Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 30, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba winnipeg.ca/yardwaste It's yard waste season! Yard waste is collected every second week and includes leaves, plants, flowers, grass and tree clippings. For more information, visit winnipeg.ca/yardwaste or contact 311 Space provided through a partnership between industry and Manitoba communities to support waste diversion programs. A WOMAN who had a brain tumour removed at Health Sciences Centre is suing after she says hospital staff lost the tissue sample before it could be tested for cancer. Winnipeg lawyers Sadira Garfinkel and Jason Harvey filed the lawsuit in the Court of King’s Bench this month on behalf of the woman, a 35-year-old full-time caregiver to four young kids. The statement of claim names the Winnipeg Regional Health Author- ity and Shared Health as defendants, as well as six HSC workers — nurses, operating room assistants and lab tech- nicians. The defendants have yet to respond with statements of defence. The woman was diagnosed in 2021 with a frontal brain tumour and sur- gery was recommended to remove what was presumed to be a low-grade — or slow-growing — glioma, which is a type of brain tumour, the court papers say. Some gliomas can be cancerous. “It was understood by the plaintiff that the… glioma… would be sent to a laboratory for analysis to determine the pathology of the sample for the pur- pose of directing subsequent treatment plans,” the court filing reads. She was admitted for neurosurgery on April 20, 2023, and the tumour was removed, the documents claim, then preserved to be sent for testing. The woman had a difficult recovery with a “cascade of aggravating symp- toms and conditions,” but was able to be discharged the next day. When following up with the surgeon a few days later, she claims she learned the sample was not delivered to the lab and appeared to have been lost. “As a result of the loss of the sample, the plaintiff’s treating surgeon was unable to provide the plaintiff with a definitive diagnosis for her condition,” the lawsuit reads. “As a result… he was unable to provide her with a definitive treatment plan as the treatment plans for various grades of tumours are markedly different.” The surgeon advised that without a definitive diagnosis, the only option was to wait to see if the tumour grew back, the suit claims. Subsequent tests have shown no evidence of tumour regrowth but the woman will continue to be tested for the foreseeable future. The surgeon advised the woman that HSC, the WRHA and Shared Health were investigating the loss of the tissue sample, the lawsuit says. The woman’s condition deteriorated after learning about the loss of the sam- ple and she has suffered since, including with sensory issues, sleep problems and dizzy spells. She has required multiple trips to the emergency department. “The plaintiff says that as a further result of the incident, she was and con- tinues to be left with uncertainty and feelings of fear, stress and confusion in relation to her concerns over the unknown pathology of the lost sample and the lack of an appropriate and de- finitive treatment plan for the foresee- able future,” the court papers read. She claims to have continued to suf- fer pain and dizziness, as well as “sig- nificant emotional trauma” and has been unable to return to work. The lawsuit accuses the WRHA and Shared Health of breaching their duty to provide reasonable and prudent care in hospital, including by failing to en- sure there were clear and safe proced- ures and protocols surrounding the col- lection and testing of samples and that those protocols were followed. It alleges the health agencies failed to quickly realize the sample was lost and investigate. The employees, the lawsuit alleges, failed in their duty to provide a rea- sonable level of care, including in their handling of the sample. The suit seeks monetary damages, but does not set out a dollar figure. erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca WEDNESDAY APRIL 30, 2025 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM SECTION B CONNECT WITH WINNIPEG’S NO. 1 NEWS SOURCE ▼ CITY ● BUSINESS RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS SIBLING SPOTTER Lydia Strutt speeds along on a scooter as brother Harrison Strutt runs alongside while out on a walk with dad Collin and the family dog in River Heights Monday. Rain was expected overnight with a couple of average days to follow before temperatures are forecasted to hit the mid- to high-20s on the weekend. ERIK PINDERA DEAN PRITCHARD A MANITOBA man is back in cus- tody, accused of criminally harassing a dozen women including a police offi- cer, starting just one day after he was released from jail for doing the exact same thing. Alexander Beaton, 29, was denied bail Monday morning following a hear- ing before provincial court Judge Stacy Cawley. “I’ll be frank,” Cawley said. “In my view, I have no confidence that Mr. Beaton will comply with any condi- tions that I impose on him today. I’m very concerned about public safety. I’m very concerned about (the safety of) fe- males, generally.” In May 2024, Beaton was sentenced to two years custody after admitting to criminally harassing and sending pic- tures of his penis to six women, some of whom he met at job-assistance agen- cies. Court heard Beaton was released from custody Dec. 3 and within a day was allegedly reoffending. Over the course of four months, ending with his arrest earlier this month, Beaton is al- leged to have criminally harassed and sent “indecent communications” to sev- eral more women, with 12 eventually making complaints of harassment. Beaton’s alleged victims include three women he was previously con- victed of harassing and two identified as “justice system participants.” “This appears to be increasing in frequency,” Crown attorney Keri An- derson told Cawley. “What is increas- ingly disturbing is… the nature of the messages he is sending” which, in some instances, include references to pedo- philia. One alleged victim reported receiv- ing unwanted obscene messages from Beaton beginning in 2021, continuing until his recent arrest. “She told him to stop contacting her and it only seemed to encourage him further,” Anderson said. Another woman alleged Beaton had, until March 2024, sent her unwant- ed emails and videos every couple of months for about nine years that showed him masturbating. At some point, he allegedly went on to target the woman’s mother. Beaton allegedly sent an email pic- ture of his penis to a group of women that included a Winnipeg police officer. Several of the victims alleged Beaton called them on the phone and could be heard masturbating. Several messages allegedly sent by Beaton included ex- plicit comments disparaging himself sexually. The fact that his alleged victims in- cluded two members of the justice sys- tem suggested he wanted to be caught, argued defence lawyer Mark Packulak. “I don’t think it’s out of line to specu- late that this may be an individual’s cry for help,” he said. “These are complain- ants one would not pick if they were trying to get away with (it).” Packulak said Beaton’s actions co- incided with occasions when he was abusing drugs and alcohol to numb the pain of trauma he experienced earlier in life. “I think there is reason to believe that Mr. Beaton does not want this to be a pattern in his life, he wants the help to get rid of it,” the lawyer said. Packulak proposed a bail plan that would include monitoring Beaton with an electronic ankle bracelet, a prohibi- tion on possessing a cellphone or com- puter and observing an absolute curfew. Cawley said the conditions provided her no assurance Beaton would not re- offend. dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca Woman accuses hospital staff of losing tumour sample before testing Man jailed for harassing women denied bail, accused of starting anew a day after release N EW provincial numbers show 570 Manitobans suffered suspected drug-related deaths last year, a grim tally in a province where debate over a promised supervised consump- tion site continues as the crisis deepens. The figures, updated this month, account for 40 previously unreported deaths in December. The province also retroactively updated numbers from the previous year — raising the count from 445 to 568 fatalities. The 2024 total is the highest number ever recorded in the province. “It says that we are in a real crisis, that there is a critical need for more resources and supports,” Melissa Chung-Mowat, executive director of the North Point Douglas Women’s Centre, told the Free Press. “When we have toxic drug supply, that means that people die before they can even access resources. These are folks in our community, these are our neighbours, they are people that really need the most supports.” Overdoses are a near-daily occur- rence in the inner-city neighbourhood, where Chung-Mowat said seven people suffered drug poisonings within the span of a few hours Monday, prompt- ing community organizations to issue a drug alert. The notice warned of a drug with “chunky white-ish granules” that caused users to experience seizures and lose consciousness before they were revived with the opioid over- dose-reversing drug naloxone. Chung-Mowat said her staff are often forced to intervene in drug poisonings by administering naloxone, performing CPR and calling emergency respond- ers. She said witnessing an overdose can have traumatic effects. “It has a big impact on our com- munity and it’s really hard to see folks struggle, to see folks harmed, to see people pass away,” she said. “It draws a lot of resources away from the core resources we provide.” Without a sanctioned consumption space, community organizations are left to shoulder the burden, said Jenny Henkelman, communications co-ordin- ator for Sunshine House. The provincial government is consid- ering a building at 200 Disraeli Fwy., just east of Main Street, as a potential supervised consumption site. If com- pleted, it would fulfil an NDP campaign pledge and become the first of its kind in Manitoba. The plan has been met with push- back from some area residents who ex- pressed fears it could escalate crime. The Free Press reached out to the Point Douglas Residents Committee to dis- cuss the concerns, but did not hear back Tuesday. In an email statement, the province reiterated its commitment to opening a supervised consumption site and said work is ongoing. “Any death from a drug poisoning is a tragedy and (there are) one too many in Manitoba,” wrote Education Minister Tracy Schmidt on behalf of Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith, who was not available. Record overdoses show ‘we are in a real crisis’ TYLER SEARLE Community agencies express an urgent need for supports ● OVERDOSES, CONTINUED ON B2 ;