Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 8, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba LEASING FOR NEW AND USED VEHICLES Discover your perfect ride and enjoy exclusive offers throughout February. Find out why Vickar is Where Customers Send Their Friends! A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2025 VOL 154 NO 76 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. 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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 fpcirc@freepress.mb.ca The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of Canada INSIDE Arts and Life D1 Books G1 Business B4 Celebrations D5 Classifieds E7 Comics I3-7 Community Voices B3 Destinations I1 Diversions G6-7 Faith G5 Homes H1 Horoscope D5 Miss Lonelyhearts D5 Money Matters B7 Obituaries C1 Opinion A8-9 Sports E1 Television D7 Weather D8 49.8 F1 COLUMNISTS: David McLaughlin A9 Paul G. Thomas A9 Gwynne Dyer A9 Dan Lett A13 Niigaan Sinclair B2 Laura Rance B6 Joel Schlesinger B7 David Christianson B7 Tory McNally B8 Ben Sigurdson D4 Mike McIntyre/Ken Wiebe E2 Rebecca Chambers F5 Mitch Calvert F8 Shawna Forester Smith F8 READER SERVICE ● GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 Whiteshell park users scrutinize highway twinning project A NEW route through part of Whiteshell Provincial Park is among three proposals to twin a 16-kilometre section of the Trans-Can- ada Highway just inside the Mani- toba-Ontario boundary. One proposal would expand the ex- isting highway from two to four lanes. The two other options involve a new corridor that would go north of Fal- con Beach and Barren Lake, linking to the existing highway at both ends. Of the two latter options, one would shift traffic to the new corridor, while the other would be a couplet with one-way traffic on the new corridor and exist- ing route. “Any change of the current highway will have an impact on us,” said local resident Kendra Imrie, who co-owns Falcon Beach Ranch with her husband. “Hopefully, the corridor that is chosen is not going to be an existential threat to the ranch.” People who live, work, own cottag- es or have land rights in the area are weighing the potential effect of each proposal. Imrie said it’s difficult to say which option she prefers because there are so many factors to consider, but her “worst-case” scenario is a one-way couplet, which would put the ranch be- tween two high-speed highways. She hopes the ranch’s tree buffer and trail system access are not lost. Six proposals were presented at lo- cal consultation meetings this week by the province and two firms — Tetra Tech Canada and Landmark Planning & Design — involved in a conceptual design study. Three potential routes were ruled out because they wouldn’t align with Ontario’s new twinned high- way. The preferred corridor and align- ment are expected to be chosen by summer’s end. A functional design study, lasting up to three years, is ex- pected to start this fall. The start of construction is years away. An estimated cost will be pre- pared when the conceptual design is completed, a provincial spokesperson said. “The province wants this project to get finished as soon as possible, which is why the conceptual design stage has started,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. The former Tory government con- firmed the project in 2022 to improve safety, ease congestion and improve travel times on a key trade route. The NDP pressed ahead with planning af- ter its 2023 election win. Manitoba twinned a 700-metre sec- tion at the boundary to align with On- tario’s divided highway. For the larger project, the study team’s considerations include safety and impacts on the environment, wild- life, land use, local access and traffic projections. West Hawk Lake resident Blair Mahaffy said core concerns, such as safety, the environment and noise are more important to him than the final choice. Whichever option is selected, he hopes a balance can be struck. A new corridor would “cut a new swath of forest” in the Whiteshell, he noted. “In many ways, this is the jewel in the crown of Manitoba’s provincial parks and it should be treated as one,” Mahaffy said. The family of Dryden, Ont. residents Mark Lugli, 54, and his son Jacob, 17, who died when a semi-truck crashed into their vehicle on the untwinned highway in 2019, advocated for the project. Peter Lugli, the brother and uncle to Mark and Jacob, said responsible preparatory work is essential, but it’s difficult to hear that construction is years away. “Meantime, this patch of vital road will remain dangerous for drivers of all backgrounds,” he said. “Incidents are sure to come during this consult- ing phase. We hope and pray they are minor.” The consultation process heard some calls for a reduced speed limit, plus some concerns about changes to property values, or the high cost and duration of the project, which faces obstacles and engineering challenges. The current highway cuts through the rugged Canadian shield country and is bounded by bodies of water in places. The government is consulting In- digenous rights holders, who cited a need for meaningful involvement and recognition and respect for cultural traditions. Concerns at initial meet- ings included hunting and foraging areas and heritage sites. The Manitoba Métis Federation is negotiating an engagement agreement to conduct a technical review of Mani- toba’s plan to ensure that any impacts on the rights claims and interests of Red River Métis citizens are con- sidered in this stage, said Jack Park, the federation’s minister of energy and infrastructure. “We will also work with the provin- cial department responsible for licens- ing the project once the consultation process has started to ensure any impacts of the project on Red River Métis rights claims and interests are mitigated appropriately,” he said in a statement. Whiteshell Cottagers Association president Ken Pickering doesn’t have a preference, but supports the twinning project. “I would say twinning through that area is needed from a safety perspec- tive. We’re talking about the main corridor of Canada running through,” said Pickering, who has a cottage at Falcon Lake. The group’s 1,400 members are con- cerned about environmental impacts and access to cottages during and af- ter construction, he said. “Adding construction can be a chal- lenge and a safety issue,” he said. chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca CHRIS KITCHING PROVINCE OF MANITOBA Proposals were presented at local consultation meetings with three potential routes ruled out (marked with X in map) because they wouldn’t align with Ontario’s new twinned Trans-Canada Highway. IN BRIEF MAN ARRESTED AFTER MORNING RAMPAGE A 20-year-old man is facing charges in connection with a rampage in the south Pembina Highway area Friday morning. Police were sent to a fast-food restaurant on the 2800 block of Pembina at about 6:10 a.m. after being told a man was causing a disturbance. Officers found a 20-year-old man inside and arrested him. Police determined the suspect began destroying property and threatening to kill employees while “in an agitated state.” At one point, he threw a garbage receptacle towards a 65-year-old employee, striking her in the lower body, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Friday. She suffered a minor injury and did not require medical attention, police said. The property damage was estimated at more than $10,000. “During his arrest, the suspect provided several false names to investigators and refused to provide his true identity,” the WPS said. Police linked the man to three incidents earlier that morning. A man damaged a parked 2015 Chrysler Town & Country on the 100 block of Allegheny Drive at 5:37 a.m. and shattered a front window at a business on the 2800 block of Pembina at 5:49 a.m. The window damage is estimated at more than $5,000. A man also damaged a parked 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage in a parking lot on Pem- bina’s 2700 block a moment later. A Winnipeg man is facing charges of assault with a weapon, obstructing a peace officer, mischief over $5,000 and two counts each of mischief under $5,000 and uttering threats. He was released on an undertaking. Police didn’t release his name. WOMAN CHARGED IN FATAL SHOOTING A woman has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with Winnipeg’s first homicide of the year. Police arrested Stephanie Lee Traverse, 43, at her city home Thursday. Through an investigation, police deter- mined Traverse shot 34-year-old Justin Boulanger with an improvised firearm during an argument in Weston. The incident happened inside a suite on the 300 block of Blake Street on Sunday morning. Boulanger died in hospital. The killing is not the first in Winnipeg in- volving homemade guns, also known as zip guns. A man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for manslaughter after admitting he shot another man in the face in the victim’s Burrows Avenue home in 2019. — staff ;