Volume 57 Number 23
Friday, June 9, 2017
Thompson, Manitoba
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Human remains found in the rural municipality of Springfield on June 1 were confirmed by the Winnipeg Police Service June 3 as those of Christine Wood, a 21-year-old woman from Oxford House who went missing in Winnipeg Aug. 19. RCMP Oakbank detachment officers responded to a call of possible human remains around 10:15 a.m. June 1 and confirmed they were human, resulting in investigation by the RCMP Serious Crimes Unit and the Forensic Identification Section. A gathering in honour of Wood was held in the area where her body was found June 6. “With the news of Christine being found, it is with mixed emotions that her family and community return to the site where she was found,” said Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) Grand Chief Sheila North Wilson in a press release. “It will be very painful but it is a part of the grieving and healing process that many families of our missing and murdered indigenous women have not been afforded. This gathering will be held for Christine, her parents, siblings and family in an effort to provide some closure to this unimaginable experience. We stand with them in prayer during this time of grief and moving forward we will be diligent in the call for justice in her life being taken from her.
We look forward to serving you. Ϳͷ-A Kelsey Bay Thompson, MB R;N ͷS Ph: Ͷͺ-ͽͽ;-ͽͶͺ; Fax: Ͷͺ-ͽͽ;-ͽͷͺ
Human remains found in the rural municipality of Springfield June 1 were confirmed June 3 by Winnipeg police as those of Christine Wood of Oxford House who went missing in Winnipeg last August. On behalf of MKO, we send our deepest condolences to Christine Wood’s family. We hope that this gathering of prayers and support will bring the family some peace.” Thirty-year-old Brett Overby of Winnipeg was charged April 7 with second-degree murder in relation to the homicide of Wood. He had been arrested March 21 on an unrelated matter when Winnipeg police executed a search warrant at a Burrows Avenue residence and was charged with second-degree murder after the Winnipeg Police Service’s Forensic Identification Unit spent several days at that residence
gathering evidence. “In March 2017, the family was notified by the Winnipeg Police Service that Christine’s life was taken in a home on Burrows Avenue and that an arrest was made,” said MKO’s press release. “The news on the loss of their daughter was devastating. It was an ongoing nightmare to not know where their daughter was and that her body was not laid to rest. Having her body located has brought both relief and a great sense of loss. The family is now in the process of making arrangements for her burial.” Wood was with her parents in
Winnipeg to accompany another family member to a medical appointment at the time she went missing. The former University of Winnipeg student went out for the evening Aug. 19 and never returned, with calls and texts to her cell phone going unanswered. Members of the Winnipeg Police Services missing persons unit began collaborating with homicide investigators in January. MKO thanked the Winnipeg Police Service, the RCMP, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, the Bear Clan and everybody who provided support to the Wood family.
Community safety officers’ duties limited as a result of agreement expiration EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
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Remains of missing Oxford House woman found in Springfield June 1
BY IAN GRAHAM
Canada Day
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Thompson’s community safety officers (CSOs) have been limited in the duties they can performed since their two-year pilot program agreement between the city and the province expired May 24, leaving them unable to enforce provincial statutes. Council unanimously voted to approve a new agreement with the province at their June 5 meeting after previously having approved
the agreement with funding clauses removed at their May 23 meeting. The reversal came after city manager Gary Ceppetelli received a letter from Manitoba Justice director of municipal policing Owen Fergusson June 1 informing him that legislation required that the agreement include stipulations about where the funding for the program would come from. “We recognize your concerns and note that the City’s approval of the new
agreement does not rescind Thompson’s request for ongoing provincial funding or impact these discussions with Manitoba,” Fergusson wrote. “The purpose of the new operating agreement is to provide Thompson’s CSOP [community safety officer program] and CSOs with the legal authority to continue the operation of the program while these funding discussions continue. As The Police Service Act requires the operating agreement to address the fi-
nancing of the program, we are required to include those provisions within the new agreement. As noted in our earlier correspondence, with discussions regarding provincial funding support for your CSOP ongoing, at this time, the CSOP operating agreement indicates funding for the program will be provided by Thompson. The agreement can be amended at a later date to reflect the outcome of the funding discussions. As the two year pilot concluded on May 24,
2017, it is important that we put in place a new agreement as soon as possible so that the CSOs can continue working to improve public safety in Thompson.” “If we want the CSO program to go forward and support the program, this agreement has to be approved,” said the city’s chief financial officer Jenny Krentz. “I’ll take the provincial government at its word that by passing this resolution Continued on Page 8