Latest news with #ManitobaCrown
Winnipeg Free Press
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Crowns to get training to help prosecute hate crimes
Manitoba Crown attorneys will receive enhanced training on the prosecution of hate crimes as part of a national effort to crack down on racism, discrimination and violence against marginalized groups. The federal and provincial governments are providing $95,000 for the program, which follows the recent arrests of two Winnipeg men charged with separate hate-related offences. 'Hate crimes have devastating impacts on victims and communities, and prosecuting these cases can be complex,' Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said in a news release Thursday. 'Hate crimes have devastating impacts on victims and communities, and prosecuting these cases can be complex,' said Justice Minister Matt Wiebe in a news release Thursday. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files) 'This specialized training will enhance the knowledge of prosecutors so that they can continue to serve the public interest by effectively prosecuting hate-motivated crimes and holding offenders accountable for the serious harm they cause.' The money will allow Crown attorneys to learn directly from experts who study hate crimes to give them a deeper understanding of their impact on victims and cultural communities. It includes funding for an educational conference, which is to be held in Winnipeg in December, the release said. Manitoba is working with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg to co-ordinate and support the training, which aligns with Canada's action plan to combat hate. The plan, which was released in the fall, earmarked $273.6 million over the next six years. Sean Fraser, the federal justice minister, said he's 'very pleased' to spend some of the money in Manitoba. 'We know that hate crimes have risen in recent years, and they have had an impact on public safety and social cohesion,' he said in the release. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs has worked with Manitoba Justice and law enforcement officials to co-ordinate the Manitoba Prosecution Service hate crime working group, which was announced in January. 'We've been working… to ensure that when hate crimes occur, charges are laid and every legal avenue is pursued,' vice-president Gustavo Zentner said. In a separate statement, Zentner responded to the arrest of a 23-year-old Winnipeg man accused of hate offences. On Wednesday, police announced Donovan Ballingall had been charged with four counts of the willful promotion of hatred. He's alleged to have targeted the Jewish, Muslim and LGBTTQ+ communities, as well as visible minorities, in online posts. Ballingall was arrested April 29 and remains in custody at the Winnipeg Remand Centre. Court records show he has a court appearance May 26. 'We appreciate the RCMP for handling this case with the seriousness it warrants,' Zentner said in his statement. 'This case is a powerful reminder that hate knows no boundaries.' The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said Ballingall is the first person in Manitoba to be charged with wilfully promoting hate. The Free Press was unable to independently verify that information. Manitoba RCMP deferred comment to its national headquarters in Ottawa, which did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday and Thursday. Police did not provide further details about the offences Ballingall is accused of committing, or confirm whether he acted alone or as part of a group. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. In March, the RCMP announced it upgraded charges against another Winnipeg man who was in custody for hate-related offences. Nevin Thunder Young, 19, was charged with two counts of commission of an offence for a terrorist group, and single counts of participation in the activity of a terrorist group and facilitating terrorist activity. The charges are in addition to 26 counts of mischief under $5,000 for incidents in Charleswood from Sept. 28 to Dec. 31, 2024. Investigators linked Young to an international violent extremist group known as M.K.Y., police said at the time. 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
09-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Nygard lawyer claims ‘abuse of process' in Manitoba, asks judge to stay sex charges
A lawyer for disgraced fashion mogul and convicted sex offender Peter Nygard is seeking to have Manitoba charges against him stayed. Nygard, 83, is set to stand trial in December on charges he sexually assaulted and forcibly confined a then-20-year-old woman in 1993 at his former corporate headquarters in Winnipeg. At a hearing Friday morning before provincial court Judge Mary Kate Harvie, Nygard's lawyer Gerri Wiebe argued former provincial attorney general Kelvin Goertzen had no grounds to seek a second opinion on the case from the Saskatchewan Public Prosecutions Service in November 2022, more than a year after the Manitoba Crown attorney's office decided it would not pursue charges against Nygard. COLE BURSTON / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Seen through a police vehicle window, Peter Nygard arrives at court in Toronto in October 2023. Nygard was convicted last September of sexually assaulting four women at his Toronto corporate headquarters from the late 1980s to the mid-2000s. Wiebe called the Manitoba prosecution an 'abuse of process.' She alleged Goertzen was responding to media and political pressure when he made the decision to seek a second Crown opinion from out of province, a move not specifically sanctioned by government policy. Nygard appeared via video from Bath Institution, where he is serving an 11-year sentence after being convicted last September of sexually assaulting four women at his Toronto corporate headquarters from the late 1980s to the mid-2000s. Nygard, sporting long hair and a beard, sat with his head bowed, barely visible for the camera, his head topped with both a ball cap and tuque. When brought to the video room, he appeared not to know the purpose of the hearing. 'I have no idea (how long I will be here),' he told a corrections officer in a hoarse voice. 'I don't even know what this is about.' The woman at the centre of the Winnipeg charges was one of eight alleged sexual assault victims whose cases were investigated by city police and assessed by Manitoba Crown attorneys. 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. In November 2022, then Manitoba Liberal leader Dougald Lamont took the women's calls for a new investigation to the legislative assembly and organized a news conference with women who had accused Nygard of assault. Two days later, Goertzen ordered a second opinion on the matter and sent the case files to Saskatchewan prosecutors for review. 'Sixteen months after a decision was made not to prosecute, in the face of direct questioning in the legislative assembly, the attorney general sought a second opinion with respect to what we say was a considered opinion by Manitoba Prosecution Services that there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction,' Wiebe said. 'The attorney general's explanation for seeking the second opinion does not appear to have been based on any articulated problem with the Manitoba Prosecutions decision,' she said. 'The only explanation given by the attorney general is that he appears to have been bothered by the fact that charges were authorized in other jurisdictions, that he had heard from the victims and that he had lost sleep at night.' Nygard still faces charges in Quebec and extradition to the U.S., where he has been charged with sex trafficking and racketeering. Dean PritchardCourts reporter Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean. Every piece of reporting Dean 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.
CBC
14-04-2025
- CBC
Tree cutting possible 'any moment now' at Lemay Forest, says protester
A group fighting to prevent trees from being cut down at a privately-owned parcel of land in south Winnipeg is on high alert after learning a Manitoba Crown prosecutor is not planning to move forward a private prosecution that had been preventing a developer from deforesting the area. "It's a terrible grief for myself, for everyone who's involved and really, for the community, to lose such an important forest, such an important piece of Manitoba history," said Louise May, who is part of the Coalition to Save Lemay Forest. In January, May filed a private prosecution against Tochal Development Group, owner of the roughly 18 hectares of private forest in St. Norbert, over alleged breaches to the Manitoba Cemeteries Act. The act states that any person who willfully "destroys, cuts, breaks, or injures any tree, shrub, or plant in a cemetery" is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine. The Manitoba Historical Society previously said the forest houses a cemetery site belonging to the Aisle Ritchot orphanage, which operated from 1904 to 1948. The institution, which also operated as the home for unwed mothers, had a mortality rate close to 60 per cent, and between 1,200 and 2,300 children died in the building with most buried in common and unmarked graves in the forest, according to records from the MHS. The private prosecution, May said, was the only legal mechanism the coalition had to stop the developer from cutting down the trees. But she found out on Thursday that the Manitoba Crown prosecutor who looked at the case is not going to move it forward. May said her lawyer received an email from the Crown saying they intend to direct the proceedings on all charges to be stayed when the matter goes in front of a judge on Tuesday. "We are on high alert … the whole community is listening and watching," May said, referring to signs of tree cutting. "We know that's a possibility any moment now." John Wintrup, a planner with Tochal, said the developer has waited to hear back from the Crown, but the plan remains to cut down the trees. "This is private property and the landowner wants this property back," he said, arguing the developer wants to make a productive use of Lemay Forest and that "doesn't involve keeping trees on the property for the neighbours." When asked on Saturday if the tree cutting would begin on the weekend, Wintrup said the process to remove them will be slow and depend on weather conditions. But "we are going to be out there, starting soon to take back these lands," with the developer hoping to have a large presence by the summer, he said. Regarding the cemetery, Wintrup said Tochal self-identified the graves more than two years ago and reported it to all levels of government. A series of test pits conducted since then haven't led to human remains being found, but Wintrup said the developer will continue its research for the precise location of the graves. Not all options explored: councillor Last year, city council rejected a plan to build a 5,000-bed, 2,500-unit assisted living facility in Lemay Forest. Tochal appealed the decision and the Manitoba Municipal Board held a public hearing in February. Wintrup said the developer is now waiting to hear back to determine if the project can move forward. But with or without housing, the owner is looking to make use of the land, including establishing a "culturally appropriate healing space," he said. Coun. Jason Schreyer acknowledged the forest has been impacted by construction before, but said it is special for different groups of residents and should be preserved so it can be commemorated. He and at least one other councillor have presented motions to put a freeze on the situation while they seek alternatives for Lemay Forest, such as someone who might want to buy the property and protect it. "I don't think all options were explored," Schreyer said. May said the city and the province have the "power to make this end" but instead are "tossing it back and forth" with "no one being willing to actually sign on the dotted line." Eric Reder, director for the Manitoba field office of the Wilderness Committee, said the federal government also needs to step up to ensure trees with cavity nests aren't cut down, particularly with the breeding season of birds starting mid-April in this part of Manitoba. He's concerned about the developer's plan not adhering to federal regulations that protect pileated woodpecker nesting cavities and the ecosystem that holds them from being destroyed prior to a three-year waiting period. The province has an opportunity to safeguard that by designating the parcel of land as a heritage site, he said. "We really need to see leadership [with] the courage to move forward and to say that preserving the Lemay Forest is the right step," Reder added.
