Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 2, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba PRESENTS Donation Drive Royal Canadian Air Force Party Band Winnipeg Circus Club Free Barbeque & Treats Face Painting Sleepy The Clown Radiothon Petting Zoo FREE COMMUNITY EVENT Friday, May 9 • 4pm - 8pm Family Entertainment Al Simmons Tai Chi in the Park Magician Evan Morgan visit gracehospitalfoundation.ca for more info! 3.40% * * Rate subject to change. GICs require a $500 minimum deposit 12-MONTH GIC (RRSP/RRIF/TFSA/FHSA*) SCU.MB.CA/GICS Saturday, MAY 10, 2025 Blue Cross Park, Winnipeg DONATE jptoyotaregent.com supportcerebralpalsy.ca DONATE TODAY at your gift supports our Members with accessibility, mobility and freedom in the community! Like SERVING MANITOBA SINCE 1872 PROUDLY CANADIAN FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2025 WEATHER SUNNY. HIGH 13 — LOW 3 CITY FAKE FUNDRAISER LEADS TO CHARGES / B1 RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS NO BAY DAY ON THESE ARTIFACTS Kathleen Epp, keeper of the Hudson’s Bay Co. archives at the Archives of Manitoba, has a simple message: if you want to see artifacts of what was Canada’s oldest surviving retailer, the pieces she preserves are not for sale. To distinguish the Archives of Manitoba collection from the collection that might be auctioned off, the facility is offering a public display at its offices at 200 Vaughan St. ❚ Chiefs argue for return of privately held Bay artifacts / A3 ❚ Canadian Tire, B.C. billionaire each make play to buy Bay assets / A8 Online tool previews new bus system layout Transit Tom takes riders for a spin on new routes JOYANNE PURSAGA WINNIPEGGERS can start planning for a massive transformation that’s set to alter virtually every bus route. Winnipeg Transit will launch a new primary transit network on June 29. On Thursday, transit posted the up- coming schedules online, so users can try out virtual trips and sort out their best options in advance. Mayor Scott Gillingham said the information will help prepare riders for the biggest single-day change in Winnipeg Transit’s history. “With this new network, you’ll be able to get anywhere in Winnipeg more easily on routes that are more fre- quent, more reliable and more direct. It means faster commutes, shorter wait times and better customer service… This is big. This is bold change,” said Gillingham. Riders can visit wfp.to/W1O to pre- view stops, routes and trip plans. The new primary network will use a spine-and-feeder concept, where direct spines along major corridors are sup- ported by a network of feeder routes throughout the city. “It’s a big change for passengers and we know how people like change,” joked Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of public works. “So, I think all the information we’re launching today, all the training that we’re offering, will help demystify this transformation.” Lukes (Waverley West) said some of the most frequent routes will have buses arrive so often that Winnipeg- gers can just show up at times without checking the schedule first. Tariffs take a chunk out of Manitoba businesses BEFORE her eyeglasses could jump from $200 to nearly $500 overnight, Kathy Tran-Riese made a tough deci- sion: pause her Winnipeg company’s shipments to the United States. For years, she’s imported KayTran Eyewear frames from China before exporting to American customers. The Asian-made glasses are designed for people with low nose bridges. A wrecking ball is poised to hit Tran- Riese’s supply chain: U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to further change trade rules, opening all Chinese-origin exports to tariffs. The de minimis exemption shielded Chinese-origin packages under $800 from a 145 per cent tariff Trump placed on Chinese imports. Trump said he’ll remove the exemption on such goods today. It’s unclear what tariff the products will face. Already, Manitoba brokerages have seen local e-commerce exports drop off. Roughly 11 per cent of the prov- ince’s Canadian Federation of Indepen- dent Business members import items from China before shipping to the United States. “I wanted to hold off and see what actually would occur,” Tran-Riese said. “(But) it does appear that some- thing — we don’t know how drastic it will be — will occur on May 2.” Earlier this week, she informed customers she’d halt U.S. shipments for the time being. The country accounts for roughly 45 per cent of her sales. Slapping on a 145 per cent duty would more than double the customer’s cost. It’s “not fair” to them, Tran-Riese said. “But at 145 per cent, it makes it impossible for any company to absorb it,” she added. “They would essentially be losing money on every single (item) that they sold.” She’s considered swallowing the duty, depending on what it is. She’s looking for a way to get her glasses affordably to American customers, while questioning whether the U.S. is a viable market. GABRIELLE PICHÉ Aides to check patients at HSC ER M ANITOBA’S emergency rooms will use more non-nursing staff to check on patients in waiting rooms after a man died in the Health Sciences Centre ER in January. Chad Giffin, 49, had been waiting in the province’s busiest ER for about eight hours when staff noticed his condition had deteriorated. He was pronounced dead a short time later. His death on Jan. 7 led to a critical incident review, which produced 17 recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths in ERs across Manitoba. “That particular situation, that tragedy, provided opportunities for us as a system to improve and to learn, and that work continues to be done,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said at an unrelated event Thursday. HSC officials had said Giffin was assessed, triaged as low acuity, or less urgent, and sent to the waiting room with instructions to speak to staff if his condition changed or worsened. The over-capacity ER had about 100 patients, including 50 in the waiting room. At the time, officials said the number of nurses on shift was just below the baseline, but officials said Thursday the number was at the baseline. A backlog, or access block, prevented ad- mitted ER patients from being moved to a bed elsewhere. Among the 17 recommendations, the province said training was implement- ed for 15 health-care aides to conduct checks on patients in the hospital ER, along with one health-care aide position to provide 24-7 coverage. A further 44 unit assistants were added to support the work. CHRIS KITCHING Death of patient in waiting room prompts 17 recommendations Eyewear maker pauses U.S. shipments of glasses; shipper sees volumes disappear ● TRANSIT, CONTINUED ON A5 ● AIDES, CONTINUED ON A2 ● TARIFFS, CONTINUED ON A2 ;