Latest news with #WinnipegFireParamedicService
CBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Winnipeg deficit of nearly $19M predicted for 2025
The City of Winnipeg's early financial forecast predicts a $18.9-million deficit at the end of the year, but it's expected there will be enough money in its reserves to cover the shortfall. The reasons for the deficit, representing approximately 1.3 per cent of the city's operating budget, include Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service overtime, lower income from permit fees and the Winnipeg Police Service not meeting a $5.1-million expense management target. A budget report released Wednesday covers the city's operations for the first quarter of the year, from the start of January to the end of March. The projected fiscal stabilization reserve balance is $21.5 million, which the city says will be used to cover the deficit. The fire-paramedic service overspent its budget by $6.5 million, mainly due to overtime, but it was offset by additional revenues from Shared Health. The police service is expecting to only achieve $800,000 of its $5.1 million expense management target. Salary and benefits savings from a delay in hiring were offset by higher overtime costs from Winnipeg Jets whiteout street parties and higher equipment and material costs. The property and development department is projecting an over-expenditure of $5.4 million, due to lower permit revenues and fees. Snow-clearing operations are forecast to come in $5.6 million under budget, as a result of lower than expected snowfall in the early part of 2025. The city has set an overall savings target for all departments of $6.5 million. In past years, early financial forecasts have often predicted a deficit, while those predictions frequently improve in updates later in the year.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Winnipeg projecting nearly $19M deficit in first quarter financial report
The City of Winnipeg is projecting a deficit of $18.9 million, according to the first quarter financial report. The newest financial report was released Wednesday, and it showed the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service ($6.5 million) and the Winnipeg Police Service ($4.3 million) were two reasons for the projected deficit. The report said higher overtime for firefighters and paramedics was the main reason for being over budget thus far, while the police service did not meet its expenditure management target of $5.1 million. Other factors leading to the first quarter deficit are fewer permit and subdivision fees resulting in a $5.4 million shortfall, lower than expected recoveries for maintenance, leading to $3 million in the red, and Winnipeg Transit will be short by $2 million because of lower fare revenue combined with the cost of buses increasing, including automotive and other parts. Coun. Jeff Browaty, who is the chairperson for the standing policy committee on finance and economic development, said it's common for a deficit to be forecasted in the first quarter. 'That being said, it is important to highlight our challenges early to allow city departments the opportunity to adjust over the course of the year,' Browaty said in a news release. Some positives out of the report are Public Works had a surplus of $4.6 million, due to not needing snow clearing services as much to start the year. As well, the Solid Waste Utility is expected to bring in $3.4 million as new rates have taken effect. 'This surplus, along with future surpluses, will be used to offset the prior year's deficit and support ongoing operations. The Sewer Utility results are required to fund significant capital investments and maintain operations. The forecast aligns with the rate application approved by Council. Overall, the Water & Waste funds are expected to contribute $73.2 million to retained earnings in 2025,' the financial report reads. The city notes the Financial Stabilization Reserve Fund sits at $21.5 million and if the deficit stays the same for the rest of the year, that fund could be used to offset it if it is approved by council. The finance and economic development committee will review the first quarter numbers at a meeting on June 10. The second quarter for Winnipeg ends on June 30.
CTV News
5 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Trio of homes in Winnipeg's West End hit by fire
Fire damage on two homes in the 400 block of Langside Street in Winnipeg is seen on June 3, 2025. (Scott Andersson/CTV News Winnipeg) Three homes in Winnipeg's West End were damaged by fire Tuesday afternoon. Firefighters were called to a report of a fire in the 400 block of Langside Street at 1:49 p.m., and additional crews were called in 'due to the size and complexity' of the fire. When crews arrived, three neighbouring homes had smoke and fire coming from them. The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said everyone inside the three homes got out before they arrived. One cat was found and the city's animal services agency provided temporary support. There were no injuries were reported. Crews began extinguishing the fire, having the scene under control shortly after 3 p.m. Damages estimates are not available as the fire is under investigation.
Winnipeg Free Press
23-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
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.
CBC
19-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Winnipeg lifts fire ban after some rain, colder weather
A fire ban that was in place in the City of Winnipeg has expired. The city said in a release Monday that the ban barring residents from using some barbecues, among other activities, will not be renewed. The two-week ban went into effect on May 5 amid a higher-than-normal number of grass fires earlier this spring, according to the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service. Open fires, backyard fire pits, fireworks and fire pits in city parks as well as the use of solid fuel-burning appliances were not allowed during the two-week period. "The conditions right now didn't lead to extending that fire ban," said Lisa Gilmour, assistant chief of community risk reduction with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service. "We've got some precipitation, the temperatures aren't as hot, the winds aren't as strong, and the precipitation … was over an extended period of time and a lot of it was kind of able to be absorbed into the ground."
