St. Andrews looks to lighten lagoon's load

RECORD PHOTO BY AUSTIN GRABISH

Officials with the RM of St. Andrews hope chemicals will break down solids in this Petersfield sewage lagoon so dumping by haulers can resume.

By Austin Grabish, The Selkirk Record

Officials with the RM of St. Andrews are hopeful chemicals will reduce levels in a stagnant Petersfield lagoon, but offered no timeline as to when the much needed release could happen at last Tuesday’s council meeting.

Coun. Elmer Keryluk said environmental officials hired by the RM should be able to add chemicals that will break down most of the solids in the lagoon “quite soon.”

“They have guaranteed to reduce it,” Keryluk said.

The chemicals are made up of bacteria and will disintegrate the solids in the lagoon, Keryluk said.

But no official date as to when the work could begin was given.

Mayor George Pike said ice on the lagoon had brought plans to have it flushed in recent months to a standstill.

The ice appeared to have melted when the Record visited the sewage pool last Thursday.

Council also wasn’t sure how long the breakdown of the solids will take once treatment begins.

“Well we hope it goes down quickly we’re not sure,” Keryluk said.

“We’ve been guaranteed that they’ll remove up to (80 per cent) of the solids so we’ll keep adding chemicals until they reach that point.”

Pike said the RM is working with Conservation on the issue.

“They’re the rulers of how it is and everything else so before we discharge we have to make sure it complies with all the rules and regulations,” Pike said.

A provincial spokesperson said Conservation will continue to monitor the status of the lagoon, and will work with the RM.

The lagoon has been at capacity for months, and has caused an uproar with some area residents who say the costs they pay to have their sewage removed has skyrocketed.

Haulers who were pumping their loads in the lagoon have since been forced to drop off their sewage in Winnipeg or a neighbouring municipality, and have passed on the additional transportation and levy costs to customers.

RM officials believe several haulers from other municipalities caused the lagoon to reach its tipping point.

Pike told the Record in March the haulers were dumping regularly for free in the lagoon when they shouldn’t have been.

The provincial spokesperson said no haulers have been allowed to dump at the lagoon since March 18.

 -- First published in the Selkirk Record print edition April 23 2015 p.10

Rookie councillor ruffling feathers in St. Andrews

Joy Sul claims CAO's contract is not valid 

St. Andrews CAO Sue Sutherland had her salary challenged by rookie councillor Joy Sul.

By Austin Grabish, The Selkirk Record

The salary of St. Andrews top staffer came into question last Tuesday after a rookie councillor demanded to see proof the municipality’s former council approved the chief administrative officer’s current pay.

Coun. Joy Sul halted an initial motion to have minutes from the March 24 council meeting adopted due to what she called an “invalid” contract.

“I just have one concern,” said Sul before raising her concern.

Sul demanded the minutes in question be amended to state chief administrative officer Sue Sutherland’s contract is not valid.

Sutherland, frustrated, and perplexed, asked Sul “If it’s signed why is it invalid?”

Sul said because there is no date on the contract it is not valid.

“You currently do not have a contract so it’s not valid,” she said.

A war of words between Sul and Sutherland followed after the amendment request was made.

Sul insistent the words “not valid” appear in the minutes, which were eventually amended and carried.

Sul went on to ask Sutherland for the date of the contract, as there are now believed to be four contracts between Sutherland and the RM.

“There’s different contracts for different parts of my job,” Sutherland said.

Sutherland told council she does have a valid contract, which is signed. “You guys just haven’t seen it yet,” she said.

“It’s a recent one 2012 or whatever.”

Sul’s request to see the salary contracts relating to Sutherland stems from council meetings earlier this year. “This has already been over two months,” Sul said.

Sutherland told Sul she’s been working diligently to find the contracts, and said it’s taken a great effort, because she’s had to dig into records almost 10 years old.

“I’ve been doing this at home it takes me over 40 hours. It takes me one whole evening to go through each year,” Sutherland said.

Sul told Sutherland she does not need to go back several years, and could start in 2010, the year she believes the last valid contract was signed.

But Sutherland said she does need to dig deep, “That’s what you requested,” she said.

Sul denied Sutherland’s claim, “No I did not. I have it in writing,” she said.

Sul was making the info request as chair of the governance committee. She also asked Sutherland to produce council resolutions showing how she’s arrived at her current salary, which was not disclosed at the meeting.

St. Andrews Mayor George Pike urged Sutherland to find the document in question. 

“We need the report as soon as possible,” Pike said.

Sutherland agreed to provide council with a copy of the report by May 1.

 -- First published in the Selkirk Record print edition April 23 2015 p.3

Selkirk set to pull Handi-Bus funding

RECORD FILE PHOTO BY AUSTIN GRABISH

Selkirk and District Handi-Bus will lose thousands in funding from the City of Selkirk in two weeks.

By Austin Grabish, The Selkirk Record

The clock is ticking for Selkirk and District Handi-Bus.

The organization has just two weeks before it loses thousands in funding from at least one, but possibly three municipalities.

On April 30 all funding to the organization from the City of Selkirk will cease.

The City has provided the bus service with a $30,000 annual grant for several years.

Officials with Handi-Bus were unsure at press time Monday if St. Andrews or St. Clements would continue to provide grants to the bus service.

The move by the City follows an online notice that it and the two other municipalities posted in February.

The notice said the councils expect Handi-Bus to be transparent, fiscally responsible and follow sound operating practices.

The municipalities struck a joint committee earlier this year after concerns about persistent financial and operating challenges were raised, the notice said.

“The City of Selkirk has all but told Handi-Bus we don’t want your service,” said Brad Bell, a board member with the non-profit group.

Bell said Handi-Bus was informed by the City of Selkirk at a February meeting it would stop funding the organization all together, and instead proceed with its own special bus service.

In the online notice the municipalities said they have a responsibility to ensure citizens have access to “a safe and reliable handi-transit service.”

The notice went on to say an “alternative service model” was being explored.

City of Selkirk chief administrative officer Duane Nicol refused to discuss details about any new bus service during a phone interview Monday.

“There is no specific model that I could discuss at this point,” he said.

Nicol went on to say the City wouldn’t be commenting further about its turf with Handi-Bus.

“We’re not really looking to engage in a conversation about the specifics of this situation through the media,” Nicol said.

“We don’t think it’s helpful.”

Nicol said the City clearly communicated concerns it had with Handi-Bus on several occasions, but those concerns were not addressed, he said.

“That’s sort of caused the need for the three municipalities to pass the resolution and take some more formal action.”

Nicol refused say what specific concerns the City has with the bus service, but said City staffers tried to address the issues with the organization at a meeting, and “Their response was no that they didn’t see the value of that meeting,” Nicol said.

Bell said City’s decision to pull funding is a huge blow to the organization and leaves it with no choice, but to raise rates for users.

Board member Sharon Wasny said the price clients pay for a ride will skyrocket.

She said currently a one-way trip from St. Andrews or St. Clements to Selkirk costs $12.

Starting May 1 there will no longer be a flat rate charged, and instead users will have to pay $2.70 per kilometre.

“Not all of our clients can afford those kind of rates,” Wasny said.

“It’s a shame,” added Bell.

Bell accused the City of playing political games with Handi-Bus.

He said the turf is eerily similar to a recent public dispute between former Winnipeg women’s shelter Osborne House and the province.

“The City of Selkirk is pulling an Osborne House on the Handi-Bus, because they want to have commanding control,” Bell said.

But months of internal turmoil have plagued Handi-Bus.

Several board members and organization staffers have either resigned or been fired in recent months.

Bell only joined the Handi-Bus board in December, and said, “As soon as I joined on it was in turmoil, and it still is in turmoil,” he said.  

Nicol said he’s disappointed to hear rates will rise for users.

“We’ve been made aware of the cost increases, and we think that that’s unfortunate,” Nicol said.

 -- First published in the Selkirk Record print edition April 16 2015 p.11

Local boy making waves with his music

By Austin Grabish, The Selkirk Record

He’s only 17-years-old, but Selkirk native Goody Grace might just be Selkirk’s fastest rising star.

Grace has made a name for himself in recent years, and hit the peak of his musical career last Tuesday when he opened for Australian singer Cody Simpson at a sold-out show in Toronto.

Grace is signed with Bananabeat Records, a Los Angeles label, founded by American producer and singer-songwriter Cisco Adler.

Signing with Bananabeat last year launched the beginning of a new path for Grace, who already had been working as an independent artist for several years.    

Grace had used YouTube as his medium for his work prior to his signing with the label, and used to upload covers and music videos to the site, but that all changed when he signed with Bananabeat last year.

“I got in contact with Cisco Adler and signed a record deal, and since then we’ve just been working on all of my new stuff,” Grace said.

Grace feels signing with the label was his ‘big break’ into the industry.

“Because I had no real style before. I just loved playing guitar and writing songs,” he said.

Grace grew-up in Selkirk and remembers playing the guitar when he was as young as five.

He’s had a love for music his whole life and was already writing several songs when he was 11.

He attended Grade 10 at the Comp for a year and then made a decision to continue school remotely the year after before drifting off to the States to work with Bananabeat.

KAYLA BAKER / KAYLASHEAPHOTO.COM

“For the majority of 2014 I was in Los Angeles just working on my music and really perfecting my sound before we start releasing it,” Grace said.

The Selkirk-born boy said his family wasn’t reluctant in allowing him to go to L.A.

“Always supportive of everything,” he said.

Grace doesn’t have any of the material he crafted in Los Angeles released yet, but hinted some of the songs could be out in the near future. 

“I’ve been producing a lot of music videos and stuff so we’re just getting really everything lined up,” Grace said.

And Grace does have a sneak preview of “West Side,” a song he wrote and produced by Adler that’s up online on SoundCloud.

Grace’s plan for the future is simple, he says.

“My goals are just to release music and have it go over well.”

Grace will be 18 in June and would like to move to the States to further perfect his work.

“I eventually do want to relocate to Los Angeles and work more there and stuff,” Grace said.

“I’m very excited for the future and for everything that’s to come.”

 -- First published in the Selkirk Record print edition April 16 2015 p.3

Goody plays huge show in TO

RECORD PHOTO COURTESY KAYLA BAKER / KAYLASHEAPHOTO.COM

Selkirk singer and songwriter Goody Grace, 17, opened for Australian singer Cody Simpson in Toronto last Tuesday.

By Austin Grabish, The Selkirk Record

A local up-and-coming teenage singer-songwriter had his first stint as the opening act for a big name in Toronto last Tuesday.

Goody Grace, 17, opened for Australian pop singer and actor Cody Simpson at a sold-out show at the Opera House in Toronto.

Grace said opening for 18-year-old Simpson was exhilarating. 

“This was my biggest show so far,” Grace said.

Grace had a 20-minute set and performed four songs, which included Blank Space, a cover by Taylor Swift.

The other three songs were originals written by Grace and were: Youngest We’ll Ever Be, Small Town, and West Side.

The rest of the concert went on for about two hours, Grace said.

Grace said the crowd roared with elation at the concert, and many fans echoed the cheer for Grace on social media following the show. 

“It was great. I got a great response from the crowd and everyone. It was really good the crowd was super awesome and supportive,” Grace said.

Grace met Simpson last November in Los Angeles while he was working with American music producer Cisco Adler on his own music.

KAYLA BAKER / KAYLASHEAPHOTO.COM

Adler, Simpson, and Grace joined forces to write a song called “Flower,” which was Simpson’s first single since leaving Atlantic Records.

Adler is now producing for Simpson. “Flower” was released in February followed by a short-run tour across North America, which included last week’s stop in Toronto.

“It just was fitting that I’m Canadian so me and Cisco and him all set it up, and then I flew out there the day of and it was a sold-out show,” Grace said.

Simpson is scheduled to start touring Europe next Wednesday.

Grace said co-writing the song with Simpson was a huge accomplishment, because the song is the first the Australian singer has released since becoming independent and rebranding himself.

“So that was a big deal because that was the first real release of his new stuff,” Grace said.

“Flower” is the first single off Simpson’s new album entitled “Free,” which is slated to be released in June.

 -- First published in the Selkirk Record print edition April 16 2015 p.3

Selkirk made movie set to hit theatres

RECORD PHOTO BY AUSTIN GRABISH

Lucas Till, seen in this 2013 file photo, is the lead actor in Bravetown, which hits theatres next month.

By Austin Grabish, The Selkirk Record

A large motion picture that was shot in the City of Selkirk two years ago will hit theatres next month.

A trailer for the movie ‘Bravetown’ was released to the public last Wednesday making the movie’s May 8 premiere official.

‘Bravetown’, originally entitled ‘Strings’, was shot in Selkirk, Winnipeg, and Cooks Creek during the summer of 2013.

The indie film is about Josh Harvest, a troubled American teenager, who gets sent to live with his dad in a small town in North Dakota after coming into contact with the wrong side of the law.

Lucas Till (X-Men series) plays the New York City teenager who is shipped away by his mother to live with his estranged father Alex.

Josh Duhamel stars as the dad and other big names like Kherington Payne (Fame) and Maria Bello (Prisoners) are also in the film.

Harvest is a talented DJ and comes out of his shell to help turn his school’s dance team around.

He becomes involved with Mary (played by Payne), the captain of the team, and helps to bring positivity to the American town, where many families have lost loved ones to the war.

But his life as the hottest DJ in town takes an expected turn in the film.

Several parts of the Bravetown trailer, which is just over two minutes in length, show scenes that were shot in Selkirk.

The blue bridge that crosses over the Red River in Selkirk is shown as is Manitoba Avenue and the Comp.

Crews filmed several parts of the movie at the Comp and used the school’s cafeteria, gym, and offices for the film.

Many local residents starred as extras in the film. 

The movie was originally slated to hit theatres last spring, but no information on the film was released until last week.

Bravetown is the first movie that Till has stared in as a DJ.

The Los Angeles-based actor told the Record in 2013 that he struggled at first with the role, but eventually rose to the occasion saying he reached a “pinnacle.”

The release of the film’s trailer appeared to be welcomed online.

@joshduhamel I'm so excited for #Bravetown Josh!!!
— Giulia (@AileenLloyd) April 12, 2015

@joshduhamel Just saw the trailer of Bravetown - certainly looks thought-provoking, inspiring and well acted. Looking forward to seeing it.
— Mary S-Flynn (@mptflynn) April 12, 2015

Bravetown is in theatres next month starting on May 8 and will also be available on-demand.

 -- First published in the Selkirk Record print edition April 16 2015 p.7

10 teens narrowly escape cabin fire

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Rubble is all that is left from an Albert Beach cottage that burned to the ground last Wednesday.

By Austin Grabish, The Selkirk Record

Ten Winnipeg teenagers are lucky to be alive, and may not have made it out of an early-morning fire if it wasn’t for the quick thinking of one of their peers last Wednesday.

The Grade 12 students were asleep when flames began to rip through the Albert Beach cottage they were staying in.

No one was injured in the fire, but the owner of the cabin on Lakewood Street, says the outcome could have been very different if it weren’t for some quick thinking by one of the students.

Nathalie Kleinschmit said one of the boys staying at the cabin woke up to the sound of glass breaking at around 5:30 a.m., realized there was a fire, and then began waking up the rest of the students.

Kleinschmit wouldn’t give the name of the boy, but called him a “Hero who kind of saved the day,” noting the cabin had no smoke detector installed.

“If that boy hadn’t woken up with the sound of glass all 10 would have died,” Kleinschmit said.

“There’s no doubt about that.”

Kleinschmit said the boy, who is 18, managed to get all of his friends out of the cabin before it went up in flames, but it was a close call, she said.

“The last one who left the cabin turned around and saw the wall fall down with the flames and that’s when the whole thing went up in,” Kleinschmit said.

“It was literally minutes if not seconds.”

There was no official word on the cause of the fire by press time, but Kleinschmit believes it started from a space heater that was plugged in a room the students weren’t in.

“They left it because they thought someone was going to sleep there and in the end they didn’t,” Kleinschmit said.

Kleinschmit also denied claims there was a rowdy party at the cabin, but confirmed the students were playing with firecrackers.

Neighbours told reporters the students were partying well into the middle of the night, and were setting off the firecrackers.

The students were celebrating spring break at the cabin.

“It’s always been a tradition to go out to the lake when the weather is fine and spend the night,” Kleinschmit said.

They’re a very very close group.”

Kleinschmit is now calling on all cabin owners to install smoke detectors.

“Honestly please people put (in) fire detectors.”

“It would have given them the extra 10 minutes.”

 -- First published in the Selkirk Record print edition April 9 2015 p.2

Construction for rehab centre on track

Aurora Recovery Centre will replace former Misty Lake Lodge this June

RECORD PHOTO BY AUSTIN GRABISH

The Aurora Recovery Centre is a dream come true for former drug addict Ian Rabb.

By Austin Grabish, The Selkirk Record

Construction on a new $8-million rehab centre in Gimli is well underway, and clients could start pouring through the doors as early as June 1^st. 

Reporters and investors got a sneak peek of the new Aurora Recovery Centre on Monday.

Aurora is in the old Misty Lake Lodge and Conference Centre and has been completely gutted, but a ton of work needs to be finished before doors can officially be opened.

But Marni Larkin, the chief operating officer for the project, said construction is on track, and crews will be working hard over the next two months to ensure clients can start coming in June.

“There are a number of people who are desperately waiting to benefit from the facility,” Larkin said.

A number of addicts who need help have already reached out to Aurora, and the building could be full at opening time, Larkin said.

The new Centre will house a medical detox clinic, and will serve as many as 68 clients on any given day.

Alcoholics, drug addicts, and gamblers will all walk through the doors at Aurora.

Canadians will be given preference, but clients will also come from the United States.

Clients will live at the Centre for varied amounts of time, but will be in programming put on by Aurora for up to two years.

“There’s no really such thing as a 28-day program anymore,” said Ian Rabb, the founder and co-owner of Aurora.

Rabb said research shows when addicts have a connection with someone for two years their chances of staying clean and sober are stronger.

The Recovery Centre is a dream come true for Rabb, who is a former drug addict.

“I’m really excited,” Rabb said.

Rabb lost everything after becoming addicted to meth and other drugs in the ‘90s.

He turned his life around and has been clean for nearly 14 years, but knows the cost of an addiction.  

Financially, he lost of hundreds of thousands of dollars due to his drug use.

Personally, he lost friends, and his career as an optometrist.

“It ended up being costly,” Rabb said.

Also costly will be the price of a stay at Aurora, which is a for-profit venture.

Addicts will have to pay a whopping $900 for every day they stay at the centre.

Plans for a scholarship fund are in the works, and a dedicated complimentary spot for local residents will also be in place, but awards will ultimately depend on donations, Larkin said.

All patients who come to the Centre will have to go through a mandatory detox clinic, and before being allowed into a room they will be required to complete a urine test to prove they are clean.

“A lot of people come and lie about what they took,” Larkin said.

Strict rules will be in place at Aurora, and men and women won’t be allowed to fraternize. 

 “We’re very serious about that,” Larkin said.

Once inside the Centre, addicts will have no access to the outside world.

Security will search everyone who comes in the facility, and cell phones and other personal belongings will be confiscated at check-in.

Clients will be allowed to leave the property once they are well, and if a patient wants to withdrawal from the program completely they can, Larkin said.

She noted it usually takes two or three tries at rehab before an addict becomes completely clean.

 -- First published in the Selkirk Record print edition April 9 2015 p.18

From the streets of Chicago to Gimli

Former drug addict reflects on journey of recovery

EXPRESS PHOTO BY AUSTIN GRABISH

Ian Rabb, 50, is a former drug addict who turned his life around. He is planning on opening the Aurora Recovery Centre this June in Gimli. 

By Austin Grabish, The Express Weekly News

Ian Rabb didn’t expect to make it past his 40^th birthday.

It was the ’90s and Rabb was a 23-year-old meth addict living on the streets of Chicago. 

He had a regular itch for booze, coke, meth, and ecstasy, and even though Rabb saw life through the haze of addiction, he knew his life was spiraling out of control.

But an American DEA agent somehow managed to pull Rabb away from it all, and to this day Rabb credits her with saving his life.

The agent had arrested the former Winnipegger a handful of times before, but couldn’t fathom why the certified optometrist was on the streets.

“Like you don’t belong in this world. What’s up with you?” Rabb recalls the agent saying.

Rabb wasn’t supposed to be an addict. He came from a ‘good’ home and had a top-notch university education.

“I was not a kid that was throwing chairs at the teacher. I was not a kid that was getting drunk or high everyday. I was going to school and I was going to succeed,” Rabb said.

And succeed he did.

After completing an undergraduate degree from the University of Waterloo, Rabb went on to study at the Illinois College of Optometry.

And it was there the trouble began.

“In Chicago I just started crossing the line,” Rabb said.

At first it was just a weekend thing.

For Rabb, a hit here and there seemed harmless.

“It was a lot of fun in the beginning,” Rabb said.

But Rabb’s addiction to meth grew stronger.

“I ended up crossing some really ugly lines,” he said.

“And then it just started getting worse and worse and worse.

“I actually remember thinking ‘well I’m just going to party hard until I’m 40 and then die’. That was my goal.”

Rabb spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on meth and other narcotics, and was arrested numerous times.

He became involved with organized crime and the sex trade.

He hit rock bottom when he wound up homeless living on the streets of Chicago with his dog.

But it wasn’t until he moved in with his sister in Denver, Co., that he realized he had a problem.

“Not being able to change I realized that I was doomed.”

Refusing to stay clean Rabb quickly found himself living on the streets again.

He spent a total of 2 1/2 years homeless before making a decision to change his life.

It was a phone call to the DEA agent that changed everything.

“The day that I wanted out I woke up that morning and she’s the first person I called,” Rabb said.

The agent had given Rabb her personal cell number in case he ever wanted to get out.

Turns out he did.

Rabb returned home to Winnipeg shortly after the call, and has been clean since July 7, 2001.

The date’s one Rabb, now 50, remembers well.

Staying clean was an uphill battle. “The first couple years were really difficult,” Rabb said.

Many of the peers Rabb went to rehab with relapsed.

He credits his soberness to advice he received from an 82-year-old mentor, who told him it wasn’t drugs and alcohol that were the problem.

The mentor told him he was using the drugs to cope with feelings that Rabb says he knew were there, but couldn’t quite grasp.

“He just intrinsically knew, because he felt all the same feelings.”

Rabb said he always felt consciously separated from his friends and family, and after talking with his mentor and getting clean, his life began to change.

“All those feelings that had crippled me since kindergarten went away.”

Rabb has a message to addicts who are struggling.

“There is hope,” he said.

“There’s a chance for everybody to get out of the misery.”

Rabb is hoping addicts can escape the misery at the new Aurora Recovery Centre, which he founded.

The private centre, which Rabb is an investor in, is slated to open in Gimli in June.

“I’ve been given the gift to help people transform their lives,” Rabb said.

But Rabb knows what the realities are.

“I have been to so many funerals.”

When his February interview with the Express finished he was off to another one.

That addict had shot himself because he couldn’t take it anymore, Rabb said. 

Ian Rabb at the construction site of the Aurora Recovery Centre in Gimli.

 -- First published in the Express Weekly News print edition April 9 2015 p.2

Lawsuit raises questions about hospital tender flip-flop

RECORD PHOTO BY AUSTIN GRABISH

Construction on the new hospital in Selkirk has begun, but questions about a lawsuit between the construction company originally slated to complete the project, and the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority remain.

Construction company, IERHA settle out of court, both silent on details

By Austin Grabish, The Selkirk Record

A construction company that was originally awarded the tender for a new hospital in Selkirk filed a lawsuit against the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority after it was dumped from the development less than a month after being named the lowest bidder for the project in 2013.

And new documents obtained by the Selkirk Record suggest the reason the tender was cancelled was not because of an expansion to the project as has been repeatedly reported by the RHA.

A 2013 statement of claim filed by PCL Constructors against the Interlake-Eastern RHA alleges the original tender was cancelled because of a complaint made by an unsuccessful bidder on the project.

The tender in question dates back to February 2013 when PCL submitted its bid for the project.

PCL was named the lowest bidder after coming in $40,856 less than other bids on the multimillion-dollar project, court documents say.

But on April 12, 2013, less than a month after it was named the successful bidder, the RHA advised PCL it was cancelling the tender.

The RHA said “an opportunity for significant and efficient change to the project” had come to its attention, and it would later publicly say the original tender did not include plans for an MRI lab.

But PCL disputed the RHA’s claim in court documents, alleging representatives at Manitoba Health informed the company at an April 23 meeting the reason the tender was quashed was because of a complaint made by an unsuccessful bidder.

A letter that was obtained by the Record through a freedom-of-information (FIPPA) request shows in May, the RHA contacted PCL again, this time claiming the tender was being cancelled because of flaws in the RHA’s tender documents.

Former Interlake-Eastern RHA CEO John Stinson told PCL the RHA determined its original bidding documents contained flaws that did not permit it to evaluate all bids fairly.

“Further, I acknowledge that my correspondence of April 12, 2013 did not disclose all of the issues surrounding Interlake-Eastern RHA’s decision to cancel the tender,” Stinson wrote in the letter dated May 3, 2013.

PCL then asked the RHA to see the flaws but the request was refused, court documents allege. 

A request made by the Record to obtain the alleged flaws was also denied by the RHA. 

“The Interlake-Eastern RHA has not received any other written complaints from bidders on this project and therefore, these records do not exist,” a letter said.

The construction company went on to sue the Health Authority for undisclosed damages, alleging the RHA caused a loss of profit for the company.

It also alleged the RHA breached an obligation by cancelling the tender on false and misleading grounds.

It said the RHA utilized the tender process to conduct a reverse auction and engage in a bid-shopping process by obtaining information from all bidders and then re-tendering without a valid cause.

The new hospital is reported to be one of the biggest health capital projects in the province. It has a construction budget of $111 million alone, and with equipment and furnishings the final budget is estimated to be $159 million.

The legal spat between PCL the RHA ended just five months after the lawsuit was filed.

No statement of defence from the RHA was ever given to the court, and no details about any kind of a potential settlement between the two parties have ever been made public.

Emails obtained by the Record show the Deputy Minister of Health’s office was aware of the legal spat, as were other senior officials with Manitoba Health.

In one email obtained through a FIPPA request, Norman Blackie, executive director of capital planning for Manitoba Health, calls the litigation surrounding the hospital “the ugly file”.

Documents show three companies had bid on the original tender. They were: PCL Constructors, Bird Construction Company, and Graham Construction and Engineering.

The province announced last spring the EllisDon Corporation had been awarded the construction tender for the project, and work on the hospital began shortly after the announcement.

The RHA and the province both refused to comment on this story.

Both parties cited a non-disclosure agreement between PCL and the RHA, as well as the Elections Financing Act, which prevents the province and its agencies from publishing or advertising information about its programs or activities in the days leading up to an election.

A byelection is taking place in The Pas on April 21.

A spokesman for PCL said the company would not be providing comment as the dispute has been settled.

 -- First published in the Selkirk Record print edition April 2 2015 p.2

Parents of bullied teen sue Gimli school

LEE MORLEY / FLICKR PHOTO

The father of a boy who claims he was bullied and harassed routinely has filed a lawsuit against the Evergreen School Division.

By Austin Grabish, The Express Weekly News

The father of a Manitoba teen who claims he was bullied and assaulted numerous times at school, on the bus, and online is suing the Evergreen School Division for an undisclosed amount of damages.

Court documents obtained by the Express last week show a lawsuit was filed against the school division on March 13.

The statement of claim stems from bullying and harassment that began in 2011 at the Dr. George Johnson Middle School in Gimli.

The lawsuit alleges the now 16-year-old boy, who the Express can’t name, experienced harassment and bullying from certain students at the school while school administrators “made little effort” to address the perpetrators behind the abuse. 

The bullying went on to follow the boy when he entered Grade 9 at Gimli High School during the 2012 – 2013 school year, court documents allege.

The lawsuit said the abuse against the boy resumed almost immediately after he started attending classes at the high school, and it happened online too.

“He was subjected to a renewed pattern of harassment, which included verbal assaults, damage to his property, and physical violence,” court documents say.

The lawsuit went on to say the bullying led to “an unhealthy school environment that was deleterious” to the boy’s learning.

It also said despite numerous complaints made to school administrators the abuse continued, became more frequent, more harassing, and escalated in violence.

At one point RCMP became involved in the case, and the boy’s father alleges school administrators failed to co-operate with Mounties once involved, and even interfered with the investigation.

It’s also alleged the former principal of Gimli High School told the boy’s parents he should “work it out”.

“Moreover insinuations and statements attributed fault and responsibility to (the boy),” the lawsuit said.

Evergreen staffers are accused of breaching their duty to prevent bullying from happening under the Public Schools Act, and the Safe Schools Charter.

Evergreen School Division superintendent Paul Cuthbert said he could not discuss specifics of the lawsuit.

“This is a confidential student matter and it is a matter that’s before the courts so I’m not at liberty to discuss any details relating to this case,” Cuthbert said when reached by phone.

The superintendent went on to say the division has a code of conduct that addresses bullying and all schools are expected to follow it.  

“Bullying is treated very seriously,” Cuthbert said.

The boy is now attending classes at another school in the Interlake.

None of the allegations have been proven in court, and the school staffers named on the lawsuit are presumed innocent.

 -- First published in the Express Weekly News print edition April 2 2015 p.4

Info chill vexes journalist

By Austin Grabish, The Selkirk Record

A provincial law that bans the publishing of information relating to government programs and services during an election has left an information chill across the province.

For journalists simply trying to do their jobs, it’s frustrating.

A byelection in The Pas is preventing government officials from giving out routine information requested by the media, and not just information in The Pas, but anywhere in the province.

The Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority turned down two requests for information from the Selkirk Record last week, and the province also turned down a request for comment.

Each time the wonderful Elections Financing Act was cited.

The Act has a clause that says a government department or Crown agency must not advertise or publish any information about its programs or activities in the 90 days leading up to an election.

The language is vague and leaves officials left to interpret what an activity or program is, and that’s problematic because it gives government spin masters the simple ability to cite the Act when refusing comment.

To put this into perspective, the Record had asked the RHA to comment on a 2013 lawsuit it was faced with from PCL Constructors.

The company was the successful bidder on the new $111 million Selkirk hospital construction project, but was later dumped by the RHA due to an opportunity for “significant and efficient change to the project”.

PCL sued and alleged the actual reason for the cancellation of the tender was due to a complaint by an unsuccessful bidder.

The dispute was later settled out of court, and both RHA officials and the province refuse to comment on the settlement, because of the Elections Financing Act of course.

The second request last week made by the Record related to the RHA’s plan to implement recommendations from the Brian Sinclair inquiry.

Sinclair, 45, was a wheelchair-bound aboriginal man who died in the emergency room at Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg after sitting unattended for 34 hours.

Recommendations from the inquest into his death are to be applied at ERs across the province including Selkirk’s ER, which is mentioned in a report released last month by the province.

But both of the Record’s requests were denied despite the fact they had nothing to do with the byelection in The Pas. For journalists, and taxpayers, the 90-day vacation from communicating with the public is ludicrous.

The province has received a bit of a spanking from Manitoba’s election commissioner on two separate occasions in the past.

The first slap came in 2012 after Commissioner of Elections Bill Bowles found former Health Minister Theresa Oswald in violation of the Act for taking media on a tour of a new birthing centre in Winnipeg during the 2011 provincial election.

The provincial NDP was slapped a second time in 2014 for promoting an event that celebrated the 98^th anniversary of women’s suffrage and Nellie McClung the year prior.

Both slaps were the result of complaints made by the Opposition Progressive Conservatives.

But Opposition house leader Kelvin Goertzen made a valid point in a phone interview Friday when he said it was the Commissioner who found fault with the government and not the PCs.

“We don’t make the decision if they’ve broken the law, an independent commissioner does,” Goertzen said.

Goertzen added it was the NDP who made the legislation and it’s hard to disagree with him when he says, “It’s a little strange that they don’t seem to know the rules.”

“It’s actually their law.”

And it will be the NDP who gets to decide what information reporters do and do not get over the next month.

The public deserves a response on the lawsuit and the Sinclair inquiry implementations, regardless of a byelection in the northern part of the province. If there’s public outrage to either – or anything the government has done – it’s fair game, election or not. A byelection shouldn’t be used as another opportunity for elected officials to hide from taking responsibility for their actions.

The information chill is expected to last until April 21.

--Austin Grabish is a reporter with the Selkirk Record and its sister paper the Express Weekly News. Find him on Twitter @AustinGrabish

 -- First published in the Selkirk Record print edition April 2 2015 p.9