over the United States’ trade deficit with this country. Smith said there was also “general agreement on the need to focus more on constructive, proactive diploma- cy with U.S. lawmakers rather than escalating rhetoric” at Wednesday’s meeting. Ford said Smith “understands we need to be united, and I understand that she wants to protect her main commodity.” “But country comes first, over any- thing, and you can’t throw a tool away from the tool box,” he added. When asked whether Smith was now on-side with her colleagues, Ford said, “I think we’re moving her along.” Quebec Premier François Legault said he was happy to see Smith at the meeting. “It’s important that if we ask a province to make a special contribu- tion that the province agrees,” he said outside a caucus meeting in Quebec’s Laurentians region. “As for retaliatory measures, we agreed on certain steps, but we are not going to reveal them,” he added. “We’ll wait for Mr. Trump to file tariff increases before filing reprisals.” Trudeau’s office said in a statement on Wednesday that preventing tariffs is still the government’s top priority. The group also agreed to tackle long-standing issues around trade within Canada. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said he’ll stand behind the federal government’s retaliation against what he called “the Trump tax,” adding the looming trade war should be a signal that Canada needs to strengthen its own economy. “That means looking at our own internal trade policies across the country, and asking ourselves simple questions like, ‘Why is it so hard to send a bottle of wine from one prov- ince to another?’” he said. The Committee on Internal Trade, a group that includes representatives from all provinces and territories and Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand, has agreed to convene an urgent meeting to talk about ways to ease the movement of goods within the country. Anand posted on social media that “removing trade barriers within Canada could add up to $200 billion to our economy and mitigate the impact of tariffs.” The first ministers have committed to weekly meetings now that Trump has been installed in the White House. — The Canadian Press She noticed a lot of complaints about traffic or reckless drivers while scrolling through posts on social media. “I thought, ‘Oh God, why don’t we do something instead of being keyboard warriors?’” she said. Her petition, which was submitted to Naylor’s office in September, had about 1,100 signatures. Nicholson described the sin- gle-lane portion of the highway as “extremely treacherous” and said near-misses are common when drivers try to pass multiple vehicles in one go. The petition said it seems to get worse each year, especially on summer weekends when tourist traffic is heavy. At least three people have died in head-on collisions on the single-lane portion of Highway 8 since 2021. The highway is twinned between Winnipeg and just north of the St. Andrews Airport. The 54-km section that will undergo upgrades had annual average daily traffic count estimates of 4,820 vehicles on the southern end near Highway 67 in 2023, and just over 3,000 vehicles closer to Gimli, govern- ment data showed. Much of the untwinned section runs through the Rural Munici- pality of St. Andrews. Mayor Joy Sul said the govern- ment’s plans for passing lanes are “absolutely wonderful news” for residents. “In the summertime, it’s bumper to bumper,” she said. Sul, on behalf of St. Andrews’ council, wrote to Naylor in October to raise concerns about safety at the intersection of highways 8 and 67, which the mayor described as a “danger- ous” corner that is in need of improvements. The RM’s fire department responded to 10 collisions at the intersection between 2021 and 2023. Data for 2024 was not yet available. Sul said the St. Andrews coun- cil is grateful to the province for being receptive and listening to its concerns. “This announcement is going to make many of our residents and the travelling public quite happy,” she said. Nicholson expressed concern about speeding drivers, and the potential for hazardous situations when traffic backs up behind slower-moving vehicles. She has nervously watched drivers pull into the opposite lane and try to pass the queue, and then try to squeeze back into the lineup to avoid an oncoming vehicle. In some cases, there was very little space or time to do so. “People are slamming brakes on and pulling onto the shoul- der. It’s incredibly dangerous,” Nicholson said. “If someone is not paying attention, it’s a recipe for disaster.” She said commuters and local residents who drive to Winnipeg and back for shopping, events or other purposes are among frequent users of the highway, which has a top speed limit of 100 km/h. Nicholson said she is “cautious- ly optimistic,” after learning about the government’s plans for passing lanes. She recalled talk decades ago about the possibility of twinning the highway. “People are a little bit skepti- cal because we’ve heard these stories before,” Nicholson said. “I’m glad that I got a response and there seems to be something that is going to happen. I would hope it happens sooner rather than later.” chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca TARIFFS ● FROM A1 LANES ● FROM A1 Guilty plea in cemetery shooting death A NGERED by the shooting death of his friend, Abdullahi Jemal Ahmed donned a ski mask and carried a gun into a south Winnipeg cemetery, where he opened fire on rival gang members. Ahmed, 27, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Wednesday as he admitted he fired the bullet that killed 21-year-old Hayder (Baby Face) Hassan at Thomson in the Park Funeral Home and Cemetery on April 16, 2021. “The accused pulled out the handgun he had concealed, held it out with an out-stretched arm and began firing re- peatedly at the group assembled at the grave site as they attempted to flee and seek shelter between the tombstones,” Crown attorney Libby Standil told court, reading from an agreed state- ment of facts. “One of those bullets struck the vic- tim in the chest, perforating his heart.” The guilty plea signals an end to a years-long legal process bogged down by repeated delays as Ahmed struggled to work with his defence lawyers. It also marks another conviction in what Standil described as “a rolling conflict brewing between two local gangs (that) exploded into destructive violence.” Court was told Hassan was part of a group celebrating the birthday of fellow gang member Rig Debak Moule- bou, who was fatally shot as he slept in a South Pointe home on Nov. 4, 2019. Moulebou was killed in retaliation for the slaying of Jamshaid Wahabi, a high-ranking gangster and close friend of Ahmed’s, who had been killed at Cit- izen Nightclub on Bannatyne Avenue two days earlier, Standil said. Moulebou died before he could be charged in Wahabi’s death, but was identified as the killer during a jury trial in December 2021 when three men were found guilty of killing Moulebou. At the time of that shooting, Ahmed was in custody for the slaying of Has- san. He was set to stand trial for the cemetery killing in March 2024, but the process was delayed when his defence lawyer told King’s Bench Justice Ger- ald Chartier she could no longer repre- sent him due to “a fundamental erosion in the trust that needs to exist in the solicitor-client relationship.” Chartier expressed frustration, not- ing it was the second time the trial had been delayed. In 2023, Ahmed fired his lawyers at the end of a pre-trial hear- ing. On Wednesday, Ahmed was repre- sented by lawyer Jill Duncan, who was acting as a friend of the court. Dressed in a navy blue suit with brown leather dress shoes, Ahmed stood before Chartier and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. An interpreter was present to help Ahmed, a refugee from Somalia, under- stand and deliver the plea. “I was there, somehow, and bullets started flying,” he said. Members of his family sat quietly in court. At one point, Ahmed turned toward them, raised his hands to his chest and said, “I love you, mom.” The Crown and defence made a joint recommendation of a life sentence without the possibility of parole for 16 years. The minimum sentence for second-degree murder is life without parole for 10 years. The judge will deliver his decision Jan. 29. Ahmed could be deported upon release from prison. tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca TYLER SEARLE U of M sea ice lab turns to solar power A NEW solar panel designed to power experiments involving sea ice will help the University of Manitoba save cold cash. The $30,000 solar panel will reduce the hydro bill, plus excess power gen- erated by it can be put on Manitoba Hy- dro’s grid. Debbie Armstrong, an instructor in the environment and geography de- partment who is a technician at the ultra-clean trace elements laboratory, wrote the proposal to acquire the panel. She said it will pay for itself in 12 years. “It’s the first solar panel installation on the campus that not only powers the research station, but, if we’re not using it all, the electricity not used goes to the grid.” She said they expect the solar panel to replace about 27 per cent of the electricity used by all of the monitors and machines which are connected to the university’s Sea-Ice Experimental Research Facility. The facility has a 460,000-litre pool filled with a mix of water and brine to create the same con- centration as ocean water. “We do many experiments there,” said Armstrong. “That includes inves- tigating how much light penetrates the ice. You can do the experiments here without going to Churchill.” She said the outdoor pool thaws when it’s warmer, so the experiments come to a halt and the scientific equipment is turned off. “It’s those months when all of the power being generated will go to Mani- toba Hydro’s grid,” said Armstrong. “Our summers are so fantastic — they start in May and go to October. Maybe in a year I will have a better projection on how much power is gener- ated and goes to the grid. It all depends on how many sunny days we have.” Hydro spokesman Riley McDonald said there are more than 1,700 solar in- stallations across the province. “These installations include residen- tial, small commercial and agricultur- al customers and represent about 40 megawatts of installed capacity,” said McDonald. “About 28 gigawatt-hours of energy from these installations goes into the grid annually.” McDonald said to put it into context, the utility’s total generation capacity is 6,121 megawatts; all of its hydro pro- jects generated 29,000 gigawatt-hours in 2023-24. Armstrong said money for the panel came from the university’s $6.8-million strategic initiatives fund. The fund, which was created by money leftover from the 2023-24 operating budget, pays for short-term projects. kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca KEVIN ROLLASON SEAN KILPATRICK / THE CANADIAN PRESS Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, third from left, speaks at a press conference concluding a first ministers meeting in Ottawa Wednesday. ;