Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 5, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2025 NOTICE TO ALL MONTHLY AUTO-PAY SUBSCRIBERS: Effective March 1, 2025, all subscribers currently registered on our monthly automatic debit/credit payment method, will have their accounts converted to 4-week billing. Although your current billing rates will not change, there will now be 13 annual payments instead of 12. This is the equivalent of an 8.3% annual price increase. NOTICE TO ALL 3-MONTH, 6-MONTH AND 12-MONTH TERM PAYMENT SUBSCRIBERS: Effective March 1, 2025, your rates will increase by 8.3%. VOL 154 NO 73 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 organiz- ation 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. 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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 READER SERVICE ● GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 Previous money has been spent on revitalizing the rail line, which was washed out in 2017. The line under- went years of neglect under private ownership, said Chris Avery, the chief executive of Arctic Gateway Group. The organization — comprised of 41 First Nations and Bayline communities in the region — took over the railway and port in 2018. The land link is the only surface option available year- round connecting several northern communities to southern locales like The Pas. “I’m told it’s in better condition than it has ever been,” said Avery, who’s been CEO for six months. Revitalization of the rail line is about 85 per cent complete, Avery said. There are more than 70 bridges along the path; once reconstruction is finished, there will be ongoing main- tenance costs. The line runs through boggy land. Arctic Gateway has also already directed some funding to the port. It accepted its first cruise ship in more than a decade two summers ago. Hud- Bay Minerals shipped 10,000 metric tonnes of zinc concentrate — from a Snow Lake mine — to Europe in Au- gust via the Port of Churchill. “We have a pathway to see that (ship- ment) doubling this year,” Avery said. It includes building storage units and infrastructure to hold goods such as critical minerals and wheat. Govern- ment money will be used to restore the port’s wharf, which has faced years of decay, Avery said. HudBay will ship 20,000 metric tonnes of zinc concentrate through the port this year, the company’s vice-president pledged Tuesday. The Arctic port is operational for about four months of the year, Avery said. Arctic Gateway is working with University of Manitoba researchers to understand how long the port’s sea lanes can be open and how environmental changes will affect that in the future. A report is expected to be published later this year. Preliminary results suggest the sea lanes could be open six months annually, Avery said. More frequent natural disasters due to climate change and labour disputes at Canadian ports are part of the reason why having a functional Port of Churchill is important, Avery said. “The Port of Churchill will never replace the Port of Vancouver, but it will be an option for Canada.” Last year’s funding announcement drew delegates from Finland, Den- mark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland. It’s still “early days” to gauge Europe- an demand, Avery said. American trade is another goal despite the threat of 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods Trump has prom- ised. The tariffs were paused Monday for 30 days. Arctic Gateway Group has been signing deals to bolster its supply chain. In 2024, it inked memorandums of understanding with Sakku Invest- ments Corp., which represents the interests of Inuit in Nunavut’s Kivalliq region, and an economic development group from Tisdale, Sask. On its website, Arctic Gateway ad- vertises the port as a route to eliminate “time-consuming and high-cost” trans- portation through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. The organization has conversed with Canada’s department of defence about Arctic security, Avery said. Politicians and First Nations chiefs touted Arctic Gateway’s ownership of the railway and port — and the local job creation — as advancement of economic reconciliation. “This represents for us a beacon of hope,” said E.J. Fontaine, chief of Sagkeeng First Nation. On Tuesday, the federal government announced more than $2.3 million for partnerships with Indigenous govern- ments and University College of the North to build workforce capacity in mining. Sagkeeng First Nation will receive $218,500, which will be used to train 120 people, Fontaine said. Grain regularly shipped through the Port of Churchill before the Canadi- an Wheat Board was dismantled in 2012. Imports such as phosphorus from Europe or the U.S. — for making fertilizer — are expected in the future, Avery said. The port first opened in 1931. Canadian National Railway owned the Hudson Bay Railway until 1997. The route was acquired by Denver-based Omnitrax before Arctic Gateway Group took over. gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com PORT ● FROM A1 “We’ll do what is necessary,” Trump said about the possibility of deploying American troops to fill any security vacuum. The White House’s focus on the future of Gaza comes as the nascent truce between Israel and Hamas hangs in the balance. Netanyahu is facing competing pres- sure from his right-wing coalition to end a temporary truce against Hamas militants in Gaza and from war-wea- ry Israelis who want the remaining hostages home and for the 15-month conflict to end. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emir- ates, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League joined Egypt and Jordan in rejecting plans to move Palestinians out of their territories in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Trump may be betting he can persuade Egypt and Jordan to come around to accept displaced Palestin- ians because of the significant aid that the U.S. provides Cairo and Amman. Hard-line right-wing members of Ne- tanyahu’s government have embraced the call to move displaced Palestinians out of Gaza. “To me, it is unfair to explain to Palestinians that they might be back in five years,” Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, told reporters. “That’s just preposterous.” Trump also signalled that he may be reconsidering an independent Palestin- ian state as part of a broader two-state solution to the decades-long Israel-Pal- estinian conflict. “Well, a lot of plans change with time,” he told reporters when asked if he was still committed to a plan like the one he laid out in 2020 that called for a Palestinian state. “A lot of death has occurred since I left and now came back.” Netanyahu’s arrival in Washington for the first foreign leader visit of Trump’s second term coincides with the prime minister’s popular support sagging. The prime minister is in the middle of weekslong testimony in an ongoing corruption trial that centres on allega- tions he exchanged favours with media moguls and wealthy associates. He has decried the accusations and said he is the victim of a “witch hunt.” Being seen with Trump, who is popular in Israel, could help distract the public from the trial and boost Netanyahu’s standing. “We have the right leader of Israel who’s done a great job,” Trump said of Netanyahu. Netanyahu also praised Trump’s leadership in getting the hostage and ceasefire deal. “I’ll just tell you, I am happy they are here,” Netanyahu said of Trump and his administration. It’s Netanyahu’s first travel outside Israel since the International Crim- inal Court issued arrest warrants in November for him, his former defence minister and Hamas’s slain military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza. The U.S. does not recognize the ICC’s au- thority over its citizens or territory. Netanyahu met with White House national security adviser Mike Waltz and Witkoff on Monday to begin the daunting work of brokering the next phase of a ceasefire agreement. The Israeli leader said he would send a delegation to Qatar to continue indi- rect talks with Hamas that are being mediated by the Gulf Arab country, the first confirmation that those negotia- tions would continue. Netanyahu also said he would convene his security cabinet to discuss Israel’s demands for the next phase of the ceasefire when he returns to Israel at the end of the week. Witkoff, meanwhile, said he plans to meet with Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in Florida on Thursday to discuss the next phase in the ceasefire. Qatar and Egypt have served as key intermediaries with Hamas throughout the conflict. Netanyahu is under intense pres- sure from hard-right members of his governing coalition to abandon the ceasefire and resume fighting in Gaza to eliminate Hamas. Hamas, which has reasserted control over Gaza since the ceasefire began last month, has said it will not release hostages in the second phase without an end to the war and Israeli forces’ full withdrawal. — The Associated Press GAZA ● FROM A1 “This is what this day is about — re- minding each other, in a Team Canada approach, we can do this, we will do this, and that’s why we are here look- ing at the investments and how well they are working for us now.” Canada has promised to task 10,000 front-line personnel with protecting the border, although that will not in- clude soldiers, the minister said. The new “fentanyl czar” position, which is currently vacant, is part of Canada’s new spending to bolster border protection. McGuinty said more information will be released this week. The federal minister, who denied the czar role was an American idea, said the fentanyl crisis affects many parts of society. The czar will pull together federal and local law enforcement agencies, global affairs officials, the attorney general, provincial counterparts and Health Canada, with the latter track- ing and tracing the source of precur- sors used to create fentanyl abroad. Less than one per cent of fentanyl in the U.S. has come from Canada, McGuinty said. “In a 12-month period last year, 43 pounds of fentanyl was apprehended by American authorities crossing into the United States from Canada,” McGuinty said. In the same period, 23,000 pounds arrived in the U.S. from Mexico. The federal government is convinced these latest efforts will help manage relations with the Americans even as the tariff threat continues, McGuinty said. “There’s a lot at stake here. This isn’t naive. This is real. This is the largest economic relationship in the world. We have a choice to make between two countries. We can win-win or we can lose-lose. We think it’s better to win-win.” Canada has agreed to spend $200 million more to clamp down on drugs and related crime, as well as establish a joint strike force on drugs with the U.S. Christopher Adams, adjunct profes- sor of political studies at the Universi- ty of Manitoba, said Tuesday’s event was partly for Trump’s benefit, but mostly for Canadians. “I would say that much of what our politicians are doing is, in part, to show the president of the United States that we’re doing things he’s asked us to, but also that these demonstrations demon- strate to the population of Canada and Manitobans that something is being done,” Adams said. Adams, who returned from Washing- ton, D.C., on Monday, said Americans know how disruptive the tariff threat has been to the U.S. economy, let alone Canada. “Up in Canada, we’ve seen tariffs as the No. 1 issue, but in the United States, there are other issues that are bubbling up, not just regarding tariffs, including the treatment of migrants, which is having a real impact on different parts of American society,” he said. Adams said Canada is a victim of a drive-by shooting of sorts. “Mexico is really what he’s targeting for migrants and fentanyl, and we just happen to be caught in the crossfire on this,” he said, adding that being a part of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement also draws the country in. “Clearly, Trump is sabre-rattling and, as evidenced by today’s event at the border, we’re responding to it,” he said. — with files from The Canadian Press scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca BORDER ● FROM A1 The migrants told police a different story, indicating they had paid to be driven by taxi or Uber from Minne- apolis to the border, where they spent hours walking through the snow before Ali picked them up. “The migrants believed this was pre-arranged,” Wiebe said. The migrants said Ali told them if they were questioned by police, to say they had spent 15 days in a shed. “They were afraid not to tell the sto- ry as they were afraid Ali would leave them behind,” Wiebe said. Changes to the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement made in 2023 mean people who enter either country between ports of entry are to be turned back if found within 14 days of their arrival. Ali was released on bail that includ- ed a condition he not leave Winnipeg without permission of the court. On Dec. 1, RCMP received a tip about another suspected smuggling incident in the Morden area after footprints were spotted in the snow in a field, heading north. Police searched the area and found Ali driving a van with several illegal migrants inside. The Crown opposed Ali’s release on bail, arguing he was likely connect- ed to an organized crime operation, posed a serious flight risk and that his release would bring the justice system into disrepute. Crown attorney Dan Manning high- lighted the extreme danger of human smuggling, citing the case of an Indian husband and wife and their two young children who froze to death walking into the U.S. from Manitoba during a blizzard in January 2022. Defence lawyer Amado Claros said Ali, a recent refugee from Somalia, had fought hard to come to Canada and would do nothing to jeopardize his status here. Claros argued there was no evidence tying Ali to organized crime or that the migrants had paid Ali. Wiebe said she took “no comfort” in Ali’s agreement to wear an ankle bracelet if released on bail, and that the case against him appeared “fairly strong.” “While I appreciate the challenges Mr. Ali will bring to trial, it appears he has been found not once, but twice in the company of illegal migrants who have crossed the border into Canada,” she said. Ali’s next court date is March 27. dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca ARREST ● FROM A1 RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Premier Wab Kinew (left) and Chris Avery, CEO of Arctic Gateway Group, at Tuesday’s funding announcement at Union Station. SUPPLIED A shipment of zinc concentrate from a Snow Lake mine leaves the Port of Churchill in August. ;