Local News Briefs

Native women’s summit criticized

Aboriginal groups fear an upcoming national summit on native women is unable to address street level issues that require community-oriented solutions due to its academic focus, the Winnipeg Free Press reports. The National Aboriginal Women’s Summit III (NAWS) will be held in Winnipeg Nov. 1 to 2. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, and the Southern Chiefs Organization are criticizing the event. “Solutions exist in the communities, not from closed boardrooms,” AMC Grand Chief told the Free Press. According to the Native Women’s Association of Canada, 81 per cent of murder cases in Manitoba involve First Nations or other indigenous women, compared to 61 per cent nationally.

Two inner-city grocery stores announce closure

Both the Zellers grocery store in the basement of The Bay and the Extra Foods on Notre Dame Avenue have announced plans to close, the Winnipeg Free Press reports.  Zellers, closing March 13, 2013, offered fairly-priced produce to nearby residents who rely on walking to conduct their daily business.  Extra Foods, to close Nov. 24, is not releasing any information on the future of the property.  Residents are decrying the loss of discount grocers in the area. Losing a grocery store can negatively impact the health of a community, as eating healthy becomes more expensive and less accessible, local agencies say.

Fifth arrest in Bruce homicide

Winnipeg police have made a fifth arrest in the murder of Paris Bruce, the Winnipeg Sun reports. On Oct. 17, police arrested 18-year-old Colin Ray Monkman. Charged with manslaughter, Monkman joins Gregory James Myerion, Warner Dairren Flett, Richard Daniel Beaulieu, and Michael James Guimond alleged to have killed Bruce in a Sept. 4 attack. Bruce, who had alleged ties to local gang the Most Organized Brothers, commonly known as the MOB, died days after the attack. Court records claim Beaulieu and Guimond are both associated with the Indian Posse gang. Last year, the two gangs were involved in a feud that resulted in the death of Clarky Stevenson and David Vincett.

Katz sells company back to Sheegl

Mayor Sam Katz has sold the shell company he bought for $1 from personal friend and Winnipeeg’s chief administrative officer, Phil Sheegl, back to its original owner, the Winnipeg Sun reports. On Oct. 18, Katz confirmed the sale of Duddy Enterprises LLC back to Sheegl. The agreement was completed last month, the Sun reports.  Originally confident in his decision to buy the company in March, Katz said he regretted the deal in hindsight.

Zoo to house endangered horses

A pair of male Przewalski’s horses are the first in the 108-year history of the Assiniboine Park Zoo, the Winnipeg Free Press reports. The endangered species, originating in Mongolia, are smaller than most domestic horses, weighing 200 to 340 kilograms. Tim Sinclair Smith, the zoo’s director of zoological operations, said the zoo’s visitors would not ordinarily have a chance to see this particularly rare species. Przewalski’s horses are the last surviving subspecies of the wild horse. Once declared extinct, they were reassessed in 2008 after successfully being re-introduced to the wild.

Published in Volume 67, Number 8 of The Uniter (October 24, 2012)

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