Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 29, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2025 VOL 154 NO 67 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. If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the website at www.mediacouncil.ca and fill out the form or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information. ADVERTISING Classified (Mon-Fri): 204-697-7100 wfpclass@freepress.mb.ca Obituaries (Mon-Fri): 204-697-7384 Display Advertising : 204-697-7122 FP.Advertising@freepress.mb.ca EDITORIAL Newsroom/tips: 204-697-7292 Fax: 204-697-7412 Photo desk: 204-697-7304 Sports desk: 204-697-7285 Business news: 204-697-7292 Photo REPRINTS: libraryservices@winnipegfreepress.com City desk / City.desk@freepress.mb.ca CANADA POST SALES AGREEMENT NO. 0563595 Recycled newsprint is used in the production of the newspaper. PLEASE RECYCLE. INSIDE Arts and Life C1 Business B5 Classifieds D8 Comics C5 Diversions C6-7 Horoscope C4 Jumble C6 Miss Lonelyhearts C4 Obituaries D6-7 Opinion A6-7 Sports D1 Television C4 Weather B8 COLUMNISTS: Tom Brodbeck A4 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 Although the committee report didn’t name names, its stark assertion prompted fears that parliamentarians who knowingly engaged in interfer- ence might still be active in politics. The commission of inquiry subse- quently agreed to examine the com- mittee’s findings. Hogue said she uncovered no evidence of “traitors” in Parliament plotting with foreign states to act against Canada. “Although a few cases involving things like attempts to curry favour with parliamentarians have come to light, the phenomenon remains marginal and largely ineffective,” the report says. “I am not aware of any federal legislation, regulations or policies that have been enacted or repealed on account of foreign interference. While the states’ attempts are troubling and there is some concerning conduct by parliamentarians, there is no cause for widespread alarm.” Legislation passed last year bol- stered Canada’s defences against foreign interference. The federal legislation created offences for deceptive or surrepti- tious acts that undermine democratic processes, such as covertly influencing the outcome of a candidate nomination contest. Another new offence outlaws de- ceptive or clandestine acts that harm Canadian interests — for instance, helping foreign agents posing as tour- ists to enter Canada. A planned foreign influence trans- parency registry will require certain individuals to register with the federal government. Given opposition parties’ determina- tion to topple Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government as soon as possible, legis- lative changes to guard against foreign meddling appear unlikely before the next election. Hogue makes some recommen- dations that could be implemented without passing a bill. Under the current federal system, a panel of five top bureaucrats would issue a public warning if they believed an incident — or an accumulation of in- cidents — threatened Canada’s ability to hold a free and fair election. There was no such announcement concerning the 2019 or 2021 general elections. Hogue recommends that the govern- ment consider amending the protocol to allow the panel of five to “take a less drastic measure than a public announcement in appropriate circum- stances.” The Liberal government said in a statement it will carefully review Hogue’s recommendations. It pledged new funding to build resilience against online disinformation and to ensure the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer can “protect against persistent threats to the electoral process.” The Conservatives said they would study the report’s recommendations and proposals “on what can be done to protect our elections from foreign interference and hostile foreign states targeting Canada.” Parliament could make changes re- quiring legislation before the next gen- eral election if all parties can agree to pass measures through unanimous consent, said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the next move is up to the Liberals. “They could take steps right now,” he said. “If the Liberals are serious about this, they should do it.” Members of diaspora communities in Canada told the inquiry how China, India, Iran and Russia make life extremely difficult for their fami- lies when they dare to question the regimes. Hogue’s report says the commis- sion’s work has shown that transnation- al repression is “a genuine scourge” that the government must address. The foreign ministries of China and India have rejected claims they are behind any interference in Canada’s domestic affairs, and argue Ottawa is meddling in their own politics. China’s embassy in Ottawa said the report “made groundless accusations and smears” against Beijing. It also protested Canada’s statements on is- sues such as Taiwan, the Uyghurs and Hong Kong. Ministries for other countries iden- tified in the report as “threat actors targeting Canada” — Russia, Iran and Pakistan — did not respond to requests for comment. — The Canadian Press PROBE ● FROM A1 JUSTIN TANG / THE CANADIAN PRESS Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, Commissioner of the Foreign Interference Commission, found no ‘traitors’ in Parliament or cause for alarm. Highlights OTTAWA — After 18 months of hearings and testimony from more than 100 witnesses, the Commission on Foreign Interference released its final report Tuesday. Here are some of the highlights: ● Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue found no evidence there are “’traitors’ in Parliament plotting with foreign states to act against Canada.” ● She did find the federal government has done a “far from perfect” job of sharing information on foreign interference within government itself. ● Efforts by foreign states to control diaspora communities, known as transnational repres- sion, can take the form of “threats of physical and sexual violence, and even threats to life…” ● The government should consider setting up a new agency to monitor open-source information, including social media platforms, for misinformation or disinformation that could undermine elections. ● Canada needs a hotline to allow citizens to report suspected foreign interference. ● The federal government should adopt a ‘duty to warn’ policy to alert individual Canadians of “credible threats of serious harm” coming directly or indirectly from a foreign entity. ● All political party leaders “should be encouraged” to obtain Top Secret security clearances. ● Riding nomination and party leadership contests should be brought under the Canada Elections Act, and only Canadian citizens and permanent residents should be allowed to vote in them. ● The government should consider whether it would be appropriate to create “a system of public funding for political parties.” ● All electoral communications distributed during an election period which have been generated or manipulated by AI should be watermarked. Five incidents happened at the mobile prevention site, while the other five occurred within a one-block radius. Mobile unit staff members gave multiple shots of naloxone to victims. That helped some recover by the time the WFPS arrived, which freed emergency workers to tend to other victims who were not responding to the overdose-reversing agent. “Nobody was transported to hospital as far as we know,” Foy said. The potency of “down” varies great- ly from batch to batch. The toxicity found in Sunday’s batch was abnormally high, Foy said, attrib- uting that to reports from longtime staff who’ve had boots on the ground. “Down is a constant in Winnipeg … and has been since we opened the site (in 2022),” Foy said. In its first year of operation, the mobile prevention unit aided with 20 overdose events from Oct. 28, 2022, to Oct. 31, 2023. Preliminary data from 2024 showed 25 overdose events during the six- month period from April 1 to Oct. 15, providing a snapshot of a likely spike in poisoning incidents. Foy said they’re at a disadvantage with the mobile prevention unit, as it’s not a controlled environment. “So we have a lot more contingencies that our team has to deal with that you wouldn’t have in, say, a permanent, safe consumption site,” he said. Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith said Tuesday the incidents underscore the need for a supervised consumption site in the area. “It saves lives, gets people connected to the services they need and connects people to the path of recovery,” she said. The province has earmarked a south Point Douglas building on the Disrae- li Freeway as the potential location for the province’s first such site, a decision that’s drawn mixed reactions, including concerns around safety and criticism of the consultation process. Smith said a supervised consump- tion site needed to be up and running yesterday. “It’s comforting to hear that these overdoses were reversed and these individuals were able to get the sup- ports that they needed,” she said. “We want to let those folks know that help is coming.” Darlene Jackson, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union, said an influx of 10 overdoses at Health Sciences Centre had the potential to cripple the emergency department. “Thank goodness for Sunshine House and the program they run be- cause 10 overdoses into HSC emergen- cy would have been massive for them,” Jackson said. “It would have really put a strain on them. “This really shines a light on need- ing drug testing and … highlights that we need safe consumption sites.” Jackson said nurses she’s spoken with are seeing more drug-related incidents and more overdoses than in the past. “It’s really turned into a crisis,” she said. Last July, the province announced an Indigenous-led supervised con- sumption site would be operational in 2025 and run by the Aboriginal Health & Wellness Centre. That’s still the plan, but Smith said they’re not rushing it. “We’re going through the consulta- tion process,” Smith said. “We want to make sure we’re getting this right.” Charlene Hallett, the wellness cen- tre’s cultural and health integration lead for the proposed site, said the news of the overdose incident filled their organization with heartache, worry and grief. “We anticipate the opening of a safer consumption site in the downtown/ Point Douglas area — as a model of health care that comes complete with nurses and other allied health profes- sionals — will undoubtedly ease some of the foot traffic that MOPS currently experiences from folks looking for saf- er spaces to use their drugs, and serve as a permanent site that our relatives can regularly count on for harm re- duction supplies, health-care education and cultural supports,” Hallett said in an email. scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca OVERDOSES ● FROM A1 “The premiums on Main Street, they are insane already as it is. My mother, she refuses to file insurance claims because, God forbid, there is a day she really needs it,” Hasid said. Less than a block away, at 1128 Main St., Winnipeg Trading Post manager Cathy Mukai said “having storefront windows is almost not an option” in the North End, due to the prevalence of break and enters. Property tax rates and insurance premiums in the North End continue to rise, she said, causing Mukai to question what incentives stores have to remain. “Gunn’s, myself, Cosmopolitan — we’ve all been in the North End for a substantial amount of time — we try to stay in the community … but it’s getting very hard to stay loyal to the area when there’s so much risk and loss,” Mukai said. Even businesses that file insurance claims are not guaranteed the coverage they pay for. Gunn’s Bakery is currently embroiled in a legal battle with its insurance pro- vider, which has denied a $192,000 claim from a January 2023 break in. The owner of the long-standing bake- shop at 247 Selkirk Ave. declined to comment on the pending litigation. The bakery suffered $42,000 in stolen goods and $150,000 in damages from the break in, court documents filed Jan. 17 in the Court of King’s Bench detailed. Last March, Gunn’s insurance pro- vider refused to cover the loss, claim- ing the business had been “vacant, un- occupied or shut down” for more than 30 consecutive days. Gunn’s is suing the company for breach of contract, claiming it was not unoccupied as claimed. The lawsuit accuses the insurance firm of failing to take “an objective, balanced approach in evaluating all relevant evidence in determining the validity of any insurance claim.” Keith Horn, owner of the Northern Hotel and chairman of the North End BIZ, said it’s become common practice in the neighbourhood to not file insur- ance claims, except in the most ex- treme instances. The Manitoba Hotel Association re- cently cancelled an insurance program offered to Horn’s hotel, he said, forcing him to secure coverage through an- other company at an additional $15,000 annually. He now pays more than $70,000 per year for coverage, he said. “They just said we’re not insuring anybody in this particular area,” he said. “I’ve been saying for a long time: nobody gives a crap about the North End.” Horn said the number of business- es in the neighbourhood has shrunk from 110 to 57 over the past decade and “more are leaving all the time.” Each of the business leaders who spoke with the Free Press called for intervention from all levels of govern- ment. Lichti said the city should offer breaks on property taxes in the area, while senior levels of government should offer investment incentives to existing and prospective businesses. Hasid, Mukai and Horn endorsed that suggestion. “Right now, the North End should be a federal issue and a provincial prior- ity,” Lichti said. tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca CRIME ● FROM A1 SIX Indigenous organizations in Winni- peg will soon get more than $1 million in federal funding to operate sports and recreation programs. The funds are part of more than $24 million over two years for 119 In- digenous-led projects, to be announced in Winnipeg today by Sport Minister Terry Duguid. “(This funding) will expand access to sports and physical activities for com- munities from coast to coast to coast,” Duguid said Tuesday. The program, which was one of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, supports First Nations, Inuit and Métis in “build- ing strong and healthy communities across the country.” “Sports has a power to do that,” he said. “We know that sports brings people together, particularly for young people, builds esteem and is great for physical health as well as mental health. “One of the important things to men- tion is that these individual initiatives have come from the communities themselves. They are Indigenous-led and designed and therefore will be well received by communities and be able to have positive results.” In Winnipeg, the organizations re- ceiving funding include: Neemu-Egwah Inc.’s project for traditional dance cere- monies, 2Spirit Manitoba’s plan to give two-spirited people access to sweat lodge ceremonies and drum groups and Ikayuqtiit Incorporated’s program that increases mental and cultural wellness through activities such as canoeing and igloo building. The funding comes from Ottawa’s Sport for Social Development in In- digenous Communities program. Past recipient organizations have included Shawenim Abinoojii and the Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council. kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca Federal cash flows to Indigenous-led sports programs KEVIN ROLLASON ;