Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 14, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba * Rate subject to change. GICs require a $500 minimum deposit 60-MONTH GIC 3.60% * SCU.MB.CA/GICS November 27 - 30 , 2025 Morris CURLING CLUB For complete draw schedule visit DEKALBsuperspiel.com WOMENS’s Presented by:OFFICIAL HOST SPONSOR: Volunteer SponsorPresenting Media Sponsors Web Sponsor Lounge Sponsor WORLD CLASS curling comes to Morris MEN’s Presented by: SERVING MANITOBA SINCE 1872 PROUDLY CANADIAN FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2025 WEATHER PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH 12 — LOW -2 CITY NEIGHBOURS CHEER AS HOUSE TORN DOWN / B1 Epstein emails bad news for Andrew LONDON (AP) — As the man for- merly known as Prince Andrew was drawn into the news surrounding sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, he sought to distance himself from the scandal. “I can’t take any more of this,” a sender identified in Epstein’s contacts as “The Duke” wrote to him in 2011, in one of thousands of partly redacted emails released Wednesday. Fourteen years later, the former Duke of York has been stripped of all his titles, including the princeship bestowed at birth. Andrew Mount- batten-Windsor — as he’s now known — was royally demoted two weeks ago by his brother, King Charles III, and faces eviction from the mansion where he’s lived rent-free near Windsor Castle. But the bad news keeps coming for the man who was once second-in-line to the throne. The recent trove of documents has renewed the sexual assault allegations against Mountbatten-Windsor and un- dermined his denials that he ever met his accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre. They also reveal some of the efforts made behind the scenes to attack her claims. Mountbatten-Windsor, the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II, has vehemently denied all allegations by Giuffre, who took her own life earlier this year. But he did settle a lawsuit out of court that reportedly paid her millions of dollars. When Mountbatten-Windsor’s ties to Epstein — who had been convicted of soliciting prostitution in Florida — were first reported in 2011, he was forced to resign as Britain’s special trade envoy. The scandal, however, resurfaced in 2019 when Epstein was arrested for a second time on charges of sex traf- ficking. Giuffre said she was 17 when she was trafficked to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor. In a disastrous attempt to clear his name, Mountbatten-Windsor did an interview with the BBC in which he de- nied ever meeting Giuffre and said he broke off contact with Epstein in De- cember 2010. He was widely criticized for showing no empathy for Epstein’s victims and for offering unbelievable explanations for his friendship with Epstein. BRIAN MELLEY Premier adds voice to families’ outrage Killer’s parole ‘not justice’: Kinew CHRIS KITCHING A convicted killer’s statutory release from prison after 12 years “is not justice,” Premier Wab Kinew declared Thursday, as victims’ families attend- ed a rally in downtown Winnipeg. Kinew said he is writing a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney to raise concerns about justice-related issues after Shawn Lamb reached his stat- utory release date, with the intent of “ensuring if somebody takes multiple lives in our society, they’re going to be held accountable.” “I just return to the question of how does this help? How does this help the general public’s sense of public safety? How does this help victims’ family members heal and feel secure in the community?” he said. “How does this help foster a feeling that our justice system actually delivers justice? I personally don’t see this news as helping that process.” Lamb’s statutory release date was Thursday after he served two-thirds, or 12 years, of a federal sentence for two counts of manslaughter. He will serve the remaining six years in the community. By law, most federal inmates auto- matically receive statutory release after two-thirds of their sentence, if they have not already been paroled. Lamb, 66, is expected to be taken to a halfway house after the Parole Board of Canada ordered him to live in a designated facility, where he will be supervised, for at least six months. He is required to report all friendships or relationships to a parole supervisor, among other conditions. Lamb, a repeat violent offender, was deemed to pose a “high imminent risk” of intimate partner violence and a “low imminent risk” of violence toward oth- ers after an assessment, a parole board report said. Federal officials did not confirm whether Lamb was in fact released Thursday, nor did they identify the community where he will live or the prison he was or will be released from, citing privacy legislation. Kinew said his letter to Carney will address a need to confront “bigger picture questions” about the justice system, including matters related to parole and statutory release and broad- er systemic issues such as missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse people (MMIWG2S+). The situation has caused further pain and fear for the relatives of two First Nations women Lamb admitted to killing — Lorna Blacksmith and Caro- lyn Sinclair — and a third, Tanya Ne- pinak, who he was accused of killing. Tax hike to fall to 3.5 per cent in 2026 W INNIPEGGERS appear set to pay a 3.5 per cent property tax hike in 2026, as Mayor Scott Gillingham returns to matching the rate increase on which he campaigned. In an interview Thursday, the mayor confirmed that levy will be proposed within the preliminary budget released on Friday. “We’re going to go back to (a) 3.5 per cent property tax increase in this budget. I committed to doing that and it will be reflected in the budget,” said Gillingham. City council had approved a 5.95 per cent property tax hike this year, which translated to $121 annually for a sample single-family home assessed at $371,000. That marked the city’s highest one-year increase since the 1990s, which the mayor said was necessary to balance the budget without cutting critical services. On April 1, additional city fee hikes took effect, raising concerns about affordability. On that day, the annual per-home garbage fee rose to $254 for 2025 (prorated to $190.50) from $93, while the typical home’s sewer rate increased by $18.67 per month, or $168.03 for the rest of the year. Despite that, the mayor stressed Winnipeg remains an affordable place to live. “After we introduce the budget (Friday), Winnipeg will still have the lowest municipal property taxes of any major city in Canada,” said Gilling- ham. When the city released its 2025 budget, the mayor said he intended to return to 3.5 per cent annual property tax hikes. However, he warned that goal would be affected by ongoing demands to fund major infrastructure projects, including the multibillion-dol- lar upgrade to the sewage treatment plant on Main Street. On Thursday, the mayor said afford- ability will be a key focus of the 2026 budget, as will infrastructure, includ- ing road renewal and the $3-billion sewage treatment plant upgrade. “You’ll see significant investments. Big, bold investments in our infra- structure,” he said. He said Winnipeggers can also ex- pect to see the addition of firefighters and paramedics, though he declined to reveal how many positions would be added. JOYANNE PURSAGA ‘Big, bold investments’ on infrastructure promised as mayor reiterates pledge MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew: “How does this help?” ● TAXES, CONTINUED ON A3 ● KINEW, CONTINUED ON A2 ● EPSTEIN, CONTINUED ON A2 JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS DOUBLE DISTINCTION Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Trey Vaval won both the Most Outstanding Rookie and Most Outstanding Spe- cial Teams Player awards as the Canadian Football League honoured its brightest stars Thursday at the Club Regent Casino Event Centre. See story on Page D1. ;