Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 24, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba EXPLORE SALE ENDS OCT. 24 2025 E N J O Y E P I C F U N F O R A W H O L E Y E A R ! MEMBERSHIP 15 % OF F A L L M E M B E R S H I P S SCAN ME 3.45% * * Rate subject to change. GICs require a $500 minimum deposit 12- OR 24-MONTH GIC SCU.MB.CA/GICS SERVING MANITOBA SINCE 1872 PROUDLY CANADIAN FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2025 TODAY’S WEATHER MAINLY SUNNY. HIGH 10 — LOW 4 SPORTS BISON V-BALLERS HAVE HIGH HOPES / D1 Downtown eatery blaze rekindles fire fears A NOTHER downtown restaurant burned early Thursday, reignit- ing concerns over a rash of fires that have plagued the city’s downtown and Exchange District neighbourhoods in recent months. Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews were sent to the latest blaze at Boujee Restaurant & Bar — the former Earls on Main Street — at 191 Main St. shortly after 5:45 a.m. Crews declared the fire under con- trol within an hour, the WFPS said in a news release, but fire and Winnipeg Police Service investigators remained on site throughout the day. No injuries were reported. The location was briefly a seafood eatery before co-owner Amit Saini and his partners opened Boujee in the spring of 2024. “We are just devastated,” he said. “This is our baby. I don’t have much more to say right now. We are still try- ing to figure things out here. It’s under investigation with the Winnipeg police, so until they are done, I don’t want to comment any more on it.” Saini told the Free Press last year that the location, near The Forks, was “perfect.” Shaun Jeffrey, head of the Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Asso- ciation, said he feels “immensely” for the owners of Boujee, noting how much effort they put into creating a great environment and rebranding the building. “My heart just goes out to them,” he said. “They’re a restaurant that’s a local operator trying to provide a great hospitality environment to Manitoba and to Winnipeggers.” Several city restaurants have been hit by arson this year, including Thi- da’s Thai Restaurant on Donald Street and Mae Sunee Thai Cuisine on Erin Street in July. Police believe they were targeted attacks. Security video from both Thai restaurants showed the attackers breaking into both properties in the early morning before trying to ignite Molotov cocktails. ‘We are just devastated’: Boujee co-owner; at least five restaurants burn in suspected arsons SCOTT BILLECK SAMMY KOGAN / THE CANADIAN PRESS THROWING A CURVE BALL ON BAIL Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the Toronto Blue Jays Thursday as workers finished painting the World Series logo in preparation for today’s Game 1 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Rogers Centre. Carney’s government also introduced anticipated legislation to toughen bail condi- tions for certain crimes. World Series coverage on Page D2. Bail reform coverage on Page A3. ● BLAZE, CONTINUED ON A2 U.S. doctor finds safe haven in Winnipeg DR. Jesse Krikorian decided it was time to leave his country after U.S. President Donald Trump signed exec- utive orders that target transgender Americans in January. The doctor, who belongs to the LGBTTQ+ community, was looking for a new place to call home and allow him to care for patients. “It was becoming very complicated to establish a career doing the type of community-underserved work that I wanted to do,” he said Thursday. Legislators in several U.S. states have introduced hundreds of bills that target transgender, non-binary and gender-expansive youth’s access to age-appropriate, medically necessary care. The single, 36-year-old was looking into New Zealand or Canada when a friend suggested he check out Winni- peg. He found a website that listed a position at Klinic Community Health and arrived in early spring for a site visit. “It’s a little bit grey and a little bit icy, but I spent the last few years in the northern Midwest, so I’m used to that,” Krikorian said about his first impres- sions. What caught his eye and captured his heart was the sight of colourful rainbow and transgender pride flags flying at locations around the city. “A lot of my work deals with 2SLGBTQ populations, and I was excited to see how many places had flags up. It just seemed like a really welcoming place,” said Krikorian. The physician, who was raised in Florida, studied medicine in New Jersey and had a residency in Philadel- phia before practising in Michigan. CAROL SANDERS ● DOC, CONTINUED ON A5 Rash of ‘close calls’ prompts MPI to urge patience Seven kids struck by vehicles in one month MAGGIE MACINTOSH MANITOBA children have been hit by vehicles 36 times this year. Seven of the incidents were in Sep- tember, as kids made their way back to school after the summer break. Manitoba Public Insurance’s latest analysis of road incidents also reveals there have been dozens of collisions involving school buses in 2025. The numbers represent “close calls, injuries and lives forever changed,” said Maria Campos, vice-president and chief customer and product officer at the public insurer. “They show why extra vigilance around school buses and in school zones is so critical.” MPI unveiled a new awareness campaign Thursday calling on all road users to practise patience, especially throughout the 2025-26 school year. Rows of yellow buses belonging to the River East Transcona School Division served as the backdrop for the event. Martin Monette, the division’s trans- portation director, oversees a team of more than 100 people who get thou- sands of students to and from class every school day. Combined, his front-line staff rack up more than a million kilometres every year. They travel about 5,500 kilometres each school day. Monette’s drivers have reported that other drivers’ impatience and distrac- tions are getting worse every year. And they’ve come to a collective con- clusion that Winnipeg Transit’s recent system overhaul is contributing to the problem by backing up traffic “more than anything.” ● DRIVERS, CONTINUED ON A5 ;