Dauphin Man Handed Conditional Sentence
Another one of the people co-accused in a group attack on a Dauphin man has been given a conditional sentence.
24-year-old Paul Lavallee pleaded guilty to assault and forcible confinement in court yesterday and was given a six month conditional sentence followed by 18 months supervised probation and 18 months unsupervised probation.
A co-accused in the same case, Tyler Guiboche, was given a six month conditional sentence last week but pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm.
Judge Donald Slough said yesterday that assault causing bodily harm is not eligible for a conditional sentence. Lavallee's plea was amended to the two lesser charges, but the facts remain the same.
Crown attorney Jay Funke described for the court an attack on a Dauphin man that took place on March 17 of last year.
Court heard the man was attacked by multiple people, and had been cut with a knife.
Funke told court a "true plea bargain" had been reached after the complainant in the case had become "gravely disinterested" in proceeding with the matter.
Defense lawyer Eric Irwin told court Lavallee was drunk at the time.
Judge Slough accepted the guilty pleas, saying occasionally the justice system requires compromise.
There are two other co-accused in this case.
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KAP Disagrees With Federal Grain-Rail Decision
Manitoba's largest farm lobby group disagrees with the federal governments decision to not renew the minimum weekly grain transportation volumes for the railways.
The union representing Canada's meat inspectors says a critical shortage of inspectors is putting the safety of consumers at risk across the country.
Bob Kingston, president of the Agriculture Union, says only 12 of 18 meat hygiene inspection positions are filled at processing plants in northern Alberta. The numbers are the same in the Calgary region.
He says in January, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency also instructed staff in the northern part of the province to cut general sanitation inspection work by 50 per cent.
Kingston says the federal government needs to put more money into meat safety.
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Deadline Today For Thousand Of Foreign Workers
Thousands of temporary foreign workers could be heading to airports to leave Canada today as permits expire for those who've been in the country for more than four years.
After changing the rules in 2011, the Conservative government set April 1, 2015 as the deadline for temporary foreign workers in low-skilled jobs to either become permanent residents or leave the country.
In Alberta alone, 10,000 temporary foreign workers have applied to stay in Canada.
Vancouver immigration lawyer Richard Kurland says many of his clients are having a tough time realizing they're no longer welcome after living and working here for years.
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Halifax Plane Wreckage To Be Removed Soon
The wreck of an Air Canada plane that crashed upon landing at Halifax's main airport early Sunday could be removed this week.
The Transportation Safety Board says it has finished examining the site where the Airbus from Toronto touched down well short of the runway and skidded to a stop.
All 138 people on board survived, but 25 were sent to hospital.
Meantime, a second law firm has announced it will file a class-action lawsuit over the crash on behalf of an unspecified number of people on board.
Wagners says the accident uncovers safety hazards it hopes will be addressed as a result of the legal action.
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Mitchell In Good Spirits
Legendary Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is in intensive care in a Los Angeles-area hospital for reasons still unknown.
The singer's Twitter account and website say she was found unconscious in her home yesterday, regained consciousness in the ambulance, and was undergoing tests.
But the statement claims she was awake and ``in good spirits.''
The 71-year-old has received eight Grammy Awards, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, and is a member of both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
