Paralympian withdraws after request for mom’s help denied

Fraudster gets six years in Shoppers Drug Mart case

A Calgary man has been sentenced to six years in prison for his role in a fraud ring that targeted Shoppers Drug Mart stores across four provinces.

Carlo Deguzman, 50, pleaded guilty in a Winnipeg courtroom Monday to six counts of fraud, forgery and identification theft for offences dating back more than four years.

Deguzman’s guilty pleas came on what was to be the first day of his trial — the third to be set and cancelled since his initial arrest in 2022. During that time, he hired and fired seven lawyers.

“These matters could have been dealt with years ago, but for the actions of the accused,” prosecutor Kathy Bueti told provincial court Judge Heather Pullan. “He was hoping delay would make the case harder to prove. That’s not the case. The charges weren’t going away.”

HBC closing downtown Bay store in February

In February, just five years shy of its 100th anniversary, the Portage Avenue Bay store, the mammoth icon of a bygone era of downtown department store shopping, will shut down for good.

HBC's decision to close the 650,000-square-foot store at Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard — twice the size of the Winnipeg Ikea store — won't come as a surprise to most people in the city.

Over the years, the company has closed some of the store's six floors and its basement, consolidating stock on just two levels. Last year a company-wide valuation of HBC's real estate holdings valued the downtown Winnipeg building at precisely $0.

"The decision to close this store was a difficult one," said Iain Nairn, president and CEO, Hudson's Bay Co.

Figure skating coach Callaghan banned by SafeSport

Richard Callaghan, who coached Tara Lipinski to Olympic gold, has been banned from figure skating by the U.S. Center for SafeSport for sexual misconduct.

Callaghan, who also coached six-time U.S. champion Todd Eldredge, was ruled "permanently ineligible" on Wednesday for actions involving a minor. Callaghan was accused by a former student, Adam Schmidt, in a lawsuit. Schmidt alleged that Callaghan sexually abused him from 1999-2001. Schmidt was 14 in 1999.

Also in 1999, Callaghan was investigated for sexual misconduct involving another coach, Craig Maurizi, but U.S. Figure Skating dismissed those charges. Maurizi said the incidents began in 1976 when he was 13, and continued for years.

Now 73, Callaghan was suspended in March 2018 by SafeSport and by the federation. He sued SafeSport, but the lawsuit was dismissed.

Wasteful operations should be held accountable

Rising water bills are a top-of-mind issue for residents of Winnipeg going into the fall election. Management of the water and waste system is under question, with citizen’s groups, as well as the Free Press, calling for proper oversight of rates (Time for the PUB to review Winnipeg water rates, Editorial, Sept. 26).

The need to increase rates to build the North End sewage plant is understandable. Siphoning off utility proceeds to make up other tax revenue shortfalls is another matter. But it is not the only questionable practice. If there was Public Utilities Board oversight of Winnipeg’s water and sewer rates, it would certainly be asking why the city is spending more than $3 million annually to operate the 164-kilometre-long, Greater Winnipeg Water District railway (GWWD) on ratepayers’ behalf.

The GWWD has come to the attention of the Railway Relocation Study, led by Lloyd Axworthy. All existing rail lines within the city are under review, as is the feasibility of a new railway bypass.

The GWWD is an example of a railway that has outlived its usefulness and sits on a pocket of land close to downtown that could be converted to higher-value uses.

Canadian labour market still tight as economy sees slight bump in employment

OTTAWA - After sustaining three consecutive months of job losses and propelling fears of an economic slowdown, the Canadian economy posted a modest bump in employment in September, suggesting the labour market is still exceptionally tight.

The unemployment rate for the month fell to 5.2 per cent as fewer people looked for work, down from 5.4 per cent in August, Statistics Canada reported in its labour force survey released on Friday. Meanwhile,the economy added 21,000 jobs.

Economists say the latest jobs report shows employers are still eager to hire, and wages are growing accordingly.

The report showed wages were up by 5.2 per cent in September compared with a year ago, with the average hourly wage at $31.67. It marked the fourth straight month of five per cent or higher wage growth, but still falls short of the rate of inflation.

Norway's Ruud wins Olympic gold year after father's death

The decorated alpine athlete was disqualified from her first two races in Beijing, but still has plenty of events to come.