Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 24, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2025 VOL 154 NO 63 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 Obituaries D7 Opinion A6-7 Sports D1 Television C4 Weather C8 COLUMNISTS: Tom Brodbeck A4 Martin Cash B5 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 His team’s robot — the latest itera- tion of which weighs 10 pounds — has been entered into three international competitions since the 2024-25 school year began. They have secured two awards and are vying for more as they face off against peers on their school’s new second team, as well as others from classrooms across the U.S. Grade 10 competitor Zajac St. God- ard said he was filled with nervous energy ahead of his inaugural interna- tional challenge, which begins Friday. Zajac, 15, joined the extracurricular to learn teamwork skills and expand his knowledge in STEM because he wants to pursue a related career after graduation. His team uniform is gold Winnipeg Blue Bombers baseball caps. Zajac’s other opponents, including Andrew, don blue caps. The boys’ coach said their school community is a unique place, given teenagers spend weekends reading about pneumatics — a branch of engi- neering that explains how pressurized air can power a robot and perform other mechanical work. “When you walk into a tech lab or robotics lab, there’s a buzz in the air — the students have their heads down, they’re collaborating, they’re showing off what they’ve learned and how excit- ed they are,” Jamieson said. Morris School has its own “robot battle ring” for its two teams to tweak designs and practise challenges. Manitoba needs at least 14 more teams to become an official VEX region under the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation, a global non-profit dedicated to increasing stu- dent engagement in computer science. The company that builds the ed- ucational robotics products, which Jamieson likens to IKEA packages, is headquartered in Texas. Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said she was keen to explore the pos- sibility of expanding the initiative and creating a provincial curriculum on robotics. “This is the way of the future. We know that students in our education system are looking for and excited about this type of programming,” Schmidt said, noting the recent cre- ation of the province’s department of innovation and new technology. The minister applauded Jamieson’s creativity and dedication in getting a first-of-its-kind program up and running. The technology teacher said he’s optimistic more teams will form in Manitoba. “I don’t see how it doesn’t take off,” Jamieson said, “but how do we get a curriculum, how do we get a credit and how do we get people to spend the mon- ey that’ll pay off (in growing STEM experts and industries down the line)?” Saskatchewan launched a stand- alone robotics and automation curricu- lum in 2019. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca “It has come back to bite them,” he said. Bobby Baker, a regional direc- tor for the National Police Feder- ation, the union that represents RCMP members, said the force amended that policy after realiz- ing it was problematic. “Now they can, more or less, pick where you want to go, but if there is a priority somewhere they will send you where the need is,” said Baker, who is based in Manitoba. “I know we are short in Mani- toba now, but the reinforcements are coming from Depot. Human resources said by September we would be up 100 officers here so it is a gap.” Baker said the officer shortage has become more acute by the high number of investigations in Manitoba. “It has been a really tough year (with) 58 homicides,” he said. “Our members are burnt out.” He said there is no sign fewer people want to be a Mountie. “We have 19,000 applicants in the queue right now. They can’t process them fast enough.” In a statement, the Associa- tion of Manitoba Municipalities, which represents communities with RCMP detachments, ad- mitted “Manitoba municipalities are increasingly concerned about rising crime rates, rapidly escalating costs and insufficient police presence in their commu- nities. “While Manitoba currently has the second-highest RCMP vacancy rate in the country, these unfilled positions are putting additional pressures on existing resources, particularly in detachments that cover large geographic areas.” The association reiterated its call for measures to boost the recruitment of front-line officers and immediate assistance to mu- nicipalities faced with unsustain- able policing expenses. In its message to members, the RCMP also said “relief to the North continues to be a priori- ty,” amid a shortage of officers there. kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca “Which, frankly, I’m surprised they didn’t do before the election. That didn’t show a lot of love by them not doing it.” Trump said he would demand that interest rates drop if oil pric- es go down, which is a challenge to long-standing Federal Reserve inde- pendence. The president’s speech was delivered on his third full day back in office. Trump signed a stack of executive actions this week, rapidly charting a new path for the United States. He campaigned on U.S. energy dom- inance and signed an executive order upon his return to the White House declaring an energy “emergency” as part of his plan to reduce regulatory hurdles. Trump has said it will allow the country to “drill, baby, drill.” But industry experts said his com- ments Thursday contradict his vow to increase oil production in the U.S. while also cutting inflation for Ameri- can consumers. “The U.S. energy dominance agenda is mutually contradictory with ‘OPEC lower your oil prices,’” said Heather Exner-Pirot, an adviser to the Business Council of Canada. If the members of the OPEC+ alli- ance decide to increase production, that would lower prices, she said. Lower prices would displace Ameri- can supply, which is much costlier to produce. American producers are now close to breaking even with oil at $70 per barrel. They would want prices to go up if they are to increase drilling. “There is no coherency or consisten- cy in what he’s saying on oil markets,” said Exner-Pirot, who is also direc- tor of energy, natural resources and environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in Ottawa. Trump also has threatened to impose 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on Canadian goods. He said again in his Thursday speech that the United States doesn’t need Canadian energy. “Canada’s been very tough to deal with over the years,” he said. However, about 60 per cent of U.S. crude oil imports come from Canada. That means nearly a quarter of the oil America consumes every day comes from north of the border. Rory Johnston, a Toronto oil market researcher and founder of Commodity Context, posted on social media that Trump wants to make “U.S. refinery feedstock — and U.S. consumer pump prices — more expensive via tariffs on Canadian crude.” “While at the same time reducing the value of U.S. oil production by urging that OPEC+ produce more,” he added. “It’s… a choice.” Exner-Pirot said she has a theory about the inspiration for Trump’s OPEC comments. She said American oil producers may have warned the president they can’t ramp up production as he’s promised. The president also had a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mo- hammed bin Salman earlier Thursday. Trump said he was informed during the call that the kingdom wants to invest $600 billion in the U.S. Trump told the Davos crowd he would get that sum increased to $1 trillion. Exner-Pirot said she suspects that Trump is “saying things based on his mood in the past 24 hours.” Asked to react to Trump’s claim that the U.S. doesn’t need Canadian oil, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s press secretary Sam Blackett said the premier’s message “has not changed.” “A U.S. tariff will hurt American and Canadian consumers, and we should be focused on developing our trade relationship through diplomacy, not threats,” he said. “In a negotiation, both sides will say all kinds of things and use different tactics. It’s important when this hap- pens to remain calm and diplomatic while continuing to carry out Alberta’s and Canada’s strategy.” Following her meeting with Trump at his Florida home this month, Smith said it seemed “the president was in- terested” in importing more Canadian oil and gas. “There does seem to be an under- standing on the part of the president about how we might be able to get more oil and gas to the United States,” she said. Carlo Dade, director of trade and trade infrastructure at the Canada West Foundation, said that if oil prices drop as Trump has requested, it could cut revenue in several provinces. Dade agreed that Trump’s words and goals are contradictory, adding it will be challenging for Canadian officials trying to navigate the bilat- eral relationship amid tariff threats and a pending review of the Cana- da-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. “How do you make policy decisions when you’re getting tweets or policy announcements that contradict each other? This is the dilemma going forward and this is why it’s such a hard job dealing with Trump,” Dade said. “I don’t think we’ve really wrapped our minds around it.” — The Canadian Press, with files from The Associated Press RCMP ● FROM A1 FUTURE ● FROM A1 TRUMP ● FROM A1 Legislature ceremony marks centre closure A PLAQUE to commemorate the of- ficial closure of the Manitoba De- velopmental Centre was unveiled Thursday at the legislature in front of more than 100 guests, many of whom were former residents. The plaque notes the institution was open from 1890 to 2024, and home to “many thousands of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and other conditions.” The inscription says that in 2023, the provincial government issued an apology to the Manitobans “who experi- enced mistreatment as a result of the harmful policies and practices of the government. This memorial is dedicat- ed to all who lived there.” The plaque will be erected at the cem- etery at the Manitoba Developmental Centre site in warmer weather later this year, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said. “I’m sorry for the harms you experi- enced,” the minister responsible for accessibility told the former residents and family members in attendance. Sean Traverse told the crowd that when he lived at the Portage la Prairie institution from 1992 to 1998, he was assaulted by another resident and that “bad things happened there.” In August 2023, a court approved a $17-million settlement in a class-action lawsuit that alleged abuse and neglect at the facility. David Weremy, a resi- dent from the 1950s to 1970s, filed the suit, which had about 1,360 class mem- bers. “Now it’s over,” said Weremy, who un- veiled the plaque Thursday. “We don’t have to worry no more.” The last resident moved out of the building in December. The province initially denied the abuse and neglect allegations in a statement of defence. In June 2023, then-Tory premier Heather Stefanson apologized on the province’s behalf as part of the settlement’s reconciliation initiatives. “Today marks the end of a difficult chapter in Manitoba’s history and the start of a brighter future for many Manitobans,” interim PC leader Wayne Ewasko said in a statement. Portage la Prairie MLA Jeff Bere- za said the site remains a valuable re- source for the community. Repurposing the grounds and buildings could help address the many needs of the com- munity and surrounding region, such as education, health care and housing, he said. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca CAROL SANDERS MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Sean Traverse lived at the Manitoba Developmental Centre in the 1990s. At the ceremony to unveil the plaque that commemorates the facility’s closure, Traverse said ‘bad things happened there.’ MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Josh Hildebrandt (left) and Kayden Grattan of the Blue Team test out their team’s robot at Morris School. ;