
News briefs for Thursday, May 22, 2025
A collection of breaking news briefs filed on Thursday, May 22, 2025
8:06 PM
Winnipeg firefighters saved a cat from a house fire on Ottawa Avenue near Watt Street Thursday evening.
The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said crews were called to the fire on the 500 block of Ottawa at around 5:40 p.m., where they found smoke and flames jutting from the house. They got it under control by about 6:30 p.m.
Firefighters didn't locate any people inside but did find the feline, which was turned over to the city's animal services department.
5:47 PM
Crews extinguished two grass fires in Winnipeg on Wednesday.
Firefighters were sent to the 300 block of Cree Crescent in the Murray Industrial Park at about 5:55 p.m. and saw that nearby homes were in the path of a fire. Crews had the fire under control by 8 p.m.
Earlier, crews were sent to a grass fire near the 1800 block of Wabasha Street at 2:18 p.m. and declared the blaze under control by 3:44 p.m., the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said.
The wildfire was the second in Transcona in a little more than a week. On May 12, a fire damaged properties along Gunn Road, less than two kilometres to the north of the Wabasha fire.
Fire crews responded to more than 300 grass fires within city limits in 2024.
A two-week fire ban within city limits expired Monday evening.
2:24 PM
City police are asking for the public's help in finding a missing teen.
Mary Chartrand, 17, was last seen in the area of Centennial Street and Kingsway at 7:50 p.m. on April 22.
She is also known to frequent the West Broadway and North Point Douglas areas, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Thursday. Mary is described as 5-5 in height, with a thin build, brown hair and brown eyes.
The WPS asked anyone with information about Mary's whereabouts to contact its missing persons unit at 204-986-6250, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS) or online.
SUPPLIED
Mary Chartrand, 17
2:12 PM
A Chemawawin Cree Nation man is charged with aggravated assault and robbery after a man was stabbed in The Pas.
Police were sent to Hogan Avenue at 2:20 a.m. on May 15 and found an injured man from Cormorant outside. He had been stabbed multiple times.
The victim, 49, was transported to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, RCMP said in a news release Thursday.
A 28-year-old man remanded into custody.
1:00 PM
The province's police watchdog says no charges will be laid after a man was injured while being detained in Opaskwayak Cree Nation this fall.
The man and two male First Nations safety officers slipped on a freshly mopped floor in a licensed hotel, with one of the officers falling on the man, on Oct. 28. The officers were trying to detain the man under The Intoxicated Persons Detention Act, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba said in a report released Thursday.
The incident was recorded on video.
12:52 PM
The Manitoba Museum issued a formal apology to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities Thursday, acknowledging it has held ancestral remains and associated belongings from these communities within its collections.
Manitoba Museum CEO Dorota Blumczyńska provided an official apology on behalf of the museum.
'We sincerely and profoundly regret that the museum has held ancestors of First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities within our collections for decades. In doing this, we know we have contributed to and played a role in colonialization. We apologize for our actions, inactions, and failures, past and present. We know that what is required now is that our actions be transparent, honest, and meaningful. This apology is just the beginning of the Homeward Journey of the Ancestors,' Blumczyńska said.
'We promise that no ancestors will enter the museum in the future.'
The apology is part of the Homeward Journey, which began at the Manitoba Museum in 2022. Guided by the Indigenous Advisory Circle, Homeward Journey aims to repatriate ancestral remains and belongings to their communities.
11:46 AM
RCMP are searching for a missing man who was last seen May 11.
Thompson RCMP were contacted about Troy Gilbert Saultier, 24, on the afternoon of May 14.
He was described as 5-3 in height, 110 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing 'blue' clothing and is still believed to be in the Thompson area, RCMP said in a news release Thursday.
RCMP asked anyone with information about Saultier's whereabouts to contact the Thompson detachment at 204-677-6909/6911, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online.
SUPPLIED
Troy Gilbert Saultier, 24
11:11 AM
Police are investing after a body was found at a recycling depot early Thursday.
The body found at a business on the 300 block of Mazenod Road is believed to be that of an adult male, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release.
Police said the person has not yet been identified.
The only such business in the area is a GFL Environmental site at 335 Mazenod Rd. The business is in the St. Boniface Industrial Park and just north of CN's Symington Yards.
Police asked anyone with information that might assist investigators to contact them at 204-986-6508, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS) or online.
10:26 AM
One person was taken to hospital in unstable condition after a fire on Chudley Street.
Crews were sent to the two-storey townhouse on the first 100 block at 10:44 a.m. Wednesday and declared the fire under control at 11:27 a.m.
Everyone got out of the house before firefighters arrived.
9:42 AM
An 18-year-old Stonewall man was killed when an SUV and a semi-trailer collided on Highway 8 on Wednesday.
Selkirk RCMP were sent to the crash site at the intersection with Highway 67, in the Rural Municipality of St. Andrews, at about 5:10 p.m.
Investigators determined the southbound semi-trailer and westbound SUV collided as the smaller vehicle crossed the intersection, RCMP said in a news release Thursday.
The driver of the SUV was pronounced dead at the scene. The other driver, a 43-year-old Winnipeg man, was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Calgary Herald
14 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
Alberta judge rejects robber's Indigenous identity claims, proposes test for deciding who should and shouldn't get Gladue reports
An Alberta judge is proposing new guidelines for how courts handle people who say they are Indigenous during sentencing hearings, but don't have proof to back up their claims. Article content Last month, Justice Jordan Stuffco of the Alberta Court of Justice sentenced Jonathan Anthony Ninan to 33 months in prison for robbing a Leduc sports bar, after Ninan admitted to pointing a replica firearm at the bar's lone female employee and making off with $12,000 cash. Article content Article content Article content After pleading guilty to a pair of charges, Ninan requested a Gladue report, a pre-sentence document which examines the impacts of government policy towards Indigenous people on an Indigenous person's criminal conduct. Article content Article content While some offenders' claims of Indigenous identity are uncontroversial, Ninan had only the vague sense that his mother — with whom he has had almost no contact since age 10 — had 'some ancestral connection to an unspecified Indigenous community,' Stuffco wrote. Article content 'Although Mr. Ninan endured substantial childhood trauma and intergenerational harm due to abusive and neglectful biological parents, I do not find these factors are connected to Indigeneity,' wrote Stuffco, a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta. Article content 'I find Mr. Ninan is not an Indigenous offender because there was no meaningful evidence, other than self-identification, establishing Mr. Ninan as an Indigenous person.' Article content Article content The decision comes amid ongoing debate over Indigenous identity fraud, including deeper examination of Indigenous identity claims from public figures in government, pop culture and academia. Article content Article content Stuffco did not accuse Ninan of trying to mislead the court, noting the 24-year-old simply knew little about his mother 'due to his chaotic and abusive family history.' Article content Gladue reports Article content Since the Supreme Court of Canada's 1999 decision in R. v. Gladue — the first case to interpret Criminal Code amendments aimed at addressing the over-representation of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people in Canadian prisons — Indigenous offenders have been able to request pre-sentence reports examining their family histories and how government Indigenous policy may have contributed to their criminal behaviour. Article content Gladue and subsequent cases recognized Indigenous people 'endured many generations of unparalleled systemic abuse and discrimination at the hands of all levels of government,' Stuffco wrote, including residential schools, displacement from traditional lands and adoption into non-Indigenous families.


Toronto Star
2 days ago
- Toronto Star
Saskatchewan lays charges in wildfires while 1,000 more flee in Manitoba
Prairie wildfires developed on two fronts Friday, as 1,000 more Manitoba residents were forced to flee their homes and Saskatchewan RCMP charged two people with starting blazes. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe told a news conference that one charge relates to starting a fire near La Ronge, which has forced 7,000 people from the area. 'The RCMP have informed us that they have now charged a couple of individuals,' Moe said. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW An 18-year-old woman from Montreal Lake Cree Nation and a 36-year-old man from Pelican Narrows each face one count of arson, said RCMP. It's alleged the woman set the fire in a rural area near La Ronge. The man is accused of setting fires in a ditch near the turnoff to Snowden, northeast of Prince Albert. As of Friday, Saskatchewan had 24 active wildfires and Moe said between 10,000 and 15,000 people are out of their communities. 'Many if not virtually all of the fires that we're dealing with in Saskatchewan, although not intentionally, are human caused. Some of those have been intentionally human caused,' Moe said. Saskatchewan and Manitoba are both under a state of emergency, which makes it easier for different levels of government to co-ordinate a response. Manitoba has also received help from the military to evacuate residents, mainly in remote First Nations. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Moe has faced calls from the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations and the Opposition NDP to follow suit. 'Every available resource in Canada must be utilized to combat these wildfires,' FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron wrote in a letter to Moe. 'We cannot afford to let critical assistance go unused.' The premier said while his Saskatchewan Party government is in daily contact with federal officials, provincial emergency crews have so far been able to get evacuees out. Moe said the Canadian Red Cross was also working to set up shelters for evacuees in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert. In Manitoba, the town of Snow Lake issued a mandatory evacuation order Friday due to a large wildfire threatening the area east of Flin Flon. 'You must leave because of the danger to your health and safety,' reads a notice on the town's Facebook page. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW That fire, which had grown to more than 3,000 square kilometres, has already forced out all 5,000 residents of the city of Flin Flon and about 1,000 more in surrounding homes and cottages. With Snow Lake evacuees added in, about 19,000 were out of their homes in Manitoba. About 27 fires were burning in the province, with eight classified as out of control. Earlier Friday, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said evacuees have found places to stay with friends or family, in hotels or in congregate shelters. Getting evacuees into private accommodations is tricky, he said, because many hotel rooms are being reserved for people with 'intense' medical issues. 'We just have to do a balancing act,' Kinew said. 'At this point, the big-picture challenge around rooms has largely been addressed. 'It's now just about the daily balancing act of triaging people coming in and people who are already in shelters and matching them up with rooms.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Shelters have been set up in Winnipeg, Thompson and Brandon. The City of Flin Flon said on social media that no structures have been lost in the community or across the boundary in nearby Creighton, Sask. 'Winds in the area are now blowing from the south, resulting in heavy smoke and fire moving towards the south side of Flin Flon,' it said. The city added that fire protection, including sprinklers, have been set up and firefighters are working to protect property. Provincial fire officials said evacuations have been completed at First Nations at Pukatawagan and Cross Lake. In northern Alberta, approximately 1,300 residents of the town of Swan Hills were allowed to return to their homes Thursday, about a week after fleeing from a wildfire. But about 340 kilometres west in the County of Grande Prairie, people in the Municipal District of Opportunity were ordered out. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2025. — With files from Steve Lambert in Winnipeg


Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Wildfire evacuation underscores need for Red Dress Alert system
Opinion The grassroots organization Giganawenimaanaanig released an interim report this week on the progress of the proposed Red Dress Alert, an initiative that would notify the public and help co-ordinate responses when an Indigenous woman, girl, or two-spirit person goes missing. Similar to an Amber Alert, which is issued when a child goes missing, the program responds to the calls for justice in the national inquiry on murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls and the parliamentary motion put forward by Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan in 2023 to create the initiative. After receiving unanimous support in Parliament, a $1.3-million fund was established to research and make recommendations on how the program could be implemented nationally. Manitoba stepped up to take the lead. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES Giganawenimaanaanig called on all governments to implement the Red Dress Alert program by early- to mid-2026. After consulting with 29 urban, rural, and First Nations and Métis communities throughout Manitoba, Giganawenimaanaanig called on all governments to implement the program by early- to mid-2026. 'Every day that the Red Dress Alert is not implemented,' project lead Denise Cook said, 'is a day that someone could go missing.' In the wake of four murders of Indigenous women by a serial killer in Winnipeg, and countless other MMIWG in Manitoba, the value of a Red Dress Alert is obvious. When considered alongside the amount of young women and two-spirit people in the child welfare system, the rise in domestic violence, and a city of Winnipeg police force that called the search for Indigenous female remains at a landfill 'unfeasible,' the initiative is need more than ever. It's needed now, in fact. More than 17,000 evacuees, mostly from northern First Nations, have been displaced owing to wildfires. In excess of 10,000 of them are in hotels or other lodgings in Winnipeg. That means this city has had an influx of thousands of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit peoples — individuals preyed upon by many forces here. It's well-known that when Indigenous peoples are evacuated due to fires, floods, or some other traumatizing disaster, certain considerations in the health, justice, and emergency management systems must take place. For instance, many First Nations are alcohol-free due to a long history of complicated relationships with substance use. This community law is impossible to maintain off-reserve but community leaders combat the issue in other ways: such as by providing extra mental health services, family-building events, and even patrols to support people during their time as refugees. The same could be said about health, justice, and even governance. Simply put, due to a long history of political mistreatment, Indigenous communities require specific considerations when displaced by disasters. The issue of MMIWG2S+ is a disaster, too. Combined with recent fire evacuations, the situation has become critical. All this week, Indigenous social media has been full of individuals working overtime to protect Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit peoples from nefarious forces. 'I'm gathering a crew of helpers this evening,' posted activist Rylee Nepinak of the downtown patrol group Anishiative. 'After speaking to multiple sources (mainly our women), it's clear we need as many boots on the ground watching for any predatory/exploitative signs (and) talk to the kids about safety.' Indigenous leaders are reporting that predators have approached displaced vulnerable individuals online and in person to offer drugs, alcohol, and invite them to 'party' in a private home — where a sexual or physical assault can easily take place. Advocates have created a list of 'safety tips when heading out in Winnipeg' that include: travelling in pairs, informing family and support staff of travel and return plans, and keeping location apps activated on their cellphones. Isabel Daniels, a vulnerable person advocate, warned in a post: 'Nothing is for free: if people are offering FREE substances SAY NO… Please be cautious of the things people are offering, Fentanyl is in a lot of street drugs.' Daniels also posted a dire message: 'People offering you FREE clothing, cellphones and liquor can be human traffickers, ALWAYS SAY NO.' Winnipeg police are joining the fight to educate and keep Indigenous people safe by providing extra officers and visits to evacuee shelters and printing 3,000 pamphlets with emergency contacts and tips to remain safe. Similar situations have been reported in other cities where evacuees are being sheltered, such as Thompson and Brandon. Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. Community groups have recommended Indigenous families take photos of their female and two-spirit members in case a missing person report needs to be filed. If one didn't know better, one might see the release of the Red Dress Alert interim report, alongside a real-life emergency related to the safety of Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit individuals, as a well-planned political move. It isn't. It's evidence the issue is urgent, laid bare right before our very eyes, now more than ever. Red Dress Alert report Niigaan SinclairColumnist Niigaan Sinclair is Anishinaabe and is a columnist at the Winnipeg Free Press. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.