Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 24, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2025 VOL 154 NO 288 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2025 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published six days a week in print and always online at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204-697-7000 CEO / MIKE POWER Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor News / STACEY THIDRICKSON Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS NEWSMEDIA COUNCIL The Winnipeg Free Press is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to determine acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please send them to: editorialconcerns@freepress.mb.ca. 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INSIDE Arts and Life C1 Business B5 Classifieds D7 Comics C5 Diversions C6-7 Horoscope C4 Miss Lonelyhearts C4 Obituaries D7 Opinion A6-7 Real Estate B8 Sports D1 Television C4 Weather C8 COLUMNISTS: Gwynne Dyer A7 READER SERVICE ● GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 CIRCULATION INQUIRIES MISSING OR INCOMPLETE PAPER? Call or email before 10 a.m. weekdays or 11 a.m. Saturday City: 204-697-7001 Outside Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 press 1 6:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.; 7 a.m. - noon Saturday; Closed Sunday TO SUBSCRIBE: 204-697-7001 Out of Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of Canada Poilievre’s Trump-north act reckless political theatre C ONSERVATIVE Leader Pierre Poilievre knows exactly what he’s doing when he tells Canadians former prime minister Justin Trudeau should have been jailed for past ethics violations. It’s not a slip of the tongue or an off-the-cuff remark made in the heat of an interview. It’s a calculated piece of political theatre imported straight from the playbook of U.S. President Donald Trump. It’s as dishonest as it is corrosive to Canada’s political culture. In a recent interview, Poilievre claimed Trudeau would have faced criminal charges “if the RCMP had been doing its job and not covering up for him.” The Conservative leader was refer- ring to the former prime minister’s breaches of ethics rules — including his 2016 family vacation to the Aga Khan’s private island and the SNC-La- valin affair in 2019, in which the ethics commissioner found Trudeau improp- erly pressured Jody Wilson-Raybould, who was attorney general at the time, to intervene in a criminal prosecution. Let’s be clear: Trudeau’s behaviour in those cases was serious. It crossed ethical lines and demonstrated an appalling lack of respect for the inde- pendence of Canada’s judiciary. What it didn’t do was meet the threshold for criminal wrongdoing. Poilievre knows that. Every serious legal expert in the country knows that. The RCMP certainly knows that, which is why it never laid charges. So, why did the leader of the Opposi- tion suggest Trudeau should have been put in handcuffs and marched off to jail? It’s because he believes that kind of inflammatory rhetoric might win him some votes. He’s wrong, of course, yet he can’t seem to abandon the Trump- like brand of politics that probably cost him the last federal election. He seems addicted to it. The Aga Khan trip was a bad and unethical decision by a newly elected prime minister who should have known better. Trudeau accepted a luxury vacation from someone whose founda- tion received federal funding. It was an obvious conflict of interest. The SNC-Lavalin affair was more troubling. Trudeau and senior staff engaged in sustained pressure on the attorney general to secure a deferred prosecution agreement for a politically connected Quebec-based corporation. It was an egregious breach of ethical norms and a serious attempt to politi- cally interfere in the justice system. Trudeau’s conduct was wrong. It undermined public confidence in the independence of the justice system. It was the most damaging political scan- dal of his tenure. However, there was no criminal offence. No criminal law was bro- ken. After careful review, the RCMP concluded criminal charges were not warranted. Poilievre knows that. Yet he tells Canadians the only reason Trudeau wasn’t jailed is because police covered up for him. That’s a reckless accusation to make against the national police force. It suggests Canada’s institutions — the RCMP, the legal system — were engaged in a conspiracy to protect a prime minister. It’s the kind of base- less accusation that erodes trust in the rule of law. Coming from someone who wants to become prime minister, it’s dangerous. In Canada, we don’t treat political opponents as criminals for losing their way ethically. And we don’t ask police to do the work that voters and Parlia- ment are responsible for. Poilievre appears to have missed that lesson. He has spent the past few years fuelling anger and resentment on the campaign circuit, often bending the truth to do it. He rails against “gate- keepers,” suggests the CBC is a Liberal propaganda arm and claims Canada is broken beyond repair. He has built a narrative that the country is controlled by corrupt elites who are out to get ordinary Canadians. And within that storyline, Trudeau be- comes Public Enemy No. 1 — a corrupt criminal who should be jailed. That’s not policy debate. It’s not lead- ership. It’s not even honest opposition. It’s imported American political the- atre — cheap, divisive, inaccurate and beneath the office Poilievre is seeking. Canadians had legitimate grievances with Justin Trudeau’s government. Housing affordability became a nation- al crisis (and still is) under his watch, the carbon tax was a political albatross for the Liberals and the government spent recklessly. The Liberals, in power since 2015 — albeit with a new leader and prime minister — deserve to face tough scru- tiny, serious criticism and electoral consequences. But none of that justifies torching the credibility of Canadian institutions or smearing law enforcement to score political points. Poilievre doesn’t need to mimic Trump to win the next election. In fact, it’s the one thing that could cost him victory again (if he’s still around as leader for the next federal election). Canada needs a prime minister who will defend the rule of law, not under- mine it. One who will hold political opponents accountable through debate, evidence and elections — not baseless criminal accusations. Poilievre should drop the Trump- style rhetoric. It may rile up his closest supporters on the political right, but it won’t help build a country. tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca TOM BRODBECK OPINION In one video posted to Facebook, two men were seen at the Donald Street restaurant on July 4. One, wearing a mask, smashed the glass with a ham- mer, then tried to light an object on fire. When that failed, another object was ignited and thrown into a booth. Police arrived quickly and stopped the fire from spreading. Commonwealth Kitchen & Bar was also set ablaze in July. Owner Nikola Maharajh said Thursday it appeared to be a random act. The fire at the 456 Main St. restaurant was quickly extinguished, but the sprinkler system caused extensive flooding, leaving several centimetres of water in the basement. Maharajh said surveillance video showed a man using a brick or cinder block to smash three windows before throwing something inside that ignited a booth. “I’m sure the police have their hands full with all the fires,” he said Thurs- day, his establishment still shuttered as repairs continue. “As a victim of one of the fires, it would be reassuring if we started seeing progress, whether with arrests or prevention. Seeing that these fires are still happening is not a good feeling, as someone who is trying to reopen their business. I should note, it has been nice to see more police foot patrol presence the last few months.” Johnny G’s and Exchange Event Centre were torched in August, with both fires being investigated as arson, police said. No arrests have been made. Both buildings remained closed and boarded up on Thursday. “Small businesses already face so many challenges, and an incident like this adds even more pressure,” said Downtown Winnipeg Biz chief execu- tive officer Kate Fenske in an email. “There have been a few restaurant fires in recent months in Winnipeg, including downtown, and while we don’t yet know the cause of this one, it’s important to allow the investigation to run its course. Boujee has been a downtown destination for a lot of folks since it opened last year and we hope it can reopen soon.” Thursday’s fire is another exam- ple of an out-of-control problem in Winnipeg, said United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg president Nick Kasper. “Structure fires have increased by 87 per cent in Winnipeg,” Kasper said, citing data from 2019 to 2023. “Vacant structure fires have increased by 245 per cent. And it shows no signs of slowing down. We’re heading into the winter months, and we typically see more structure fires the colder it gets, for a multitude of reasons.” The union leader couldn’t speak to the cause of Thursday’s blaze, but said Winnipeg is Canada’s arson capital, and only one fire investigator is on shift trying to keep up with an over- whelming demand. “We have concerns there,” he said. “And just in terms of strains on our resources. Call volumes have sky- rocketed, but our fire department has shrunk. We had more firefighters and trucks on duty in 1975 than we do to- day, 50 years later. I still can’t believe it when that comes out of my mouth.” Jeffrey said investing in security measures has become a necessity — a challenging and costly move amid “monumental increases in crime” affecting the industry since the COVID-19 pandemic. “The problem is four out of 10 of our businesses are only breaking even or losing money every month, so they can’t afford to spend $6,000 to $7,000 on a security system,” he said. Jeffrey expressed confidence the province will follow through on its business security rebate program, an- nounced in the 2025 budget, after the recent return of the residential rebate program earlier this month. That ini- tiative allows Manitobans to claim up to $300 for certain security systems, such as doorbell cameras. “We need it now,” Jeffrey said. “We’re in a holding pattern, both from a financial-liability standpoint of being able to invest security-based dollars in our businesses, but also to be able to really allocate the resources to make our businesses safer.” scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca BLAZE ● FROM A1 MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Winnipeg Fire Paramedic crews were dealing with the fire at the Boujee Restaurant & Bar, 191 Main St., on Thursday morning. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Commonwealth Kitchen and Bar at 456 Main St. has been closed since July due to fire. SUPPLIED Security video of break-in and arson at Thida’s Thai Restaurant in downtown Winni- peg in July. The problem is four out of 10 of our businesses are only breaking even or losing money every month, so they can’t afford to spend $6,000 to $7,000 on a security system — Shaun Jeffrey, Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association MAN SLAIN IN KINOSAO SIPI A MAN is charged with second-degree murder after a slaying in Kinosao Sipi. Officers were sent to a home on Halcrow Lane in the First Nation, also known as Norway House, shortly after 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and found a stab- bing victim. The 38-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. Police seized a weapon from a nearby home and arrested 41-year-old Sheldon North. He was remanded into custody, Manitoba RCMP said Thursday. TEEN HIT BY VEHICLE IN SELKIRK DIES A TEEN who was walking in the middle of the road when he was hit by a vehicle in Selkirk last week has died, RCMP said. The pedestrian, 17, was hit on Oct. 15 and died this Wednesday, RCMP said in a news release Thursday. Police were sent to the site of the collision on Manitoba Avenue, just west of Highway 9A, at 9:30 p.m. Mounties said two young males were walking east when one was hit by an eastbound vehicle. The teen, a Rural Municipality of St. Andrews resident, was flown to hospital in critical condition by STARS air ambulance. The other youth was not hurt, RCMP said previously. YARD WASTE PICKUP TO END SOON CURBSIDE yard waste collection in Winnipeg will soon end until the spring. Collection in Area A will end next week, while collection in Area B will end the week of Nov. 3. Residents can find out which area they are in by going to wfp.to/yardwaste. Yard waste can also be taken to any of the City of Winnipeg’s three 4R depots. Halloween pumpkins qualify as yard waste, the city said in a news release Thursday. IN BRIEF ;