Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 13, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2025 B2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS I CITY Pembina Trails’ student population has grown more than 12 per cent over the last five years. The division has opened two new schools, both located in fast-growing developments in Waverley West, during that period. The additions have eased some pres- sures, but South Pointe, originally built for 850 students, has been operating with four portable classrooms to ac- commodate ongoing growth. Construction is anticipated to begin next year, both on the Prairie Pointe project and a similar one in River East Transcona School Division. Premier Wab Kinew and the edu- cation minister announced a blue- print to build an elementary school in Transcona’s Devonshire Park during the annual school funding announce- ment earlier this week. The province has selected a five-acre site adjacent to Sir Robert Borden Park near the inter- section of Devonshire and Jerry Klein drives for the Transcona school. “It looks like education outside the Perimeter Highway has been forgotten about by this NDP government,” Pro- gressive Conservative education critic Grant Jackson said. Manitoba’s latest available enrol- ment data shows the divisions that wel- comed the largest number of new stu- dents in 2023-24 were Winnipeg, Louis Riel, Pembina Trails and River East Transcona. The divisions that recorded the lar- gest percentage hikes were Neepawa’s Beautiful Plains, Morden-based West- ern, Lakeshore in Eriksdale and LRSD in Winnipeg, with respective increases of eight per cent, six per cent, 5.9 per cent and 5.3 per cent. Neepawa and Brandon-area schools are “running out of space,” Jackson said. He also expressed concern the prov- ince is using the plot near Sir Robert Borden Park instead of another one in the area that the RETSD bought during the former PC government’s tenure. RETSD spokesman Adrian Alleyne said the division owns 328 Peguis St., formerly home to Sumka Brothers Greenhouses, and the land on Devon- shire Drive. “Both were purchased previously as sites for new schools, with the Devon- shire property being obtained first. The purpose for both properties is to build new schools,” Alleyne said in an email. Schmidt echoed those comments this week, dismissing the official Oppos- ition’s suggestion the NDP simply did not want to announce a new school on a site that was previously announced by the PCs. “Ultimately, it’s because the (Devon- shire Park) site is ready to go,” the edu- cation minister told the Free Press. The 2025-26 education funding an- nouncement includes $6 million in new dollars for capital financing projects, including principal and interest costs related to building schools. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca SCHOOL ● FROM B1 “We’ve gone through the program of designating (privately owned) historic buildings, and we’ve done a lot in the past decade, but now we’re going to the evaluation of city-owned resources,” he said. A city report says the fountain, built in 1970 for $25,000, “is a modernist structure in the international style.” It was constructed to commemorate both the centennial of Manitoba and the 50th anniversary of the Shoal Lake aque- duct that transports drinking water to the city. The fountain, which had been closed for a few years, reopened in 2023 and now includes signs explaining how con- struction of the aqueduct harmed the people of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation. Heather Bancroft said her late broth- er Brian Bancroft designed the foun- tain while working for Smith Carter Parkin, an architectural and engineer- ing firm. “I just remember when there was the opening of the fountain we all went down,” Bancroft said. “It was such a treat. “I think he would be pleased, but I don’t think he would think it was one of his better achievements.” Bancroft also designed the Pan Am Pool, Machray Hall at the University of Manitoba, and the Place d-Accueil at Expo 67 in Montreal. As for the building called the Freight House, a city report says it was built be- fore the First World War and was part of the city’s development into the pri- mary Western Canadian railway hub for passengers and freight. Midland Railway began in 1903 and by 1907 had a line from Portage la Prai- rie to Neche, N.D., and another from Morden to Walhalla, N.D. It was bought by the Great Northern Railway in 1909 and two years later a freight terminal and tracks to the Freight House were constructed. After the railway signed a deal to use tracks owned by the Canadian North- ern, a Winnipegger could travel by train to Minneapolis until the 1970s. The report says while the building’s exterior material, design and layout are intact, the inside was converted into a community centre in the early 1970s. There are currently six units in the building, including a gymnasium. The tracks were ripped up at the same time. A park and green space took their place. kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca HISTORIC ● FROM B1 MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES The Broadway Centennial Fountain has been recommended for historical designation. Concerns remain over unmarked graves, land’s cultural importance Board urged to reject Lemay Forest plans S EVERAL Winnipeggers urged the Manitoba Municipal Board to pre- vent development at Lemay Forest Wednesday, arguing new construction could disrupt unmarked graves and cut off access to culturally significant land. Louise May urged the board to reject a development application for a 5,000- bed assisted living facility at the site, stating a sacred forest should be creat- ed instead. “I am proposing to save the whole property and to develop a memorial for- est. This property is a nationally signifi- cant historical burial ground connected to loss of land, language, livelihood and culture of the Indigenous people … (It is also) an anchor to the ecosystem many of us have been attempting to preserve and expand for decades,” said May, a St. Norbert resident. A cemetery was part of the former l’Asile Ritchot orphanage, which oper- ated from 1904 to 1948 in part of the current Lemay Forest. It housed or- phaned infants of poor families and unwed mothers, as per the Manitoba Historical Society Archives. Winnipeg City Council rejected To- chal Development Group’s propos- al to build an assisted-living facility at Lemay Forest in September after deeming it too large for the site. The developer appealed the decision to the Municipal Board, sparking the hearing. The project’s planner has repeated- ly promised to complete an extensive search for potential graves and to avoid building within 100 metres of the for- mer cemetery. However, multiple dele- gates at Wednesday’s hearing say they remain concerned. Shelley Sweeney, a University of Manitoba archivist emerita, said bur- ials may have taken place outside the cemetery at unclear locations. “The plans for the land in question conflict with the cemetery that exists in Lemay Forest and possible burials surrounding that cemetery and else- where in the forest. We are not con- vinced by what the developer has said that the cemetery and burials will be safe,” said Sweeney. Recent preliminary research indi- cates 3,383 deaths are believed to be associated with the orphanage, includ- ing 31 children identified as Métis, the Saint-Boniface Historical Society says. Sweeney said burial records show 726 babies were buried at the cemetery from 1907 to 1912. “This cemetery is too important a historic site… It should not be privately owned,” she said. Diane Bousquet, who is of Métis des- cent, said the site must be preserved because it has significant historical and cultural significance for Indigen- ous communities. “This land is home to abandoned graves, Indigenous ceremonial spaces, places that hold sacred meanings,” said Bousquet. She said the site includes multiple ac- tive sweat lodges, which host important ceremonies. Bousquet stressed the future of the land must involve meaningful consul- tation with Métis people. Overlooking that feedback would undermine prog- ress on truth and reconciliation, she said. During a presentation to the muni- cipal board late Tuesday afternoon, the key planner for the assisted-living facility said the developer aims to pre- serve the former cemetery site as a publicly accessible green space. “We acknowledge the harms of the previous land owners,” said John Win- trup. Wintrup told the board the developer is committed to reconciliation and has completed four heritage studies of the land that have identified the “most like- ly” location of unmarked graves. He said further study to refine the findings is expected to begin this year. “We’re not building on unmarked graves,” he said. Wintrup said the developer would in- stead use the affected area, as well as a 100-metre buffer zone around it, to provide green space. “We’re going to make that a green space publicly accessible to people (that is privately owned),” he said. Meanwhile, Wintrup noted the pro- posed assisted-living facility would not be limited to residents who require health supports right away. “Our vision is more inclusive, in terms of variety of ages. (That in- cludes) anybody who’s … older but fully independent all the way to … where you might need full care,” he said. Wintrup said the entire proposed de- velopment site is about 23 acres, includ- ing about 17 acres of trees and six open acres. The municipal board is tasked with making a final and binding order on the project within 60 days after the hear- ing ends. Thursday is scheduled to be its final day. joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca X: @joyanne_pursaga JOYANNE PURSAGA MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Several Winnipeggers urged the Manitoba Municipal Board to reject a development application for a 5,000-bed assisted living facility at Lemay Forest Wednesday. Attacker spared penitentiary sentence after robbing unconscious man A WINNIPEG man has been sentenced to two years less a day in jail after a “predatory” attack on an unconscious man outside a Winnipeg nightclub that left him with a partially severed tongue and unable to speak properly for months. Ethan McDougall, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of robbery for the Aug. 31, 2024, attack outside the Palomino Club on Main Street. Because the victim had already been assaulted by another, unidentified at- tacker, it was impossible to determine with certainty who inflicted the man’s various injuries, said defence lawyer John Corona. “We can’t really point to what injur- ies were caused by this accused, but it was clearly a robbery,” Corona told provincial court Judge Rachel Rusen at a sentencing hearing Tuesday. Court heard the victim was trying to break up a fight between two women outside the bar around 2:30 a.m. when he was assaulted by an unidentified man and knocked unconscious. Security video showed McDougall, who did not know the victim, kicking and stomping the still-unconscious victim moments later before ripping a chain from his neck, said Crown attor- ney Ben Wickstrom. McDougall walked away, then re- turned and stomped on the victim again and stole his watch. A witness called police and McDoug- all was arrested at the scene a short time later. The victim’s injuries included a frac- tured skull, a brain bleed and a “grisly injury” to his tongue, Wickstrom said. “The attribution of these injuries is a difficult issue,” he said. “The victim indicates he wasn’t able to speak properly for several months, which isn’t a surprise, given the injur- ies to his mouth.” The victim, who works as a loss-pre- vention officer, continues to suffer from fear, anxiety, nightmares and frequent headaches, he wrote in a victim impact statement provided to court. McDougall has prior convictions for assault, uttering threats and firearm offences. At the time of the attack he was bound by a nightly curfew imposed after he was convicted of domestic as- sault. “I think it’s fair to say if he followed that curfew, we wouldn’t be here to- day,” said Wickstrom, who recom- mended Rusen sentence McDougall to four years in prison. Court heard McDougall has a family history of residential school involve- ment and that his criminal convictions are all rooted in his addiction to alcohol. “Given the level of violence and the predatory nature of the offence here, it is time to get serious with Mr. McDoug- all, to send him a very strong message,” Wickstrom said. McDougall has never served a peni- tentiary sentence — two years and above — and would not have access to the same addiction counselling he could receive at Headingley Correc- tional Centre, where he is currently lodged, Corona said. “He will leave the pen a different man, a worse man, in my opinion,” Cor- ona said. “The pen is an awful place for a man like this. He is a babe in the woods.” Rusen sided with the defence, saying the Crown sentencing recommendation was too high for someone who hasn’t yet served a penitentiary sentence. McDougall apologized to the victim, who was not present in court, saying: “I want to get my drinking straight.” dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca DEAN PRITCHARD Man wanted on murder charge thought to be in Ottawa WINNIPEG police say a man wanted for first-degree murder is believed to be in the Ottawa area. The Winnipeg and Ottawa police ser- vices and Ontario Provincial Police all posted on social media Wednesday ask- ing for the public’s help in finding Tre- sor Horimbere, 22. Police said Tuesday he could be in Ontario but were more specific Wed- nesday. A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for Horimbere. Two other men, who are in custody, have been charged with first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Mohamed Yusuf Abdullahi, 22. Abdullahi was slain in the parking lot of the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Com- plex on the night of July 13. Horimbere “is considered armed and dangerous and should not be ap- proached if encountered,” the WPS said Tuesday. Horimbere was an acquaintance of Abdullahi, the WPS said. Horimbere is also wanted by the OPP for alleged firearms offences in an un- related incident in Hawkesbury, a town east of Ottawa, in 2023. OPP spokes- man Const. Eric Ranger said Tuesday that Horimbere is being sought for his alleged involvement in a robbery. Winnipeg police asked anyone with information about Horimbere’s where- abouts to call 911, its homicide unit at 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers an- onymously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS). fpcity@freepress.mb.ca ;