Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 14, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba with MADELEINE and AUGUSTE COAR DOMINIQUE REY VALENTINE’S SPECIAL Buy a Friend Plus membership this Feb and add your companion for free wag.ca PRESENTED BY MICHAEL NESBITT ALWAYS FREE FOR YOUTH UNDER 18! 4.00% * *Rate subject to change. Conditions apply. SCU.MB.CA/GICS 28-MONTH | 54-MONTH Limited-time GIC specials WINNIPEG’S FOREMOST AFTERNOON CONCERT AND SPEAKER SERIES Tuesdays & Thursdays at 2:00 p.m. Until March 27 Rady JCC - 123 Doncaster Street of Winnipeg Beneficiary Agency of the Babs Asper Centre for Cultural Arts Lampe Family Fund INGIA Scan Me! for tickets Feb 18 Dr. Katharina Maier: Homeless Encampments and Community Wellbeing Feb 25 Greg Bieber: Are You Living Your Best Life? March 11 Stephanie Phetsamay Stobbe: Fifty Years After the Fall of Saigon Feb 27 Joie de Vivre on a Thursday Afternoon with Andrina Turenne March 4 Sustenance II with violinist Elation Pauls March 20 Jazz Tribute to South Sudan & Sudan with INGIA S P E A K E R S M U S I C SERVING MANITOBA SINCE 1872. FOREVER WITH YOUR SUPPORT. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2025 MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS WARTIME LOVE LETTERS Drafted into the army barely a year into their relationship, Second World War veteran Len Van Roon, 103, wrote his girlfriend, Verna, 1,100 love letters between 1943 and 1945. The Winnipeg couple married on his return from the front, celebrating 65 years of marriage together before his ‘Dearest Vern’ passed in 2011 / C1 WEATHER PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH -19 — LOW -28 SPORTS BOMBERS GM ON SEASON AHEAD / D3 Jury convicts Stead man of killing neighbour A JURY has convicted Eric Wildman of murdering his neighbour, who pros- ecutors said Wildman had caught steal- ing from him on his rural Manitoba property — ending a legal odyssey that included a mistrial. Wildman, 38, was charged with first-degree murder in the July 2021 killing of 40-year-old Clifford Joseph. Jurors delivered their verdict late Thursday afternoon following two days of deliberations. The trial marks the second time the case against Wildman has gone before a jury. A trial in 2023 ended abruptly in a mistrial after defence lawyer Martin Glazer fell ill and was unable to continue. Throughout the month-long trial, Wildman watched the proceedings with what appeared to be a permanent half-smile. Except for a slight widen- ing of his eyes, Wildman showed little change in expression upon hearing the verdict. Joseph’s aunt Carmelle Dromberg and cousin Kelly Gorman cried and embraced as the verdict was read out. DEAN PRITCHARD Canada in Trump’s crosshairs, ‘that’s not a good place to be’ OTTAWA — As U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order for reciprocal tariffs on Thursday that escalates his trade threats, his admin- istration took aim at Canada’s digital services tax as a major trade irritant. The White House sent out a doc- ument calling digital taxes in both Canada and France “unfair” for taxing American companies. Speaking in the Oval Office Thurs- day afternoon, Trump slammed Canada on trade and singled out its low defence spending, saying the country is a “very serious contender to be our 51st state.” “Canada’s been very bad for us on trade but now Canada’s going to have to start paying up,” he said. “Canada’s going to be a very interesting situa- tion because we just don’t need their product.” As Trump took more swings at the Canadian economy, businesses watched with unease. “The press conference struck me because Canada is clearly still top of mind for him and that’s not a good place to be,” said Matthew Holmes, an executive vice-president at the Canadi- an Chamber of Commerce. “We still have the sword of Damocles hanging over us and we need to be ever ready for what comes next.” He said the constant threats, the changing deadlines and the moving of goalposts is profoundly undermining business certainty in Canada — from major capital-investment decisions all the way down to individual shipping orders. Holmes believes the reciprocal tariff order is largely aimed at other markets — places like Europe, South Korea, Ja- pan and India. But the details are few and the bigger picture is alarming. KYLE DUGGAN Teacher overseer continues to work for Saskatchewan teachers’ union Critics rail at watchdog’s double dipping A NEW commissioner tasked with disciplining Manitoba educators for misconduct since the start of the year was doing so while still main- taining her job as head of the Saskatch- ewan teachers’ union, the Free Press has learned. Critics call it a major conflict of interest that brings into question the independence and impartiality of Manitoba’s new teacher oversight commission. “The fact that she’s doing two jobs at once and one is the head of a teacher union, when you’re supposed to be adjudicating cases involving teacher misconduct, that’s a massive conflict of interest,” said Cameron Hauseman, an assistant professor of educational administration at the University of Manitoba. “Both the commissioner and the province need to explain what exactly happened here.” Caught off guard when asked about the conflict, a provincial spokesperson initially indicated Thursday morning the NDP government was unaware Bobbi Taillefer was still working as the executive director of the Saskatch- ewan Teachers’ Federation. Manitoba Education Minister Tracy Schmidt told the Free Press late Thurs- day she was informed Taillefer’s last day with the federation will be today. That development was contrary to the December newsletter from Samantha Becotte, the president of the Saskatch- ewan union, who stated Taillefer was expected to be with the federation until March. Schmidt, who has a background in labour and employment law, defended Taillefer performing both roles and said she didn’t see it as a conflict of interest, adding the new commissioner isn’t representing teachers in Mani- toba and hasn’t yet had to weigh in or investigate complaints. The registry has received five com- plaints so far, Schmidt said. “So, at this point, we have no con- cerns,” she said. “I have full confi- dence in Mrs. Taillefer in performing this role.” Taillefer assumed the role of Com- missioner of Teacher Professional Conduct on Jan. 6, the same day the Manitoba government rolled out its new certified teacher registry, which indicates whether an educator’s licence is in good standing, suspended or cancelled. JEFF HAMILTON ● GUILTY, CONTINUED ON A5 ● TRUMP, CONTINUED ON A2 ● CONFLICT, CONTINUED ON A4 ;