RCMP renew calls to find missing 40-year-old
Manitoba RCMP are renewing calls to help find a man missing since June.
Travis Bittern, 40, was last seen walking south on Highway 6 south of Wabowden on June 27, 2025, and has not been seen since.
According to the initial report from RCMP, family said Bittern was heading to Kinosao Sipi Cree Nation. RCMP have followed up on tips and leads in the investigation, but have not been able to find him.
RCMP said Bittern is six-foot-three, weighs 210 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He has a tattoo of a feather on his right arm.
Bittern was wearing a black t-shirt and plaid pajama pants when he was last seen.
Anyone who was travelling on Highway 6 near Wabowden between 9 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. and may have seen Bittern is asked to call RCMP at 204-689-2152.
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CBC
an hour ago
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Workload deluge causing spike in prosecutions being tackled by defence lawyers: Manitoba Crown attorney union
Social Sharing The number of cases where defence lawyers are being asked to prosecute alleged crimes is on the rise and the union for Manitoba's Crown attorneys argues the government is trying to hide the fact there's not enough prosecutors to handle workload demands. Data provided by the government shows from 2021 to July 2025, 78 criminal cases and 19 provincial inquests have been outsourced from the Crown's office and prosecuted by private bar lawyers, costing the government more than $674,000. The majority of the criminal cases — more than 70 per cent — were outsourced in the last two years. Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said the increase has nothing to do with a lack of Crown attorneys in the province or workload. But Michael Desautels, a senior Crown prosecutor and vice-president of The Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys, disputes that. "It's dancing on the head of a needle," he said. "The reality is we need people and we need bodies in the regions, we need people to do the cases, to analyze the evidence." The data shows the number of outsourced criminal cases grew from three in 2021 to 28 so far this year. Wiebe said the increased outsourcing comes down to logistics, for example a Crown taking maternity leave. He also said there is now more awareness around what could be seen as a conflict of interest between the Crown's office and people connected to the crimes they prosecute. Province says only 14 criminal cases outsourced from workload Hiring a special prosecutor when there is a perceived conflict of interest isn't new to Manitoba's justice system. Defence lawyer Marty Minuk led the prosecution in 2007 against Derek Harvey-Zenk, the Winnipeg police officer accused of drunk driving in connection with the crash that killed Crystal Taman. A case could be farmed out because a Crown attorney is the victim or a witness, or it could happen when a police officer is a victim or the accused, according to a spokesperson for Manitoba Justice. A conflict can also be determined if the relative of a Crown, judge or prosecution service employee has a connection to the case. The current policy on hiring independent counsel, written in 2012, is discretionary and only states it "should be considered" in these types of cases. Government data shows 14 of the 78 cases were outsourced because of a workload issue, while the remainder were related to an undisclosed conflict. The kind of cases outsourced due to workload include charges of assault, weapons possession, fraud, theft and arson. Brandon Trask, an assistant professor at the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Law, called it "problematic" that the government is turning to defence lawyers to address staffing shortages. He said it is important for victims and members of the public to have a clear explanation as to why a case is being outsourced. "It is really important for the public to see, 'this is how the sausage is made,'" he said. "There could be great reasons for it [outsourcing], but if nobody knows those reasons, are they really all that great?" A former Crown attorney, Trask also stressed the importance of any private bar lawyer filling should additional training so they are "up-to-speed" at the same skill level of a Crown. Reason for conflict not always disclosed in court CBC reporters reviewed several cases, including sexual assaults, that were labelled as a conflict and the prosecution was being led by a criminal defence lawyer. In some cases the reason was clear, such as a sexual assault charge where two Crown attorneys were witnesses. In other cases, there was no apparent reason and the fact a contracted prosecutor was being used was not disclosed in court. Manitoba's executive director of prosecution services, Michele Jules, said that a case such a sexual assault would never be outsourced for a workload issue. "Nothing like child abuse, nothing that would require that sort of enhanced expertise would go out," she said about the decision making that goes behind farming out cases. CBC asked the government to provide more detail about what the type of conflict applied to each case but was told it couldn't be disclosed due to privacy reasons. Desautels says there needs to be more transparency in this process. The current policy does not address circumstances where a prosecutor is being used for a workload issue. "Justice is best served in the light of day," he said. He also argues the victim and public should know when a private bar lawyer is being used and why that decision was made. The best option when a conflict is identified is to bring in a Crown from another office, explained Desautels Crowns have better training and more experience compared to defence lawyers who spend the majority of their time on the other side of prosecutions, he said. " None of it should go to the private bar," he said. " If we're going to have outside counsel doing work, it should be people who are prosecutors, who understand those policies, who understand the law, who have expertise in presenting these cases, and have the background and knowledge to do them effectively." Ongoing grievance between union and government During the same period where outsourcing has increased, the union for Crown attorneys filed a grievance with the province to address what they call "dangerously heavy caseloads." Filed in 2023, it came after Crowns said they were burning out, losing prosecutors to other provinces and dealing with more complex cases. This grievance is why the minister won't blame the outsourcing on workload, says Desautels. "He can give it whatever name he wants, but the reality is it is all still a workload problem. And I think calling it anything other than that is disingenuous," he said. Despite hiring 20 additional prosecutors in the last year, 15 other Crowns have left the office and there are still 13 vacancies, Desautels said. The justice minister said eight more Crown attorneys were hired in July. "The workload is getting heavier and heavier and the burden is getting heavier," Desautels said. "We are not gaining as many people as we need to be gaining in the office." 19 provincial inquests outsourced since 2021 Meanwhile, the outsourcing of provincial inquests began in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic and under the weight of a heavy court backlog. A provincial inquest is a court hearing called by the Chief Medical Examiner. They are mandatory when someone is killed by police, dies in custody or at a correctional institution. The role of the Crown is to marshal evidence about the facts surrounding the death for a provincial court judge in a non-adversarial forum. The judge's role is to make recommendations to help prevent future deaths of a similar nature. But because of the Crown's office's connection to the investigation into these deaths some inquests are being outsourced to be more sensitive to families, Jules said. "We want to bolster the confidence in the process," said Jules. She said, for example, the family of 16-year-old Eisha Hudson were concerned about the Crown's office role in deciding not to press charges after she was killed by Winnipeg police in 2020. It's a point echoed by Wiebe, who said they are "listening to families." Desautels says this isn't about families, but "100 per cent" a workload issue, due to the huge undertaking and time required to lead an inquest. "It's the first and easiest thing to take out of the office," he said. Independent counsel policy under review Justice Minister Wiebe said the number of cases being farmed out is only a small fraction of the some 150,000 cases the service prosecuted in the last four years. The private bar lawyers being hired are" some of the best in the province," he said "We have full confidence in the work that they do and the public should as well." The current policy for hiring outside counsel has been in place since 2012 but prosecution services officials say it is out of date and admit it's not being fully followed. The policy says that when a lawyer from outside the Crown's office is hired, the terms of reference in which they were retained is supposed to be recorded and publicly available upon request. This is to "ensure a transparent process and public accountability," when hiring outside counsel, according to the policy. "That's never been done in the time that I've been here," said Jules, who has led prosecution services since 2017. Instead, she said there is a general retainer agreement that is signed by defence lawyers and used by the department. Previously it was really obvious why they were sending a case out, but now they are taking a more "general determination" of conflict, she said. "The policy should be updated because it certainly doesn't reflect current practice," she said. A dozen of these retainers were provided by the justice department to CBC. They are all nearly identical and is addressed to each lawyer confirming they have been retained to conduct prosecutions, inquests and provide opinions for the province on a "case-by-case basis." The retainer notes that victim services will be available to help the lawyers communicate with victims and their families. It also says they expect the lawyer to take take any training offered on by the department on updates to Manitoba's Victims' Bill of Rights. The hourly rate for each lawyer was redacted. Wiebe said the policy is under review and it is a priority but did not offer a timeline for when it would be completed. "We're working hard to make sure that it fits and that it's appropriate," he said. The grievance filed by the union is scheduled to be heard by an arbitrator in October. Defence lawyers used to prosecute cases as workload strains Crown attorneys 3 minutes ago The union representing Manitoba Crown attorneys says the province is farming out criminal cases to defence lawyers because there aren't enough prosecutors to do all the work.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Defence lawyers used to prosecute cases as workload strains Crown attorneys
The union representing Manitoba Crown attorneys says the province is farming out criminal cases to defence lawyers because there aren't enough prosecutors to do all the work.
CBC
7 hours ago
- CBC
Police seek suspect, as fake jewelry scams continue in Winnipeg
Winnipeg police have arrested one man, and are on the hunt for another, as they investigate a series of jewelry scams they say occurred across the city in recent months, by suspects believed to be linked to a travelling jewelry scam and distraction crime group. According to police on June 26 around 2:30 p.m., a man was parked in the 1400 block of Regent Avenue West, when he was approached by a suspect selling what police described in a news release as "fake gold jewelry." Police say the suspect had a young child with him, and provided a fake story about needing money for travel, something police say is a "commonly known ruse" used by jewelry scam and distraction crime groups. The man bought what he believed to be gold jewelry from the suspect, and upon discovering it was not genuine, contacted police. The Major Crimes Unit assumed the investigation, and identified a 36-year-old suspect who was arrested on Aug. 4 at an address in Portage la Prairie. The suspect has been detained in custody on charges of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and fraud over $5,000. As well, on Aug. 1, police received a call regarding a suspect who had stolen jewelry from a 29-year-old man in the 500 block of Toronto Street. Police say the man had been walking his dog when he was approached by a suspect carrying costume jewelry and a gift, which the release said is "a common tactic used by travelling jewelry scam and distraction crime groups." The suspect used a distraction technique to remove a valuable gold chain from the man's neck and replace it with a fake one. After realizing what was happening, the man confronted the suspect who fled in a vehicle, causing the man to fall and sustain minor injuries. The Major Crimes Unit took over the investigation and has since identified 31-year-old lonut-Vasile Bivolaru as a suspect, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Bivolaru, or who believes they may have interacted with him, is asked to contact the Major Crimes Unit at 204-986-6219, or to report anonymously at Crime Stoppers 204-786-TIPS. Winnipeg police say they are hoping to raise public awareness after receiving numerous fraud and theft reports recently, believed to involve a travelling criminal organization operating in Winnipeg. According to police, in many cases citizens are approached by unknown suspects in public areas such as gas stations, banks, grocery stores, casinos and mall parking lots, usually during daytime hours, who request money in exchange for gold jewelry which ends up having zero value. In other situations, suspects use distraction techniques and physically remove a person's jewelry during their encounter, and it is often not until their encounter is over that victims realize their valuable jewelry has been stolen. Police warn suspects often travel in groups, in vehicles with out-of-province license plates, and are often accompanied by children, which may be used to lower suspicion.
