Winnipegger sues Uber

A Winnipeg woman is suing rideshare tech giant Uber after she says she was sexually assaulted by one of its drivers. The suit, filed on March 15, claims the driver assaulted her after she fell asleep during a ride in December. She alleges that after she filed a complaint with Uber through the app, she was locked out of the account. Uber declined to comment on the case.

Federal ministers visit U of W

Three federal ministers, along with five of their staffers, visited the University of Winnipeg on Wednesday, March 27. Liberal MPs Jonathan Wilkinson (minister of energy and natural resources), Anita Anand (president of the treasury board) and Dan Vandal (minister of Prairies Economic Development Canada, Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and Northern Affairs) attended a class, met with students and were available to answer questions.

Amy Mazowita artist talk at 1C03

Gallery 1C03, the official art gallery of the University of Winnipeg, will host an artist talk by emerging scholar Amy Mazowita. Mazowita will discuss Life of Fire: An Ethnography of Smoke, Flame, Ash, and Earth, her photography research exhibit examining the impacts of fire on Whiteshell Provincial Park. The talk will be held over Zoom on April 2 at 8:30 a.m. To register, visit bit.ly/4crarGe.

Alleged human smuggler pleads ‘not guilty’

The suspect in a human smuggling case that resulted in a family of four freezing to death along the Manitoba-US border has pleaded not guilty in his Minnesota trial. Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel is accused of helping illegally smuggle migrants across the Canada-US border. Among those migrants were the family of Jagdish and Vaishaliben Patel, including their two young children, who travelled from rural India. The Patels were sent to cross the border on foot without adequate warm clothing, which killed them.

Ten Ten Sinclair strike ends

160 healthcare workers have a new contract after a weeks-long strike. The workers are staff at Ten Ten Sinclair Hous- ing, which provides homes and appropriate care for 100 Winnipeggers with disabilities across seven facilities. Residents spoke out about the lack of adequate treatment they received during the strike, including in a letter by Myles Taylor published in the March 21 issue of The Uniter.

Feds probe alleged China spying in Winnipeg

Federal immigration officials are holding a third immigration hearing for Winnipeg resident Huajie Xu. Xu, who moved to Canada from China in 2021, is a veteran of China’s army, where he achieved the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Specifically, he taught for 20 years at the army’s Information Engineering University, which specializes in cyber and information warfare. Canadian officials say Xu could be involved in spying against Canada, while he compared his decades of lecture work to that of a cook or janitor. Feds also approved a probe into Chinese espionage at Winnipeg’s National Microbiology lab.

Published in Volume 78, Number 23 of The Uniter (March 28, 2024)