St. Theresa Point to honour Ashlee Shingoose, other area MMIWGs
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Winnipeg Free Press
14 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg ‘feeder' city for sex trafficking
A new report indicates Winnipeg has among the highest concentration of missing and murdered Indigenous women cases in Canada — suggesting Manitoba's capital is a 'feeder' city for sex trafficking operations in Edmonton and elsewhere. Thomson Reuters released the report on Monday, using geospatial analysis to examine a possible connection between MMIW cases and posts on sex websites that advertise services from Indigenous women. It is believed to be the first time the two data sets have been compared to look for potential trends and patterns. This map shows the 185 disappearances from 2010 to present, with the size of bubbles correlated to the number of disappearances occuring in each city. Winnipeg had the most disappearances, though the report notes the city has the highest proportion of Indigenous people in Canada and has robust reporting resources to collect the data. (Thomson Reuters) 'While it is true that some events of MMIW may be unconnected to sex trafficking, or that an Indigenous woman featured in a sex ad was never officially considered missing, research and anecdotal evidence suggest a stronger link between the two than many have considered,' the 18-page report says. 'The two issues are overlapping and in many ways inseparable. To be trafficked is to disappear, and many victims of trafficking are eventually victims of other forms of abuse and eventually homicide.' The report analyzed 185 cases in which an Indigenous woman was slain or remains missing in Canada from 2010 to April 2024. It found Winnipeg accounted for the highest number of disappearances during that time, at 14 per cent. Manitoba overall represented about 21 per cent of all MMIW cases, second only to Alberta, at 25 per cent, the report says. The report cautioned Winnipeg's high Indigenous population (the largest of all major cities in Canada, as per the 2021 Census), and its robust reporting system for missing Indigenous women could affect the numbers. Grassroots groups such as Morgan's Warriors and the Bear Clan are particularly active in reporting disappearances soon after they occur, while 'other provinces do not appear to have similar reporting resources,' it said. Of the remaining MMIW cases included in the report, 17 per cent occurred in Ontario; 15 per cent took place in B.C.; 13 per cent occurred in Saskatchewan; and nine per cent occurred in the other provinces. Researchers then analyzed 3,485 sex advertisements claiming to feature Indigenous women dating back to 2016. They found hot spots for such advertisements in several of Canada's major cities, including Vancouver, Ottawa, the Greater Toronto Area and Edmonton. This map shows the distribution of 3,485 sex ads posted in Canada that claim to feature an Indigenous woman or girl, with the bubble size correlated to the number of ads posted in each city. The report notes Winnipeg has a high concentration of missing women, but the sex-ad ecosystem is 'relatively sparse,' and suggests this could be due to lower demand or because trafficked victims are moved to other places. While the former cities have high populations and draw large amounts of visitors, Edmonton stands out because it is geographically remote in comparison — indicating it 'may act as a gravitational centre for the Prairie provinces when it comes to trafficking.' 'This points to the possibility that Manitoba and Saskatchewan may act as more 'feeder' provinces for victims to be supplied to Alberta,' the report says. Alberta's capital city is believed to be a hot spot for sex trafficking due to the prevalence of oil drilling rigs and mining businesses in northern parts of the province, it says. The report found Winnipeg had a low number of sex advertisements for Indigenous women. 'This disparity could be for a variety of reasons: the higher Indigenous population may have an inverse effect on the demand for Indigenous sex trafficking, or victims that are trafficked from Winnipeg may be moved to other places like Edmonton,' it said. The report acknowledged limitations to the analysis, noting some disappearances are not recorded and some sex advertisements are not explicit about their subject's ethnicity. Sex advertisements were considered to be an indicator of human trafficking for the purposes of the report because they are often used to recruit victims and advertise their exploitation. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Red ribbons with the names of missing and murdered Indigenous women hang on the railing at the Louis Riel Bridge in July 2023. The report included a number of recommendations, including introducing a national data repository for MMIW, and a national search effort that canvasses the sex advertisement ecosystem. Collecting MMIW data should involve multiple sources, including First Nations authorities and activist groups. Investigative resources should be prioritized in known hot spots, it said. 'The hot spots of Winnipeg in the area of MMIW and Edmonton in the area of sex ads must be examined more thoroughly. These cities could tell us much about these issues,' the report said. Trafficking report Tyler SearleReporter Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press's city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic's creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler. Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. 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.
CTV News
17 hours ago
- CTV News
Ont. men plead guilty for roles in art fraud ring involving works of Norval Morrisseau
Two men accused of being involved in a fraud ring that authenticated and sold purported works of late renowned Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau have pleaded guilty. David Paul Bremner, 78, admitted to being part of an art forgery network by producing certificates of authenticity for artworks falsely marketed and sold as genuine pieces by the late artist. Morrisseau, often called the 'Picasso of the North,' is widely recognized as the grandfather of contemporary Indigenous art in Canada. Morrisseau passed away in 2007. For years his estate has fought forgeries that flooded the art world market. Art Fraud ring that authenticated and sold purported works of the late renowned Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau.(Supplied) As part of his guilty plea, Bremner admitted to producing and using forged documents related to fake Morrisseau artworks, as well as possessing property obtained through crime with the intent of trafficking. Bremner admitted he authenticated, appraised and / or otherwise handled art works provided by one of his co-accused, Jeff Cowan. The allegations against Cowan have not been tested in court. Jim White, 84, pleaded guilty in June. White, who is from Essa Township, was at the centre of it all, involved in marketing and selling hundreds of fake Morrisseau art around the world, some pieces sold for tens of thousands of dollars. Jim White Jim White, 84, leaving the Barrie Courthouse in Fall 2024. (CTV News/ Mike Arsalides) White pleaded guilty to producing forged documents and to possession and trafficking of more than 500 pieces of fake art. Two others co-accused pleaded guilty last year and were sentenced to five years in prison. As part of his plea, Bremner admitted to 'turning a blind eye' to suspicions the works were forgeries and that he took inadequate further steps to verify their authenticity and proceeded to authenticate the art anyway. Some pieces he authenticated sold for more than $30,000, with another fetching close to $100,000. David Paul Bremner David Paul Bremner, 78, leaving the Barrie Courthouse in the fall of 2024. (CTV News/Mike Arsalides) Bremner admitted he knew his certificates were being used to authenticate and legitimize the artworks and that his certificates were relied upon by White and others to sell the pieces, despite never having received formal training to authenticate Morrisseau works. Bremner, the court heard, collected about $150 from the sale of each piece. About 900 pieces were seized as part of the joint investigation by Thunder Bay Police and the OPP. Bremner and White are scheduled to be sentenced next month.
National Post
a day ago
- National Post
Infants and toddlers are newest victims of Canada's deadly fentanyl crisis
Article content A toddler fell asleep in a bed shared with two older siblings. During the night, a sister noted the toddler's 'stiffening and eyes rolling back.' A parent and two other adults in the house had used heroin the night before. Article content A caregiver woke from a nap with a baby and found the infant with 'cyanosis,' blue from lack of oxygen. There was vomit in the bed. Police found a bag of fentanyl outside the bedroom. Article content In Amelia's case, a scrap of tinfoil with drug residue was found in her car seat cupholder. Article content Her father had been arrested on drug charges days before her death. Her mother had stopped using and had stayed clean for several years after she became pregnant with Amelia, even contacting family services herself during her pregnancy for help to stay sober, but then relapsed into daily fentanyl use weeks before Amelia died. A family member had contacted local family and children's services, but both parents denied she was using again. 'Further attempts' to schedule visits became difficult when the mother failed to respond, court heard. Contact was eventually made, and a home visit scheduled for the day Amelia died, but her mother left a voice message at 5:50 a.m. that morning, cancelling the visit. Article content Both fentanyl and carfentanil were found in Amelia's blood. Article content The mother, who had been sexually abused by an uncle when she was a child, went into foster care at 12 and started using crack cocaine at 14, pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death. In December 2019, she was sentenced to four years less time served. Article content 'No sentence will bring Amelia back, but the sentence imposed must reflect that a young life has been lost in these tragic circumstances,' Justice Melanie Sopinka said in delivering her decision. Article content Fentanyl alone, or in combination with other drugs, was the primary drug of toxicity in the Western study. In most cases, fentanyl was found in the child's play or sleeping area. A common narrative was that the child was found unresponsive after being put down for a nap. Article content 'With opioid overdose, you don't die right away — I think they put the baby down, thinking it was going to be OK, they went to sleep and woke up, and everything wasn't OK.' Article content Historically, prescription meds caused most childhood opioid deaths, said the study's first author, Dr. Katrina Assen, a pediatrician at the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary. 'Now we're switching to fentanyl.' Article content Seven children in their study were white; three were Indigenous. The households were often small, cluttered, untidy and disorderly. There were often a lot of people living in them — five on average. The mean age of the children that died was just under two, an especially 'exploratory age,' the authors wrote. When kids transition from age two to four, they 'climb anywhere and eat everything,' Rieder said. Article content As a former foster parent, Rieder said he knows from his own experience that child protection services are under-resourced, over-stressed and facing a scarcity of foster families. 'I think because of resource constraints children are often in situations in which they might be potentially in harm's way,' he said. Article content Half the deaths his group found were classified as accidental; for the other half, the manner of death was deemed 'undetermined.'
