Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 16, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2025 B2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS I CITY / PROVINCE “The city has taken steps to enhance security over the last couple of years, including (key) card access, visitor sign-in, the presence of more security guards and the hiring of… a campus security (lead staff member),” said Gillingham. The mayor noted some recent meet- ings at city hall have also been mon- itored by a larger number of security guards, showing security is ramped up as needed and a plan to respond to crowds is in place. “We’re trying to find a way to bal- ance making city hall accessible to the public with ensuring that it’s a safe and secure workplace and public place as well,” said Gillingham. The mayor said key social challen- ges, such as homelessness and addic- tion, can also be factors in some crimes, which can affect city hall and all other downtown buildings. “Part of the challenge we are having around city hall relates to… the fact that people are struggling with addic- tions and, sometimes, are acting out in unpredictable ways,” he said. In an email, a city spokesman noted both the council and administration buildings at city hall have controlled public entrances with security staff and key card access, while additional steps are “always” being assessed. “Internal communication and chan- ges to the entrance at city hall are both areas that we’re actively pursuing,” wrote Kalen Qually. Delbridge declined to call for specific safety measures to be added, stressing he is not a security expert. joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca X: @joyanne_pursaga SAFETY ● FROM B1 Bus overhaul leaves gaps in service S OME St. James residents are up in arms after a shift in bus routes cut evening and weekend stops in front of Grace Hospital and nearby Assiniboine Medical Clinic. As part of the city’s recent Transit overhaul, there are now three feeder routes that stop directly in front of the Booth Drive hospital and within a block of the Lodge Avenue clinic. But they don’t run on weekends and stop in the early evening on week- days, leaving an unacceptable gap in service, said St. James Coun. Shawn Dobson. “I can’t fathom you walking in the rain or the cold, all that distance from Portage Avenue up to the hospital, it makes no sense,” he said Monday. A city spokesperson said an on-re- quest route is now in service in the area, meaning bussers with the Win- nipeg Transit Plus app can request a ride and be dropped off in front of the hospital or at a feeder stop near As- siniboine Clinic. Dobson said he’d like to see the rapid transit line go right up to both the hospital and the clinic. “If you’ve looked at the parking lot at the hospital, it’s pretty full,” he said. “We should be encouraging people to bus there versus parking there.” Winnipeg’s new primary transit network launched overnight on June 29. One St. James resident was moved to launch an online petition calling on regular Transit service to return to the doors of the Grace Hospital and Assiniboine Clinic. The petition, created by Fred Mor- ris in July, has received nearly 900 signatures. “It definitely affects seniors, but there’s also health-care workers, the Grace Hospital employees, about 2,000 people, and they shouldn’t have to walk,” Morris said. “For instance, if their shift ends at 11 or 12 o’clock in the evening, they shouldn’t have to walk to Portage Av- enue to get a bus.” Morris, described as a “St. James historian” on the Assiniboia Chamber of Commerce website, said Transit service at the hospital was improved in 1969, two years after Grace Hospi- tal opened, after a petition with near- ly 10,000 signatures was presented to the Metro Council, which was respon- sible for transit at the time. He’s hopeful another petition may do the same. “We may take it to city hall, but hopefully we can somehow get the problem solved in the next few months, with winter coming,” he said. Critiques and concerns about the Transit overhaul can be sent through 311. malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca MALAK ABAS RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Winnipeg Transit eliminated service to the Grace Hospital due to the city’s recent network overhaul. A community member is seeking support to reinstate the stop at the hospital. Elimination of Grace Hospital stop should be corrected before winter: advocate THE City of Winnipeg attempted to separate Transit fact from fiction in a recent “myth-busting” post on its website. “We’re so grateful to everyone who has shared constructive criticism as we adjust together. It helps us focus our efforts to make improvements,” the post reads. “We’re less grateful to folks who’ve been spreading misinformation online.” The post, which can be found at wfp.to/ mythbusting, comes about two and a half months after the city introduced its new Transit system. The post highlights six points city staff have seen repeated by Winnipeg- gers, and offers rebuttals: 1. The network was designed by people who don’t take the bus (Transit planners are required to use the bus regularly). 2. It was changed to cut service and save money (There are more buses and operators on the road than there has been since 2020). 3. Service from central and downtown neighbourhoods has been cut (Access to high-frequency bus lines improves in the city centre). 4. Buses are passing up more passengers this fall (September is always an especially busy month, regardless of the overhaul). 5. Complaining to 311 does not work (Some changes, including six bus stop relocations, have already taken place). 6. “Everyone hates the new network” (the post says the city has received a “handful of commendations”). “We recognize the span of service isn’t cutting it for customers on some routes and in some areas,” the post reads. “We expect this will be among the top priorities for when we make significant changes after a full year of gathering data and feedback.” One lifelong Transit user, 82-year-old Jeanette Bodanruk, said Monday that while she acknowledged some people may benefit from the new network, she figured it was “not an awful lot.” “The service wasn’t that great in some areas before, but now it’s just absolutely ridiculous,” she said. — Malak Abas Myth busting the overhaul ONE TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER CRASH ONE person was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after a multi- vehicle collision on the north Perimeter Highway on Monday. Police were sent to the Perimeter Highway just west of Highway 8 at about 7:45 a.m. after receiving reports of a crash involving semi-trucks and other vehicles, Manitoba RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Melanie Roussel said in an emailed statement. The westbound lanes on the Perimeter were closed between Highway 8 and Pipeline Road after the crash. The collision snarled traffic, with vehicles lined in the westbound lanes before the Highway 8 underpass. A large truck with a crumpled front end was flanked by a pickup truck and an SUV with similar damage. BRANDON WOMAN KILLED IN CRASH ONE Brandon senior has died and another remains in hospital after a highway collision on the Trans-Canada Highway in western Manitoba on Saturday night. Mounties were sent to the site of the crash at the intersection with Provincial Road 250 — about 25 kilometres west of Brandon, in the Municipality of Whitehead — at about 8:50 p.m. and found a truck and SUV in the centre median. Investigators determined the two people were travelling in the SUV, which was headed southbound on PR 250 when it entered the intersection. The truck, travelling westbound on the highway, collided with the vehicle’s driv- er’s side, RCMP said in a news release Monday. Emergency services transported the 77-year-old woman driving the SUV, and a 78-year-old male passenger, to hospital with critical injuries. The woman later died, while the man remains in hospital. The 23-year-old woman driving the truck and her 20-year-old female passenger, both from Brandon, were not hurt, police said. Alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the collision, the release said. MAN HURT IN MACHETE ATTACK MOUNTIES have arrested a man after a machete attack that left a 19-year-old injured early Saturday. RCMP were contacted about the incident in South Indian Lake, about 790 kilometres north of Winnipeg, shortly after 5 a.m. While en route, officers spotted a suspect walking along the road. He fled after being told he was under arrest but was caught after a short foot chase. The victim, a male, was found at a nearby home and taken to the local nursing station. He was later airlifted to Winnipeg for further treatment. A 21-year-old man is charged with aggra- vated assault and two counts of failing to comply with an undertaking. RCMP OFFICER CLEARED IN SHOOTING A MOUNTIE who shot a woman accused of carrying a weapon, wandering through traffic and climbing onto vehicles on the Trans-Can- ada Highway will not face charges. The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba has concluded its investigation into the May 12 incident and cleared the involved officer, it said in a news release Monday. A 54-year-old woman from the Municipality of North Cypress-Langford was injured in the shooting. Police were sent to an area near Road 88 West, about nine kilometres west of Carberry, after receiving reports of “a person acting erratically and walking in traffic,” the release said. “The woman was non-compliant and produced an edged weapon. An officer dis- charged their firearm, striking the woman,” the IIU said. Seven civilian witnesses and the woman who was shot by police provided statements to investigators, the release said. The IIU did not release a copy of its report because the woman is awaiting court pro- ceedings. FIRE BURNS IN WATT STREET PROPERTY A mixed-use commercial and residential property in the Chalmers neighbourhood burned early Monday, forcing residents to evacuate. Fire crews were sent to the building on the 200 block of Watt Street shortly after 2:15 a.m., the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said in a news release. The people inside exited on their own. Para- medics assessed two residents at the scene, but they did not require hospitalization. Firefighters declared the fire under control shortly after 3 a.m., the WFPS said. The City of Winnipeg deployed its emer- gency social services team to provide tempor- ary help to displaced residents. The cause of the fire is under investigation. IN BRIEF Early childhood educators high on job satisfaction DESPITE eight in 10 early childhood educators reporting high levels of job satisfaction, many employers in the sector continue to struggle with staff- ing shortages. The Manitoba Child Care Association has released the results of an online survey of its members that took place between Feb. 4 and 18. Probe Research Inc. led the project — a decade after the Winnipeg-based polling firm conducted an initial work- force survey for the association. This time around, 830 people, includ- ing front-line early childhood educa- tors, centre directors and family child- care providers, submitted responses. Citing their answers, the profession- al advocacy organization’s leaders de- scribed workplace morale as “strong and stable” in a news release Monday. At the same time, they flagged turn- over, employee exhaustion and outdated training — as evidenced by directors’ observations about new hires’ skillsets — as key challenges. “It’s hard to manage a program and ensure you’ve got enough trained staff. I feel like we’re on the edge of some- thing really good, but we still have a long ways to go,” Cathy Gardiner, presi- dent of the child-care association, said. Gardiner said she’s faced chronic challenges with ensuring her centre, Learning and Growing Daycare, is fully staffed and ready to meet demand in Charleswood. However, there has been an increase in the number of resumes landing on her desk in recent months, she said. The survey was undertaken three months before the province unveiled a new early childhood education wage grid — an announcement that elicited tears of joy among news conference at- tendees on May 23. While applauding the current govern- ment for making a historic investment, Gardiner noted there has been steady progress on topping up those wages over the last three years. More than half of respondents to the latest workforce survey said there had been a “noticeable increase” to their pay in recent years. A spokesperson for Tracy Schmidt, minister of education and early child- hood learning, said work is underway to address staffing challenges through a government-led “workforce strategy.” The government is slated to release that plan — which will include initia- tives to attract and retain workers — “soon,” the spokesperson wrote in an email Monday. The average tenure of an early child- hood educator, among respondents to the 2016 survey, was 14.7 years. It was 17.2 years among participants in the follow-up edition. Forty-five per cent of respondents to the 2025 survey indicated they had been working in a licensed child-care centre for 15 or more years. Probe could not release a mar- gin-of-error because the survey was not randomly sampled. The association provided the public polling firm with member emails and asked early childhood educators to share the link with colleagues. Statistics Canada estimates there are 8,800 child-care workers in Manitoba. Based on this data, a random and rep- resentative non-convenience sample of 830 would have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca MAGGIE MACINTOSH LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES CUPE Local 500 president Gord Delbridge ;