Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 29, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba TOP NEWS A3 TUESDAY APRIL 29, 2025 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM Vigil for Vancouver victims set for today Tragedy stuns city’s Filipino community A S Filipinos prepare to hold a vigil in Winnipeg to support victims and families of a deadly Vancou- ver attack, one Winnipegger is keeping close tabs on two family friends who were injured. Radisson NDP MLA Jelynn Dela Cruz was in the midst of helping organ- ize tonight’s vigil when she learned an adult and a two-year-old child were in- jured while attending Saturday’s street festival, where police said a man in an SUV raced down a street and hit mul- tiple festival-goers. The two are among several in hospital. Dela Cruz, who didn’t want to go into detail because of privacy concerns, said the family had moved to Vancou- ver from Winnipeg a short time ago. “A two-year-old — it’s just hard to im- agine,” she said Monday. “They are family friends. We’ve gone on trips together. They come from the same province as my dad’s side of the family. This is really heart wrenching.” Dela Cruz said because of that, the community vigil will take on extra meaning for her. “We couldn’t imagine something like this happening when our elders made the decision to come here for a better life,” she said. “I hope the vigil will be a useful space for folks to assure them they are not alone with the emotions they have.” Eleven people were killed and dozens injured after the driver drove through the crowded Lapu Lapu Day block party in Vancouver. Police said the sus- pect, a 30-year-old man, has a history of mental-health interactions with them. Virgie Gayot, president of the Philip- pine Canadian Centre of Manitoba, said the vigil, to honour the victims of the tragedy, will be held at their hall at 737 Keewatin St. “It’s a gathering together of the com- munity,” Gayot said Monday. “Every- one is welcome. “It’s just to get together, to pray for the families and victims, and, maybe also, have some awareness of mental health. Getting together will be a com- fort to each other.” Doors open at 6 p.m. and the program starts at 7 p.m. Gayot noted the organization holds outdoor events at times. “It is private property and it’s a little safer than the street,” she said. “But accidents happen — we cannot predict accidents. We just try our best to keep our community safe when we have activities. We have some security guards and community members (help- ing).” Gayot, like many in Winnipeg’s Fili- pino community, has relatives and friends in Vancouver and she checked on them after she heard about the at- tack. “I called them and everybody is safe,” she said. “They left after the concert. “But they are mourning some of their friends.” Malaya Marcelino, the province’s labour and immigration minister, said she is hearing a range of emotions from Filipinos in the community. “We’re seeing people very angry, some feeling fear and, for me, I per- sonally was a little bit overwhelmed by all the different emotions,” Marcelino said. “I could just feel it, and my body is feeling sick to my stomach — especially being able to see those types of images. Something like this has never happened to our community before. There have been individual tragedies, but this is a mass casualty.” Marcelino said many members of her community are finding comfort in their religious faith. “Many of us are part of faith com- munities and I think that has been their response — to lean into our faith communities, take solace in the word of God and have faith in better days to come.” Marcelino said with the busy sum- mer festival season approaching, many organizations will be working with law enforcement to see how they can hold them while keeping attendees safe. She said no one is cancelling any plans. “We know that we can’t be acting out of fear,” the minister said. “We have to continue to go ahead and live good lives and happy lives. But we have to be pru- dent and also prepare for possibilities like that because it’s not an unusual oc- currence anymore.” Kris Ontong, a community activist and co-founder of Barangay Canada, an online media initiative, said he is “heartbroken and angry” about what happened. “Filipinos are hard workers and don’t usually go out — a festival like this is where they go to relax,” he said. “To have this happen at a street festival is so shocking. I’m a father and when I heard a five-year-old had been killed, it shocked me to the core. “We deserve to gather without fear.” One of the Filipino community’s an- nual events is the Kultivation Festival, which focuses on its heritage and cul- ture, while previewing what a Filipino district would look like in the city. Allan Pineda, the festival’s executive director, said it is held across the city with some events indoors, but others outside. Pineda said there have been discus- sions about increasing security at the event, even before the Vancouver tra- gedy. “I don’t think we’ll change anything,” he said. “I think this was a one-off.” — with files from Carol Sanders kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca KEVIN ROLLASON Will lower risk of complications, lessen wait times, Foundation CEO says Surgical robot officially revealed MANITOBA’S first surgical robot was officially unveiled at an event at Health Sciences Centre on Monday. Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci Xi has four surgical arms operated by high- ly sensitive controls. The machine has been in use at HSC since September. It is current- ly being used for thoracic surgery (usually lung and esophageal proced- ures), gynecologic cancer surgery and urology. It allows surgeons to reach parts of the anatomy that aren’t easily accessible with traditional sur- gical instruments. “The da Vinci Xi, in essence, ex- tends the capabilities of a surgeon’s hands and a surgeon’s eyes. The ro- bot’s arms move better and with more stability than is possible for human hands; and the enhanced scopes and visualization technology helps us see even the smallest parts of the anat- omy with extreme clarity,” Dr. Ed- ward Buchel, HSC’s surgery site dir- ector, said in a written announcement posted on the foundation’s website. The machine was funded by the Health Sciences Centre Foundation’s Operation Excellence campaign, in partnership with the province. “Acquiring Manitoba’s first sur- gical robot is a major milestone for patient care,” foundation CEO Jona- thon Lyon said in the announcement. “The robot is a shining example of how new technology can help us achieve our goals to end surgical wait times. With the robot, patients will experience less pain, less blood loss and lower risks of complications. And because patients treated with the ro- bot are typically discharged from the hospital in a day or two, we’ll see bet- ter patient flow, a reduced burden on the emergency department and an in- crease in in-patient bed availability.” An Ji Li, a 33-year-old thoracic pa- tient, suddenly began coughing up blood in December. He was diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent ro- botic surgery at HSC in February. He was discharged the next day. “When you hear the word ‘cancer,’ everything stops. But knowing I had access to this technology gave me real hope,” Li said. fpcity@freepress.mb.ca SUPPLIED Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci Xi, which employs four surgical arms, is being used for thoracic surgery, gynecologic cancer surgery and urology at Health Sciences Centre. SUPPLIED The machine was funded by the Health Sciences Centre Foundation’s Operation Excel- lence campaign, in partnership with the province. Khan leads a Tory house divided OBBY Khan faces “a steep mountain to climb” to unite Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative party after being voted its leader on Saturday despite losing the popular vote. More than half of the 20 constituen- cies represented by PC members in the Manitoba legislature voted for his chal- lenger, Wally Daudrich, the owner of a lodge in Churchill. In Steinbach, Daudrich received 73.5 points to Khan’s 26.5 points. Steinbach is represented by former cabinet min- ister Kelvin Goertzen, who had cam- paigned for Khan’s leadership. Daudrich was favoured by members in the PC-held constituencies of Border- land, Dawson Trail, La Verendrye, Lac du Bonnet, Lakeside, Midland, Mor- den-Winkler, Red River North, Riding Mountain, Selkirk, Springfield-Ritchot, Swan River and Turtle Mountain. He was also chosen by members in Spruce Woods, a seat Daudrich has said he may seek in a byelection after it was vacated by PC Grant Jackson, who quit in March to run federally in Bran- don-Souris. It means Khan has to lead a caucus that represents more Tory members who support Daudrich than him. “That is such a steep mountain to climb to unite this party,” said Brandon University political science Prof. Kelly Saunders. Khan’s support came mostly from urban constituencies that the party needs to win to form government. In Khan’s own Winnipeg constitu- ency of Fort Whyte, he received 78.1 points while Daudrich received 21.9. In nearby Roblin, represented by Tory Kathleen Cook, who openly op- posed Daudrich’s socially conservative views, Khan took 59.6 points compared to Daudrich’s 40.4 points. In Portage la Prairie, Brandon East and Brandon West, party members picked Khan over Daudrich. Khan wouldn’t agree to do an inter- view Monday. In a statement, he said no matter how members voted, he’s “ex- cited that they participated in the PC leadership campaign.” “I recognize that there is lots of work to do but I promised to hit the ground running and will continue to actively engage with my caucus colleagues and our grassroots provincewide to build a winning organization,” Khan said. The PCs new leadership election sys- tem allocates one point for every vote a candidate receives in constituencies with up to 100 voting members, up to a maximum of 500 points for an electoral district with 1,300 or more votes. The points from all 57 electoral districts added up to 2,198.8 for Khan and 2,163.2 for Daudrich, who won the popular vote after receiving 3,387 ballots — 53 more than Khan’s 3,334. While Khan eked out a win, such a narrow margin of victory shows a deep- ening divide in the PC party, Saunders said. “It always was a challenge to unite the urban-rural, the progressive con- servative and a bit more right-of-centre conservative elements within the party. It seems like those divisions have only gotten deeper,” Saunders said. “Clearly there’s a significant element of dissatisfaction, of frustration with the leadership of the party, with the direction of the party, and that faction is not going to go away,” she said. After Khan’s victory was announced Saturday, the right-leaning Keystone Party of Manitoba, which was unable to win a seat in the 2023 election, invited Daudrich supporters to join its ranks. “Wally Daudrich championed the true grassroots movement, empha- sizing servant leadership and fiscal responsibility,” Keystone’s social media post said. “His message resonated with many who feel the party has strayed from its roots,” it said. “If you’re among the many who believe the PC party no longer represents your values, know this: the Keystone party stands with you.” Its leader, Kevin Friesen, said Mon- day his phone lit up after Khan was an- nounced PC party winner, but couldn’t say if that translated into new Keystone members. Friesen said Daudrich is a friend but they haven’t discussed joining forces. Daudrich didn’t respond to interview requests Monday. After the leadership election results were announced Sat- urday night, Daudrich left the down- town Winnipeg venue without making a speech or speaking to reporters. Saunders said the next chapter for the PC party is a question mark. “Whether they all migrate over to the Keystone party or they create a new en- tity, I don’t think that story is over yet.” carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca New PC leader won on points but lost popular vote CAROL SANDERS GREG VANDERMEULEN / THE CARILLON Obby Khan’s support came mostly from urban ridings needed to form government. He said police in a neighbouring ju- risdiction had contact with the suspect the day before the rampage, but he wouldn’t say more. “It was not criminal in nature and it didn’t rise to the level where it re- quired mental health intervention.” Toan Le started a fundraiser on behalf of his brother, sister-in-law and niece, saying his nephew Andy only survived because he decided to stay home at the last moment to finish his homework. Le said in an interview they learned Saturday that Richard, 47, had died, but detectives told the family Sunday that Hoang as well as Katie Le, who was just about to graduate from kin- dergarten, had also been killed. He described Katie has “super ener- getic,” saying “she had a very lovable personality, and she really loved just being around people.” Le said his sister-in-law, who was 30, was a dedicated mother to Katie and stepmother to Andy. “She’s a really good person,” he said. Richard Le sold real estate for a Vancouver firm and coached badmin- ton and tennis. “If I was to tell my brother and to everyone else, just cherish your loved ones and your friends, family, because you never know when they might not be around and you won’t have a second chance. So take advantage of the time you have (with) them and cherish those people that you love,” he said. Le said Andy is in a state of shock, trying to absorb everything and his life has changed over just a few days. A teacher-counsellor from suburban New Westminster has also been identi- fied as a victim in the festival attack. Kira Salim’s loss has left their friends and colleagues shocked and heartbroken, said a statement issued Monday from the superintendent at the New Westminster school district. “Kira was a valued member of our community whose wisdom and care for our middle- and secondary-school students had a powerful impact,” it said. “Their work, and the great spirit they brought to it, changed lives.” The accused in the rampage remains in custody. His next court appearance has been scheduled for May 26. Vancouver police have said the attack was not an act of terror. While they didn’t have a motive, they said Lo has had multiple mental health inter- actions with their officers. — The Canadian Press VANCOUVER ● FROM A1 ;