Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 7, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba shop.winnipegfreepress.com to get your Manitoba Merch! scan to buy e L b O w S u P G E T Y O U R A N D Y O U R H A N D S O N S O M E M A N I T O B A - M A D E A R T ! ABOUT THE ARTIST: KAL BARTESKI is a Manitoban artist & activist. Passionate about polar bears, positive words, sea ice and environmental health; she is an advocate for the wild. AND STRENGTHEN CANADIAN JOURNALISM S H O W Y O U R canadian pride A TRUE NORTH STRONG AND FREE PRESS OFFER Sticker only $2.60 + tax and free shipping in Manitoba for all subscribers Non-subscriber price $4.00 +tax and shipping Mug only $9.75 + tax and free shipping in Manitoba for all subscribers Non-subscriber price $15.00 +tax and shipping Tote only $16.25 + tax and free shipping in Manitoba for all subscribers Non-subscriber price $25.00 +tax and shipping 35% offer for subscribers WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2025WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM ● B3 NEWS I CITY Third person admits to Furby Street slaying A THIRD accused has admitted responsibility in the killing of an inno- cent stranger that was sparked by an argument with an 11-year-old boy. Raoul Wes-Tyson Bradley Harper, 20, pleaded guilty to manslaughter Tuesday for his part in the August 2023 shooting death of 38-year-old Cory Roger Roulette. “It is acknowledged that Raoul Harp- er was intoxicated at the time of the of- fence and has a limited memory of some of the following facts and no memory of others, but ultimately agrees the Crown can establish the elements of the of- fence beyond a reasonable doubt,” pros- ecutor Jennifer Comack told King’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond, reading from an agreed statement of facts. Co-accused Ramona Harriette Harp- er, Raoul Harper’s sister, pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter, while their cousin Kyle Alex Harper pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. According to the agreed statement of facts, Ramona Harper and another woman were walking past Roulette’s apartment building at 583 Furby St. at about 11 p.m. when Harper kicked over some garbage cans. That caught the attention of an 11-year-old boy who was visiting Roulette and standing on his second-floor balcony. The boy and Harper yelled at each other, with the boy threatening to shoot Harper. Harper left, saying, “I’m going to get my brothers and shoot the place up.” Harper returned to her Langside Street home a short walk away and “in- cited” Raoul and Kyle to accompany her to the apartment building and “violent- ly confront” the occupant of the second- floor suite. Raoul was armed with a collapsible baton and Kyle with a loaded sawed- off rifle when the trio broke the door to Roulette’s suite open. Once inside, Raoul beat Roulette about the body and face with the baton before Kyle shot him once in the chest. The attackers fled, and a neigh- bour called 911. Roulette was taken to Health Sciences Centre, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. All three offenders remain in custody and are set to be sentenced in July. dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca DEAN PRITCHARD Manitoba Egg Farmers doubles egg donations amid record food-bank use Harvest Manitoba getting homegrown help F OOD producers are stepping up their efforts to help Manitobans who are finding it difficult to feed themselves and their families. Manitoba Egg Farmers announced Tuesday the group will be doubling its monthly donation to Harvest Manitoba from 1,800 dozen to 3,600 dozen, or more than 43,000 eggs. Those eggs are coming from farmers across the province, who jumped at the chance to ramp up donations after a tour of Harvest’s facilities left organiz- ation members “awestruck,” said vice- chair Don Gaultier. “Like egg farmers, food banks are a 24-7, 365-day type of business, because we all have to eat,” said Gaultier, an egg farmer. “Egg farmers are proud to make a difference by sharing eggs with those in need.” Manitoba Egg Farmers, which rep- resents 170 regulated egg and pullet farmers in the province, has donated more than 1.2 million eggs over the last several years. The organization began regular donations to Harvest in 2020. The increased donation comes as the need for food bank services is skyrock- eting in Manitoba. At Harvest, demand has risen by 150 per cent since 2020. About 20,000 families — approximately 100,000 people — are served monthly. “We’re seeing record demand for food banks all across the province of Manitoba,” said Harvest president Vince Barletta. Eggs are among the most requested items, he said. Harvest, which collects nearly six million kilograms of food each year, helps more than 380 food banks and agencies in Winnipeg and across the province. Businesses across the spectrum of food production and sales have at- tempted to meet the need. At Manitoba Pork, thousands of kilo- grams of ground pork provided to Har- vest have reached food banks across the province, including northern and First Nations communities, over the past three years. Why specifically ground pork? The decision was intentional, in hopes of providing an accessible protein staple, along with a free recipe book with ideas on how to prepare it, said Kristen Mat- wychuk, Manitoba Pork’s community engagement co-ordinator. “It’s easy to sub ground pork into any recipe people might already have — so whether it’s a spaghetti sauce recipe they have, or some meatballs, there’s lots of functionality for ground pork, and so it’s easy for people to be able to work that into their regular rotation,” she said. The organization is in the third year of a three-year contract with Harvest Manitoba, which includes the donation of commercial-sized freezers for food banks to store the pork. By the end of this year, 18 food banks will have re- ceived the freezers and about 7,000 kilos of ground pork, a value of ap- proximately $150,000. “Not only do we want to provide pro- tein, but providing the protein isn’t enough. We needed to build capacity so that they could continue to store frozen proteins, and other things as well, in their food banks in a way that’s going to serve their clients,” Matwychuk said. “That capacity-building angle was a really important thing for us, and giv- ing back to communities.” For smaller businesses, such as the Food Fare local grocery chain, donat- ing has become more of a balancing act, as the cost to run a business rises. “(Charities) call us for certain prod- ucts at certain times of the year, and we’ll either provide them with that product or (say), ‘OK, here’s what this product costs, 50-50, you pay half, we’ll pay half or donate half.’ It varies every single year, and it’s based on what the overall ask is from everybody,” Food Fare co-owner Munther Zeid said. “We try not to say no to the organiza- tions we’re involved in.” They’ve had the yellow plastic dona- tion bins for shoppers to drop off food items to donate to Harvest in their stores for many years, but Zeid said those donations have slowed, even dur- ing the holiday season, where in previ- ous years, he would have to call Har- vest to pick up overflowing bins every few days. Even a long-held charity initiative in which shoppers could donate $1 and put their name up on the shop’s wall has dried up — Zeid said the number of people who agree to donate a dollar has gone down by 50 per cent. “Some people just go, ‘It’s too much, I can’t afford it, I need this dollar right now,’” Zeid said. malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca MALAK ABAS RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Manitoba Egg Farmers will double monthly egg donations to Harvest Manitoba amid what Harvest president & CEO Vince Barletta (left) says is record demand for food banks. Egg Farmers vice-chair Don Gaultier (right) says egg farmers are proud to be making a difference. ;