News briefs for October 22, 2020

Interlake chiefs are gaining support from the Métis and national First Nations in their bid to force the provincial government to beef up consultations over its planned flood-channel outlets.

In August, a Manitoba court ordered the province to stop building a construction-access road for the project over concerns about inadequate consultation. The provincial government appealed the injunction.

The Manitoba Metis Federation and the Assembly of First Nations announced Thursday they would petition the appeals court to include them as intervenors, arguing multiple communities would be impacted by any changes to the environment.

The court will hear those motions Nov. 12. If a judge accepts both groups as intervenors, it might convince federal regulators to delay their approval of the project.

A Leaf Rapids woman has been charged with a slaying in the northern community.

A 23-year-old man was rushed to hospital on Sept. 2, at about 9:50 a.m. after being stabbed in a residence on Mukasew Bay, Leaf Rapids RCMP said. The man later died of his injuries.

The suspect was initially arrested, but released without being charged. Amy Linklater, 26, was re-arrested on Wednesday and charged with manslaughter. She was remanded into custody. 

A pair of teens fell through the ice in a marsh north of Portage la Prairie Wednesday morning and drowned.

An 18-year-old man from Brandon and a 17-year-old boy from Portage tried to enter a home on Cherry Road in the community of Delta at 2:45 a.m. The teens told the homeowner they were looking for the home of someone they knew, RCMP said Thursday. The homeowner was concerned and contacted police.

Officers heard calls for help coming from a marshy area and found a hole in the ice.

Neither individual resurfaced. Their bodies were later recovered.

A general duty RCMP officer in Selkirk who was on patrol last week has tested positive for COVID-19.

Manitoba RCMP said on Thursday the officer was notified by public health officials about the positive result on Wednesday.

The officer met with the public while working in Selkirk and surrounding areas from Oct. 11 to 13, but was wearing a mask at the time, according to the RCMP.

A 76-year-old man from the RM of Dufferin was killed when a semi-trailer collided with a pickup truck.

Pembina Valley RCMP said on Thursday the senior, the driver of the pickup truck, was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries. The driver of the semi-trailer, a 60-year-old man also from the RM, was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The semi-trailer was driving northbound on Road 20 W when it entered the intersection of Road 35 N, about seven kilometres east of Carman, and collided with the pickup on Oct. 21 at about 1:35 p.m., according to police.

Alcohol and speed are not believed to be responsible for the accident and an investigation is continuing.

Starting Monday, schools in the Winnipeg metropolitan region and the Northern health regions will be moving to the restricted (orange) level of pandemic response restrictions.

Effective Oct. 26, schools must ensure two metres of physical distancing to the greatest extent possible, and adjust classroom space as necessary, chief provincial public health officr Dr. Brent Roussin said Thursday. Other spaces within schools must be repurposed to accommodate more distancing, Roussin said.

Extracurricular activities are only permitted if all learning and distancing requirements have been met. 

Teachers and staff who move across cohorts of students, including substitute teachers, are required to wear medical masks. Medical-grade disposable masks have been issued to all schools. N95 masks are not required.

Indoor choir and the use of wind instruments are not permitted. All field trips must be postponed or cancelled. Blended learning (in-class and online) for grades 9 to 12 where distancing cannot be achieved will continue as per status quo.

Kindergarten to Grade 8 students may be offered a temporary remote learning option for the duration of the Restricted level (orange).

Public health officials reported 147 new COVID-19 cases and four more deaths in Manitoba today.

That brings the total number of virus-related deaths in the province to 47. The four latest fatalities include one man in his 80s and another in his 70s from Winnipeg linked to the outbreak at Parkview Place; one man in his 80s from the Winnipeg health region, and one man in his 80s from the Interlake–Eastern health region. 

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 5.6 per cent.  Of the 147 new cases of the virus, seven are in Prairie Mountain Health region, 10 in the Interlake–Eastern health region, 10 cases in the Northern health region, 33 cases in the Southern Health region and 87 cases in the Winnipeg health region.

There are 1,806 active cases with 42 people in hospital, including eight in intensive care.

The death of a 20-year-old man early Wednesday morning is being investigated as a homicide.

Winnipeg police responded to a report of an injured man in the 600 block of Ellice Avenue, at 4:45 a.m.

Dennis Tougas Beardy of Winnipeg was found deceased.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).

A 76-year-old man has died after a motor vehicle collision seven kilometres east of Carman on Wednesday afternoon.

RCMP say the man was heading west in a pickup truck when it collided with a semi-trailer at the intersection of roads 35N and 20W.

The semi driver, 60, suffered non-life threatening injuries.

RCMP say neither speed nor alcohol were factors in the crash. The investigation continues.
 
 

Homicide investigators have taken over the case of a 24-year-old Winnipeg man found dead in the 800 block of Main Street more than a week ago.

The body of Denzel Allan Anthony Constant was found in a residential suite Oct. 13 at 9:25 a.m., however, police believe he died of injuries suffered during an assault the night before in the William Whyte neighbourhood.

Anyone with information that may assist investigators is asked to call 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).

A man in his 30s is fighting for his life after being a struck by a vehicle on the Disraeli Freeway near Henry Avenue around 8 p.m. Wednesday evening.

He remains in critical condition in hospital.

The driver stayed at the scene and spoke with police. The investigation continues.

Anyone with information on the incident or who might have witnessed it is asked to contact investigators at 204-986-7085 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).