Happy International Human Rights Day! In our last installment of Our City this Week, good deeds and outreach initiatives abound! Also in this week’s news, a $5 million dollar donation is put towards making Winnipeg a human rights research hub, a federal agreement is made with Manitoba chiefs, a new Senator from Manitoba is named, and much more.

Missing Persons Alert

Kyle Fortier

Winnipeg police are asking for the public’s help to find a missing 23-year-old man.

Kyle Fortier was last seen in the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 8.

He’s five feet 10 inches tall and has a thin build, weighing about 110 or 120 pounds, police say. He has a goatee, brown or hazel-coloured eyes and short, medium-brown hair.

Fortier was wearing a navy blue hoodie, black jacket, blue jeans and brown runners the last time he was seen.

Police say they are concerned about Fortier. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call the Missing Persons Unit at 204-986-6250.

Norman Thompson
Winnipeg police have asked for help finding a missing teenage boy.

Norman Thompson, 15, last made contact with friends in the early hours of Nov. 10, police said. He’s described as five feet two inches tall and 120 pounds, with short dark hair. He was last seen wearing a green hoodie and dark blue sweat pants.

Winnipeg Police Service says it’s concerned about Thompson’s well-being. Anyone with information can call the missing persons unit at 204-986-6250.

Peri Ann Spence
RCMP are asking the public for help locating a missing girl who they say is “extremely vulnerable and at risk for exploitation.”

Peri Ann Spence, 16, was reported last seen Oct. 16 at 2 p.m. when she left a residence on Pacific Avenue in Winnipeg, where she had been visiting friends.

Spence is described as five-foot-two and 119 pounds with long, straight black hair and brown eyes. She has been in contact with friends and family, but has not returned home, RCMP said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Lundar RCMP at 204-762-5088 or Manitoba Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477. Anonymous tips can also be submitted online or by texting “TIPMAN” plus a message to CRIMES (274637).

Pam Sandhu

Winnipeg police are asking for the public’s help tracking down a missing 23-year-old woman. Pam Sandhu was last seen in the South Pointe area of Winnipeg Tuesday evening.

Sandhu is 5’6″ tall, 154 lbs., with long brown hair. Police say they are concerned about Sandhu’s well-being. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call police at 204-986-6250.

Donald King

Winnipeg police are looking for a senior who hasn’t been seen in a week. Police sayDonald King, 63, was last seen on the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 3 in Windsor Park. Officers are concerned for his well-being.

King is six feet one inches tall and has a slim build and short white hair with stubble on his face. He was last seen wearing glasses with dark rims, a black sweater, blue jeans, grey shoes, a plaid scarf and a tan satchel.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Winnipeg Police Service’s Missing Persons Unit at 204-986-6250.

Taya Guimond

Police in Powerview, Man., are asking for the public’s help finding a missing 16-year-old girl. Taya Guimond was last seen in Powerview Oct. 2 and RCMP believe she may now be in Winnipeg or Selkirk.

Guimond is described as being 5’3″ tall, with a heavier build, brown eyes and straight, shoulder-length black hair. Police are concerned for Guimond’s well-being and ask anyone with information on her whereabouts to call Powerview RCMP at 204-367-8728.

Ethan Sumner

Oakbank RCMP are asking Winnipeggers to keep an eye out for a “vulnerable, at-risk youth” who might be in the city. Ethan Sumner, 17, was reported missing on Thursday at about 10:20 p.m., the Mounties say. He was then spotted a few hours later near Vimy Ridge Memorial Park on Portage Avenue. He has not been seen since.

The teen is described as five feet five inches tall, 145 pounds, with brown eyes and dark hair. He was last seen wearing cargo shorts, a dark shirt and a cream-coloured toque. He also might be wearing a camo-coloured hoodie. Sumner is known to hang around on Selkirk Avenue near Salter street. Anyone with information is asked to call the Oakbank RCMP at 204-444-3391.

Scott Hadath

The family of a Winnipeg man who has been missing since Monday is desperate to find their loved one who disappeared after getting off work. “We’re very distraught right now,” Robert Hadath told CBC Thursday.His brother Scott Hadath has been missing since Monday afternoon when he got off work around 3 p.m. from his job at Canadian Tire on Fermor Avenue. Winnipeg police and Manitoba RCMP are now searching for the missing 39-year-old.

“This is just not something that you’d expect from Scott,” his brother said. “It’s just out of character for him, so we have no idea what to think at this point.” He’s very reliable.” Hadath, who lives with his mother in the Windsor Park area of Winnipeg, said family started to get worried after his brother didn’t show up for work on Tuesday and they couldn’t get in touch with him on his cellphone.
“Generally if he would go out, he would go out maybe for a couple hours, right, and then he’d be back,” Hadath said. Hadath said friends and family have searched everywhere they can think Scott might be, including the Whiteshell area, where his family owns a cabin, and are desperate to find him. “It’s quite the emotional roller-coaster,” he said. Scott Hadath is described as 5-foot-10 with a heavy build, a beard and hazel eyes.

Scott Hadath is believed to be driving a 2015 black Mini Cooper with Manitoba licence plate HJB 662. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call the Winnipeg missing persons unit at 204-986-6250.

Poverty & Community Outreach

• National housing strategy a way to change face of neighbourhoods: Winnipeg Free Press
• A lesson in giving: Winnipeg Free Press
• Breakfast of champions: Winnipeg Free Press
• Many steps taken to help accessible arts programming: Winnipeg Free Press
• Winnipegger flips traditional advent calendar on its head: CBC
• Winnipeg’s Pakistani community holds vigil for victims of attack at a Pakistani school: CBC
• Angel Squad swaps coffee and smiles for donations from Winnipeg drivers: CBC
• The crime: lack of transparency: Winnipeg Free Press
• Mother of girl who died in Churchill boating accident leading food drive for northern town: CBC
• Ski pants and bags of fruit: Gift requests from Winnipeg kids bring tears to paramedic’s eyes: CBC
• Harvesting Hope 2017: $107K raised so far during CBC Manitoba’s weekend-long drive for Winnipeg Harvest: CBC
• ‘This is who I am’: Photographers take free portraits at Siloam Mission: CBC
• Salvation Army serves early Christmas dinner to 1,000 Winnipeggers in need:CBC
• Pricked by needle, Bear Clan leader calls for Winnipeg safe injection site: CBC
• Donation from local philanthropist launches guide dog program for the blind: Winnipeg Free Press
• ‘Lives are being lost’: Bruce Oake Recovery Centre supporters host heated community meeting: CBC
• Family fears for safety after brick hurled through window, narrowly missing baby:CBC
• Five-million dollar donation to U of M could make city a human-rights research hub: Winnipeg Free Press, CBC

Gender & Sexuality

• Pride Winnipeg reverses decision to change festival dates: Winnipeg Free Press, CBC

Refugees & Race

• Laconic, sardonic look at Syrian refugee life: Winnipeg Free Press
• Immigrant family can stay in Canada, grateful for public support: Winnipeg Free Press

Environment

• ‘Good news to report’: Early spring flood forecast says risk is low in Manitoba: CBC

Health

• A case of ambulance ambiguity: Winnipeg Free Press
• City studying costs of getting out of ambulance service: Winnipeg Free Press
• Province rejects criticism over personal care homes: Winnipeg Free Press
• New women’s hospital on budget, but delays mean it won’t open until 2019, WRHA says: CBC
• Province to monitor St. B air quality in response to residents’ complaints: Winnipeg Free Press, CBC
• Do cleaning products pose a threat to our health?: Winnipeg Free Press
• Province’s new health report takes aim at cutting back on bureaucracy: Winnipeg Free Press

Indigenous

• Missing Garden Hill First Nation teen found dead kilometres from community: CBC
• Guilty plea in death of 11-year-old girl on northern Manitoba First Nation: Winnipeg Free Press, CBC, Globe & Mail
• Elementary school students rewriting the TRC’s calls to action… as poetry: CBC
• Help for First Nations men abused as kids: Winnipeg Free Press
• Métis man receives cold housewarming: Winnipeg Free Press
• Feds to spend $400M on Indian Act: Winnipeg Free Press
• ‘Historic’ federal agreement will bring more accountability to Manitoba child welfare system: grand chief: CBC
• On-reserve portion of Freedom Road complete, Shoal Lake 40 chief says: CBC
• Manitoba chiefs get funding to help reform Indigenous child welfare: Winnipeg Free Press
• AFN chiefs back resolution calling on MMIWG chief commissioner to resign:CBC
• A quiet success story: Winnipeg Free Press

Justice & Crime

• They have a lot to teach us‘: Inmates call for Canadian justice reform in journal:CBC
• Men charged with stealing fentanyl from ambulance: Winnipeg Free Press
• Sisters sentenced for fatal stabbing: Winnipeg Free Press
• Police ask public for information on man who was disarmed, restrained by bystanders Saturday: CBC
• Winnipeg man in coma after ordeal outside store on Main Street: CBC
• Marijuana, pills, cocaine seized in schools across Winnipeg: CBC

• ‘Shake-and-bake’ bombs sent to Winnipeg law firms made from household cleaners, says explosives expert: CBC
• Handwriting analyst can’t determine whether accused bomber addressed packages: Winnipeg Free Press
• Guido Amsel handwriting sample comparison inconclusive: FBI expert: CBC
• Accused linked to bombings through DNA, court told: Winnipeg Free Press
• Amsel’s trial for attempted murder hears from RCMP explosives expert: Winnipeg Free Press
• Cop accused of sexual assault takes the stand, sees some criminal charges dropped: Winnipeg Free Press
• Cop accused of harassment, sexual assault says he approached women as sources, not for sex: CBC
• Defence attacks witness credibility: Winnipeg Free Press, CBC
• Judge postpones bail hearing for woman convicted of hiding dead babies: Winnipeg Free Press
• Fears of witness intimidation, destruction of evidence revealed in Caspian case:CBC
• Unlicensed osteopathic therapist pleads guilty to 5 counts of sexual assault:CBC

Politics

• Trudeau names 2 new senators, including Canada’s 1st female Indigenous dentist:CBC
• ‘Inappropriate, humiliating’: Liberal MP accuses Conservative of unwanted sexual remarks: CBC, Winnipeg Free Press
• Manitoba MP called out for “threesome” remarks: Winnipeg Free Press

• Premier under fire for thanking chamber chair for wearing high heels, says comment was joke about height: CBC
• Premier ‘meant no offence‘ with high heels remark: Winnipeg Free Press
• Chamber chair laments premier’s quips about her high heels: Winnipeg Free Press, CBC
• Premier’s high-heel blunder latest in a history of gaffes: Winnipeg Free Press
• Province expanding, strengthening whistleblower protection: Winnipeg Free Press
• Manitoba’s top business leaders will help chart bold new economic strategy for province, Pallister vows: Winnipeg Free Press
• Tories promise decision on funding for Inuit Art Centre before new year: Winnipeg Free Press
• Government to slash membership numbers on provincially appointed boards: Winnipeg Free Press
• Province may be first to axe newspaper notices: Winnipeg Free Press
• Opposition blasts plan to axe print notifications: Winnipeg Free Press
• Proposed North End Arts Centre on hold after funding freeze: CBC

• City hall to face wrath of residents over cuts to recreation programs: Winnipeg Free Press
• More buses, repairs to streets: Wyatt: Winnipeg Free Press
• City’s budget process gets C grade from think tank: Winnipeg Free Press
• City backs down on cuts to bus routes, fare increase remains: Winnipeg Free Press, CBC

Check out our human rights calendar for upcoming events!