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Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Premier says 1,000 more hotel rooms ready for evacuees
Premier Wab Kinew said 1,000 hotel rooms would open up for evacuees after Indigenous leaders said people had to sleep on cots set up in arenas and other congregate settings that aren't comfortable for long stays. 'Nobody wants to sleep on a cot for more than a day or two, even in an emergency situation,' Kinew told a news conference in Saskatoon ahead of the first ministers meeting Monday. 'So we're connecting folks who need those enhanced accessibility supports first, and then broadening it out to everybody else who needs help, too.' MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Winnipeg Search and Rescue volunteers set up roughly 100 cots in the Eric Coy Arena in preparation for wildfire evacuees' arrival last week. First Nations leaders requested more hotels to open their doors to thousands of evacuees fleeing Manitoba wildfires. Kinew said space is tight in communities across southern Manitoba because 17,000 people have fled fires in the north, prompting Manitoba to issue a state of emergency. The City of Winnipeg and other communities, including Thompson, Portage la Prairie and Winkler, have established emergency evacuation shelters in arenas. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs has called for all levels of government to issue a directive to Manitoba hotels and force them to make space for displaced community members. 'I ask all levels of government, please come together, work together, ask that these hotels and these accommodations make space for our people. We are in a state of emergency, you can give that directive,' Kyra Wilson, grand chief, said. On Monday, Kinew did not indicate whether his government would order a directive to hotels. 'We're finding shelter for everybody who needs it,' he said. Ontario has made several thousand hotel rooms available to evacuees, the premier said. Wilson said some evacuees arriving in Winnipeg are facing prolonged waits as they attempt to register and find accommodations. 'It's really sad to see our children having to sleep on floors. People are sitting, waiting in hallways, waiting outside and right now we just need everyone to come together. Our people are tired,' she said. Officials from the Manitoba Court of King's Bench and the Saskatchewan Court of King's Bench issued a statement on Sunday, announcing a joint education session scheduled in Winnipeg this week would be cancelled due to 'the pressing need to make hotel spaces.' The Manitoba Hotel Association declined to do an interview Monday. 'I know people are doing their best. As an association, we don't have a tool or method to capture real-time or live inventory of rooms,' president and CEO Michael Juce said in an email. In Winnipeg, the Canadian Red Cross is operating a reception centre at the Billy Mosienko Arena in northwest Winnipeg, and has asked all evacuees who have nowhere to stay to go there. Mayor Scott Gillingham said Monday the Seven Oaks Arena is being considered as another emergency shelter. Emergency supports are already operating from Mosienko, Century and Eric Coy arenas, and the Winnipeg Soccer Federation North complex. Recreational programming at involved facilities has been paused, he said. Weekday Mornings A quick glance at the news for the upcoming day. Gillingham toured the city's various evacuation centres over the weekend. His government is being guided by the province and the Red Cross to provide support, he told reporters during a news conference Monday. The Century Arena was full with about 250 people when Gillingham visited Saturday. Meanwhile, the soccer complex was nearing capacity, with just over 1,000 people. As of Sunday, nobody had yet moved into the Eric Coy arena, but that could change, Gillingham said. Some First Nations communities have been calling the city directly for information and support, but their questions are best directed to the province, the mayor said. 'People are looking for answers and resources in real time. It's a complex process, it's a complex evacuation that's being delivered, so we are just trying to make sure we don't duplicate things.' 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.
Calgary Herald
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Calgary lawyer John Carpay tells disciplinary hearing his decision to spy on Manitoba judge was 'grave error'
Spying on a Manitoba judge who was presiding over a COVID-related case was 'foolhardy, misguided, inappropriate and stupid,' a Calgary lawyer told a disciplinary hearing Wednesday, calling his behaviour a 'grave error in judgment.' Article content Article content But John Carpay, the founder and president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, testified he still believes his criminal prosecution in the case was wrong and 'politically motivated.' Article content Article content Carpay told his lawyer, Alain Hepner, he was exonerated when the prosecution dropped criminal allegations when he agreed to a three-year peace bond prohibiting him from practicing law. Article content Article content The lawyer is facing sanctions by the Law Society of Alberta over his conduct in hiring a private investigator in a bid to catch Manitoba Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal breaking COVID rules during pandemic lockdowns. Article content Carpay also had his investigator follow then-Manitoba premier Brian Pallister and the province's chief medical officer of health. At the time Joyal was presiding over a challenge by the Gateway Bible Baptist Church and other Manitoba churches to the constitutionality of the COVID-19 rules imposed by that province's government. Article content Carpay denied a suggestion by Law Society of Alberta prosecutor Karl Seidenz that had his private investigator been able to obtain photographs or videos of Joyal breaking the rules, he would have released them to expose the judge as a hypocrite, as he would with the premier or chief health officer. Article content Article content 'In the case of the chief judge I would have released photos only after the final conclusion of all litigation proceedings, there's no way I would have released that prior to the release of the judgment,' Carpay said. Article content 'It's about accountability for government officials, It's not about embarrassment or hypocrisy per se, although those could be constituent elements that play into the bigger issue, which is accountability.' Article content Carpay, and lawyer Jay Cameron, are before a three-member Law Society of Alberta panel after having been found to have breached their professional code of conduct by spying on Joyal. Article content Carpay told Hepner his organization, which assists groups making constitutional challenges, had taken on the Gateway case to fight the pandemic-related lockdowns.
Winnipeg Free Press
28-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ex-law dean at U of M on hook to repay $682K
An ex-law dean, who is believed to be hiding out in Switzerland, has been ordered to pay back more than a half a million dollars in phony expenses he filed to the University of Manitoba. Jonathan Black-Branch owes his former employer $682,449.41, as per a default judgment from the Manitoba Court of King's Bench. The May 2 decision includes a hefty repayment, as well as interest and the cost of proceedings that involved hiring a private investigator to locate him. SUPPLIED PHOTO Jonathan Black-Branch, former dean of law at the University of Manitoba, owes his former employer $682,449.41. It was made on the grounds that Black-Branch did not acknowledge or defend himself against allegations he had misspent public dollars and schemed to evade oversight while running Robson Hall between from 2016 to 2020. 'Accountability is very important to the university and (U of M) intends to pursue all available collection remedies to secure payment of the judgment,' a spokesperson for Manitoba's largest post-secondary institute wrote in an email to the Free Press Tuesday. U of M initiated a lawsuit last summer — four years after Black-Branch's five-year contract was cut short. A university investigation had found he was using public dollars to pay his personal bills and upgrade his resumé with U.S. Ivy League college courses. Those internal findings, shared with the Law Society of Manitoba, led to Black-Branch being disbarred in February 2024. (He repeatedly delayed the professional watchdog's disciplinary hearings between 2021 and 2023, citing his mental health, and declined to participate when the society did eventually proceed at its headquarters in downtown Winnipeg.) Jeff Hirsch and Miranda Grayson of Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP have represented the university in court in recent months. 'While there is some suspicion that the defendant may be residing in Switzerland, the defendant's address remains unknown. All attempts to contact the defendant via his email and telephone have been unsuccessful,' the lawyers wrote in a Dec. 20 submission. 'Effectively, the defendant appears to be evading contact with the plaintiff's counsel.' Black-Branch, a Canadian citizen who has been called to the bar in both Canada and the United Kingdom, moved to England in 2020. Court documents show U of M's lawyers hired Roussillon Group Ltd., a private investigation company located about 100 kilometres south of Oxford, in August to serve a statement of claim. A process server from the firm went to Black-Branch's last known address in Oxford on Aug. 23 in an attempt to do just that, and found it was empty and under instruction for sale. Hirsch and Grayson later tracked down a neighbour of the address who divulged on Dec. 4 that he and other residents on High Street suspected Black-Branch was in Switzerland. A man who was temporarily living in Black-Branch's house had told neighbours the property owner had left for Switzerland. The neighbour told U of M's legal team that another community member had received a call from Black-Branch from a Swiss area code. The neighbour also shared that he'd received an email from Black-Branch via the address the local lawyers were using to try to contact him — they did not receive a reply between August and May — approximately 10 days before they first sent him a statement of claim. 'There are places and spaces that are better if you want to hide your money and Switzerland is one… As long as you're a foreigner, they really don't mind,' said Michelle Gallant, a professor at Robson Hall who researches the proceeds of fraud and other crimes. Gallant, who worked with Black-Branch during his tenure at U of M, said her former dean was charming, supportive and 'a super nice guy' overall. The duo bonded because they are both originally from the Maritimes, she recalled. Following the default judgment, U of M can contact other jurisdictions — such as New Brunswick, where the ousted dean grew up — to register it against his assets elsewhere, the academic said. The Court of King's Bench registrar has ruled that U of M is entitled to a post-judgment interest rate of three per cent per year. Weekday Mornings A quick glance at the news for the upcoming day. Gallant said she wishes she had paid more attention to the rumours that circulated about Black-Branch when he was at the helm of Manitoba's only law school. 'A lot of people were duped — myself included,' the professor said. 'It's frustrating to me, because I'm supposed to know something about white-collar crime, dirty money.' Black-Branch did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie. Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative. Every piece of reporting Maggie 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.
Winnipeg Free Press
20-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘Ghosted' ex sues former girlfriend, says she took his $5-M lotto winnings
A Winnipeg man is suing his former romantic partner, alleging he unwittingly agreed to name her as the winner of a $5 million lottery ticket before she 'ghosted him' and ran off with the money. Lawrence Campbell filed the lawsuit in Manitoba Court of King's Bench on May 14, naming Krystal Ann McKay, the Western Canada Lottery Corp. and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries as defendants. The statement of claim alleges Campbell purchased the winning ticket from an Isabel Street convenience store in January 2024, but allowed McKay to claim it as her own after meeting with a lottery agent 'who lead (sic) the plaintiff to believe' he could not receive the winnings without presenting a valid, government-issued ID. Campbell, who also did not have an active bank account, agreed to allow McKay to sign the ticket and hold the winnings for him in trust, the lawsuit said. The pair had been dating for about 1 1/2 years, and shared a home and family, it said. SUPPLIED Krystal McKay claiming the $5 million Lotto 6/49 prize, January 20, 2024. SUPPLIED Krystal McKay claiming the $5 million Lotto 6/49 prize, January 20, 2024. 'The plaintiff had every reason to trust the spousal defendant as they were, at that time, in a loyal, committed and promising romantic partnership,' the lawsuit said. Less than two weeks after the money was transferred into McKay's account, Campbell alleges she did not return to a hotel room where they planned to stay the night together. 'He set out to visit a few of her known spots where she would party and sure enough after some investigation, he found her; in bed, with another guy,' the lawsuit said. 'In subsequent conversations with him, the spousal defendant mentioned to the plaintiff that she wished to terminate the relationship to be with this new guy.' McKay then cut all ties with Campbell, according to the claim. 'She ghosted him, refused to take his calls or answer his messages, she blocked him on her social media accounts; and even took out a protection order,' it said. None of the claims have been tested in court, and the defendants have not issued statements of defence. The lawsuit claims Campbell is entitled to the $5 million because he purchased the ticket. It asks the courts to issue a constructive trust over the winnings and award assorted damages in favour of Campbell. A constructive trust is a legal tool that can transfer ownership of money or property to one party, without the consent of the other. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. 'Nowhere in the law is it permitted for someone who alone purchased a winning lottery ticket to effectively be defrauded by a former romantic partner and then held, by operation of the law, a lottery loser; This case will not be the exception,' Campbell's lawyer, Chad Panting, said in a statement to the Free Press. 'Mr. Campbell alone won the January 20th 2024, lotto-649 Classic jackpot and intends on proving it in court, if necessary.' The lawsuit claims the Western Canada Lottery Corp. provided improper advice to Campbell, and accuses Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries of having deficient or non-existent oversight when disbursing the funds — making both organizations vicariously liable, it said. The lottery corporations jointly issued a news release on Jan. 30, 2024, announcing McKay as the winner of $5-million lottery prize and the first Manitoban to become a lotto millionaire that year. It said McKay's partner gave her the winning lottery ticket as a birthday gift. Campbell's lawsuit does not mention a birthday gift, instead saying he purchased the ticket himself, but asked her to hold onto it because he 'had recently lost his wallet.' Two days later, Campbell found the ticket on the floor at a friend's house and realized it was a winner after checking the numbers on his cellphone. He and McKay then went to scan the ticket at a Shoppers Drug Mart and filmed a video of them celebrating together, the lawsuit said. In the lottery release, McKay is quoted as saying she 'screamed' when she checked the winning numbers, and she immediately called her sister who began to scream, as well. 'I was so excited and crying — I just couldn't believe it,' McKay said in the release. The release said McKay planned to spend the money on her children and buy a home for her family. The Free Press was unable to reach McKay for comment Tuesday. Neither lottery corporation responded to requests for comment. 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.
Winnipeg Free Press
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba, Ottawa say $4.8-B lawsuit over Lake Winnipeg should be tossed
The Manitoba and federal governments denied any wrongdoing as they asked a court to reject a lawsuit filed by First Nations over the effect of sewage spills and pollution on Lake Winnipeg. In separate statements of defence, the two levels of government say their conduct didn't harm the First Nations. The First Nations claim in the lawsuit, launched a year ago, that decades of pollution that ended up into the Red and Assiniboine rivers, which flow into Lake Winnipeg, have caused physical, psychological, social and cultural harms to their communities. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES The lawsuit was launched after more than 200 million litres of raw sewage got into the Red River when a municipal sewer pipe broke in February 2024. The suit was launched after more than 200 million litres of raw sewage got into the Red River when a municipal sewer pipe broke in February 2024. The $4.8-billion lawsuit, filed in the Manitoba Court of King's Bench by eight First Nations, names the municipal, provincial and federal governments as defendants. The plaintiffs were Black River, Berens River, Brokenhead, Hollow Water, Kinonjeoshtegon (Jackhead), Misipawistik (Grand Rapids), Sagkeeng and Poplar River. Bloodvein, Dauphin River and Fisher River Cree First Nations have since signed on as plaintiffs. In its submission, the province says the nutrient load in Lake Winnipeg — increased nitrogen and phosphorous, which contribute to increasingly frequent algae blooms — can be blamed on various sources, including climate change, agriculture, urban and industrial development as well as wastewater, and it would be 'challenging' to attribute it to one source. Manitoba argues, on top of its environment and water legislation, it has various programs to monitor the lake and surrounding communities. It said it isn't responsible for promises made in treaties that were signed by the federal Crown. The province asserts it exercises due diligence and takes appropriate regulatory action to deal with the City of Winnipeg's sewage spill infractions, including by pursuing charges under the Environment Act, as it did in response to the February 2024 spill. The province argues the City of Winnipeg is responsible for its wastewater system and must inform affected communities when there's a sewage spill. The province notes that water quality in First Nations is a federal responsibility. Further, the province says, parts of the claim are barred under the Limitations Act. It filed a cross claim against the city. The federal government, in its statement of defence, acknowledges the effect of sewage on the lake, but says other sources in the watershed have also polluted the water. It argues it has gone to considerable lengths to study and improve the health of the lake as a matter of public policy. Ottawa says the city must adhere to federal regulations on pollution and the senior level of government investigates and pursues regulatory actions when rules aren't followed. Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up Last month, Ottawa slapped the city with a federal Fisheries Act charge in connection with the 2024 spill. The City of Winnipeg, in court filings last week, argued the 2024 incident and other sewage spills have little effect on pollution in Lake Winnipeg, while the blame for water-quality issues falls to the province and Ottawa for not providing enough money to upgrade Winnipeg's sewer system. The city argued other sources predominantly affect the lake and that reducing or eliminating contributions from the municipal sewer system would not restore Lake Winnipeg to its natural condition or eliminate the issues, as the First Nations alleged in their lawsuit. The city argued the other two governments have jurisdiction to regulate effects to Lake Winnipeg. It launched cross claims against the two senior governments. Erik Pindera Reporter Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press , mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik. Every piece of reporting Erik 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.
