Winnipeg waiting for provincial approval to use sulphur gas on ground squirrels

CTV News20-05-2025

Winnipeg's plan to use a sulphur gas compound pesticide known as 'Giant Destroyer' to control ground squirrel populations has been put on pause.
The control program was set to begin Tuesday. However, a city spokesperson confirmed its delay.
'The program is paused while a decision is pending from the Province on our pesticide use permit,' the spokesperson wrote in an email to CTV News, noting the timing of the approval will determine when the program can get underway.
The city has been planning to eradicate ground squirrels from several athletic fields using a sulphur gas pesticide method, otherwise known as 'Giant Destroyer.'
The gas would kill squirrels in their holes, which would then be filled with soil, burying them inside.
'Our fields need to be maintained in a condition where people can use them and use them safely. Even when I was a city councillor, the conditions of our sports fields was something I heard about on a regular basis,' Mayor Scott Gillingham said on Tuesday.
'When there are holes in the fields, they are frankly dangerous.'
Gillingham said he doesn't have any timeline for when the program may proceed.
'I hope it's soon because we are into our sports season for the summer and so the fields need to be used.'
The plan has already faced backlash from animal advocacy groups.
Read more: The City of Winnipeg's plan to eradicate ground squirrels on athletic fields
The Winnipeg Humane Society has previously called on the city to consider other non-lethal options like live-trapping or covering burrows with mesh or concrete.
Gillingham said the city is always open to improvements in how it deals with ground squirrels.
CTV News has reached out to the province for comment.
-With files from CTV's Alexandra Holyk

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Lapu-Lapu memorial service held 40 days after festival attack, in Filipino tradition

CTV News

2 hours ago

CTV News

Lapu-Lapu memorial service held 40 days after festival attack, in Filipino tradition

A Lapu-Lapu memorial service was held June 5, 40 days after the attack on the Filipino festival. It has been 40 days of pain for Vancouver's Filipino community. Forty days of disbelief since a car rammed through a crowd at the Lapu-Lapu festival in April, leaving 11 people dead. On Thursday night in East Vancouver, a service was held to remember those who were lost. 'In Filipino Catholic tradition, the 40 days is very significant,' Crystal Laderas with Filipino BC told CTV News on Thursday. 'It's believed that within the 40 days, the souls of our loved ones are very close to us, and then on the 40th day, they transition to the afterlife and they find peace.' A touching memorial service was held at St. Andrew's Parish Church in East Vancouver, just blocks from where tragedy struck, marking a chance to honour those who died. It's the latest in a series of memorial events since the attack in April which made global headlines – in what has been described as one of Vancouver's darkest days. 'These 40 days recall the ancient story that when people lost their direction, lost their hope, somehow, like Jesus himself, showed himself alive and told them, despite what happened, we have hope,' Father Francis Galvan, who has Filipino heritage, told CTV News outside the church. After the service, those in attendance gathered at the site of the attack, lighting candles and saying prayers for those killed and injured. The days leading up to this event involved a debate over a City of Vancouver plan for a large scale benefit concert at Rogers Arena. That now appears as if it will go ahead, though no date has been set and there are conversations over specifics between the parties involved before any final decision. Filipino BC says Thursday's memorial service isn't closure, and that healing has no schedule. But at least this is a chance to remember – and honour – those who were lost.