Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 10, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba LEASING FOR NEW AND USED VEHICLES WAVERLEY MITSUBISHI VICKAR MITSUBISHI SCAN THE QR CODE TO LEARN MORE A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2025 VOL 154 NO 302 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. 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INSIDE Arts and Life C1 Business B4 Classifieds B5 Comics C8 Diversions C5-7 Horoscope C2 Miss Lonelyhearts C2 Obituaries B5 Opinion A6,7 Sports D1 Television C4,6 Weather D6 COLUMNISTS: Gwynne Dyer A7 Aaron Epp B3 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 The report called for several recom- mendations, including implementing an employee well-being strategy which would help with early identification of employee mental illness, as well as preventative measures and treatment options. After any critical incident, staff have the opportunity to debrief with a wellness team. Generally, RCMP has employee assistance programs and internal health services complete with psychologists, as well as spiritual services. Members are also eligible to apply to the federal Veterans Affairs Department for supports. A team was brought in to assist offi- cers affected by the suicides. “These two incidents here, within a little under two months — it’s had a significant impact here within the Manitoba RCMP family,” said Assis- tant Commissioner Scott McMurchy, the commanding officer for Manitoba RCMP. “They’re tragic events. Our folks are hurting because of that.” Staff can request a leave of absence after traumatic, work-related incidents or otherwise, at which time out-of- province personnel can be transferred in to help short-handed detachments. McMurchy didn’t have readily avail- able data on the number of Manitoba officers on leave for physical, psycho- logical or family reasons. The vacancy rate in the RCMP’s Manitoba division — about 15 per cent — is the highest in the country outside the territories. “Our officers are covering for it; they’re covering for it with on-call and overtime, the shifts aren’t going vacant and our members are just con- stantly ‘on,’” said Baker, who is also a 29-year member and staff sergeant in the Manitoba division. “It’s just wrecking them.” Application processing has been lagging on a national scale. Baker esti- mated there are in the neighbourhood of 20,000 applications in the queue in Ottawa. It’s no secret staffing levels have been a challenge, McMurchy said, but he expects that to improve as more junior officers complete training and are stationed in the province. “On the national level, efforts are being made to ensure that those of us that have those highest vacancy rates are getting our cadet allocations to ad- dress that issue specifically,” he said. McMurchy estimated Manitoba will have nearly 60 new members by March. Manitoba RCMP is looking at a ser- vice delivery review, which is testing a model in which officers who work in fly-in and drive-in communities go back to their home communities on their days off. There’s also talk of amalgamating resources in small communities. “So we’d have a greater mass of front-line officers,” McMurchy said. Baker said he supports the changes, which will help relieve pressure on members, but there is more work to be done. “It’s been implemented in some of our northern communities and made a world of a difference,” he said. “The RCMP are getting it together… time is of the essence.” nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca “I would say that the party is in fairly good shape and there don’t seem to be any major conflicts within the party,” Adams said in an interview. Delegates at the convention were to debate dozens of resolutions over the weekend, many of which aligned with government goals such as measures to increase food security and affordabili- ty in northern communities. One exception was a resolution that calls for a sharp increase in the minimum wage, which is currently $16 an hour. “If you work full-time, you shouldn’t have to live in poverty, and that’s the reality for far too many Manitobans today,” Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour, told the meeting. Rebeck was applauded by other dele- gates as he pushed for a “living wage”, which would be close to $18.75 an hour in Winnipeg. Both Kinew and Labour Minister Malaya Marcelino were noncommittal. “It’s definitely a live conversation — something that our members have a lot of interest in — but there’s different viewpoints,” Marcelino said. Manitoba’s minimum wage is cur- rently adjusted in line with inflation. The provincial advisory committee on labour-management relations is not currently looking at any changes to the formula, Marcelino said. — The Canadian Press SUICIDES ● FROM A1 KINEW ● FROM A1 The premier said his hope is that students will become more connected to Canadian history, as well as “the ultimate sacrifice” that many paid for their freedom, through this program. Three school divisions — Winni- peg, Brandon and Frontier, located in northern Manitoba — were invited to participate in the inaugural trip this month. Sisler teacher Jamie Leduc equipped a trio of students from Winnipeg, one of whom is Jamella, with digital drawing pads so they can process the “heavy, heavy content” they are absorbing by making art. Leduc said on Day 3 that he was already overwhelmed by the itinerary, including a tour of a deportation centre in Amsterdam. The group learned there were, at times, 2,000 people forced to wait inside the theatre-turned-Holocaust memorial — it was known for hosting Jewish playwrights and performers before the 1930s — to be shipped off to concentration camps. The head of Sisler’s CREATE pro- gram, in which students study anima- tion, film and other digital artforms, said he’s been urging students to journal. Elizabeth Marcinowski, 15, did some pre-journalling ahead of time to prepare as best as possible. The high schooler said she wanted to learn in advance about the historical sites, as well as how to say basic phras- es in Dutch and French, so she could be fully immersed upon arrival. The numerous personal items and photographs of children who were killed during the Second World War have already left a lasting impression on the Grade 11 student. For someone who regularly journals, it was particularly powerful to see ex- cerpts of Anne Frank’s diary, she said. Jamella bought a build-it-yourself replica of “Anne Frank Huis,” a souve- nir she plans to share, along with her newfound knowledge, by constructing it in collaboration with her cousins in Winnipeg. Their trip includes stops in Amster- dam, Paris and both the Vimy and Normandy regions. They are slated to visit the Essen Farm Cemetery and Flanders Fields Museum and to attend a “Last Post Ceremony” tonight at the Menin Gate, a nightly performance that takes place at 8 p.m. local time to salute fallen soldiers. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca TEENS ● FROM A1 SUPPLIED Manitoba students and staff pay tribute at the Anne Frank memorial, one of the historical sites they are visiting in Amsterdam. Manitoba PCs unveil new logo, elect new party president MANITOBA’S Progressive Conserva- tives rallied supporters over the week- end to unveil a new logo and party presi- dent. The Opposition PCs celebrated newly-minted president Peter Smith, a corporate comptroller and navy veteran who has managed eight different polit- ical campaigns over the last five years, at their convention in Winnipeg. Also Saturday, the party unveiled a rebrand — its new logo features letters in various shades of blue and a charging red bison. “The blue colours shift from the for- mer navy blue on the left side of the logo to a lighter sky blue on the right side of the logo, signalling the shift from past traditions to a bold new era,” the party said in a news release. PC Leader Obby Khan said in the re- lease that he got “chills” after the unveil- ing at the Canad Inns Destination Centre Polo Park. Smith’s slogan for the party presi- dency was, “Together, Let’s Rebuild Our Party.” He campaigned on welcoming new members with a special focus on growing local constituency associations and fundraising. “We need to re-energize our volun- teers, attract great candidates, and unite our party for the next election, whenever it might be,” his campaign website said. Brent Pooles is now the past president of the party. ;