Police say pellet-style gun used in mosque attack

Police investigators probing an attack on a Winnipeg mosque have determined the weapon used was likely an airsoft or pellet-style gun — not a firearm, as initially believed.

The Winnipeg Police Service said in an update Friday investigators have potentially linked the Wednesday night shooting at Rahma Islamic Centre to reports of similar damage at a home on the 600 block of Roberta Avenue.

“The incident is reported to have occurred at 10:15 p.m. on the same evening, and damage to the windows of the residence is believed to have been caused by an airsoft or pellet-style gun as well,” the news release said.

“Due to the proximity and time frame of both incidents, investigators are attempting to determine if the incidents are related.”

On eve of Folklorama, Ghana pavilion scrambles to replace stolen outfits

Volunteers from Folklorama’s Ghana pavilion scrambled to replace cultural costumes for about 40 young dancers after the outfits were stolen in Winnipeg days before the annual festival begins.

Two plastic storage bins containing the costumes, to be worn by children and teenagers, were taken from the trunk of a parked car on Banning Street, near Notre Dame Avenue in the West End, likely late Wednesday or early Thursday.

“I felt sad that this has happened. I felt completely devastated for the mother who had them in her car,” said pavilion co-ordinator Abigail Larson. “The initial feeling of sadness changed to, ‘OK, how do we make this a positive?’”

The costumes belong to the Ghana Union of Manitoba Dancers, whose members have rehearsed for months for Folklorama, which begins Sunday.

Hydro scrambling to restore power to remaining 4,500 customers after storm; some outages will continue into Saturday

Power outages could stretch into a third day for some Manitobans — mainly in and around Winnipeg — while crews continued to repair widespread damage caused by powerful thunderstorms.

About 4,500 Manitoba Hydro customers were still without electricity at 2:30 p.m. Friday, after more than 30,000 lost power while powerful winds brought down trees and power lines Wednesday night and early Thursday.

The Crown corporation said it is aiming to have all outages with greater numbers of customers restored by Friday night, but some customers may remain without power into Saturday.

“The challenge is just the sheer scale of this thing — hundreds of different outages spread across a large part of the city,” Hydro spokesman Peter Chura said. “Just getting to all of them in a timely fashion is very difficult.”

Chinese newcomers protest over delays in security screening clearance

Dozens of Chinese newcomers rallied outside Winnipeg’s federal immigration office Friday to protest what they describe as untenable delays to Canada’s security screening process.

The rally against Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada comes after a surge in immigration security screening requests created backlogs for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

Protesters said the resulting delays have left them in limbo as they try to obtain permanent residency.

“We just want transparency,” said Pakying Chau, 26, who travelled from Hong Kong to Winnipeg in 2018 to study agribusiness.

Government wants public input on use of AI

The province says it’s taking the lead when it comes to cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, but is it moving in the right direction?

Manitoba law meant to aid survivors of child sexual abuse imagery has never been put to the test

A Manitoba law meant to provide financial support to survivors of child sexual abuse that was recorded and distributed online has never once been used in its 15 years of existence, the Free Press has learned.

WestJet begins grounding planes ahead of potential flight attendants strike

TORONTO - WestJet says it has begun parking aircraft ahead of a possible strike by flight attendants and says passengers are advised to check the status of their flight before leaving for the airport.

Airlines typically begin cancelling flights ahead of a potential work stoppage because it prevents crew and passengers from being stranded.

WestJet says it is continuing to bargain with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 4,400 flight attendants in the hope of reaching agreement on a new contract. 

If a deal is not reached by Sunday morning, either side could begin a work stoppage that would see hundreds of flights cancelled during a long weekend in much of the country.

Giant Tiger to close downtown, area residents bemoan dwindling grocery options

One of the only remaining grocery-store options for people living downtown and in the Exchange District is closing its doors.

Red notices on the windows at Giant Tiger’s Donald Street and Ellice Avenue location advised passersby the store will close on Nov. 7.

Chain spokesperson Jessica Charbonneau said in an email the decision to shutter stores is “not taken lightly and is made with careful consideration and thorough analysis.”

The store was busy Thursday afternoon.