Vehicle stolen from business parking lot

The Brandon Police Service is investigating a vehicle theft after a grey Kia Sedona was reported stolen.

A Brandon resident reported early Thursday morning that their 2020 grey Kia Sedona with the licence plate SANGEES had been stolen from a business parking lot.

Anyone with information should reach out to BPS at 204-729-2345 or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers by calling 204-727-TIPS (8477).

» The Brandon Sun

Neepawa ER waiting area possible measles exposure site

The waiting area in the Neepawa hospital’s emergency room has been identified as a possible measles exposure site, Manitoba public health officials warn.

Anyone who waited in the ER at the Neepawa Health Centre on Feb. 28 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. should monitor for symptoms until March 22.

People who are not immunized and have been exposed to measles may be eligible for preventive treatment within six days of exposure, the province said in a media bulletin on Thursday.

The possible measles exposure comes eight days after the Neepawa Co-op Food Store was identified as a potential exposure site. Those who went grocery shopping at this store on Feb. 20 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. should monitor for symptoms until March 14, the province previously said.

Use of force sensitive issue for security guards: Bates

While the Brandon Police Service is called to assist security guards with arrests on a weekly basis, an issue involving guards using excessive force to detain people “comes up periodically,” Chief Tyler Bates says.

Security guards regularly arrest shoplifters or people who are breaching the peace at businesses in Brandon and are required to turn that individual over to police as soon as possible, Bates said.

Under the Criminal Code, security guards are “only allowed to use as much force as is reasonably necessary to take that person into custody,” Bates said, adding that any amount of force used depends on the circumstance.

On Saturday, a video circulating on social media showed a security guard beating an alleged shoplifter with what Winnipeg police say were brass knuckles — a prohibited weapon.

More than 20 states sue over Trump’s worldwide tariffs

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to realign global trade are facing another legal battle after more than 20 states filed a lawsuit on Thursday challenging his latest worldwide tariffs.

Trump implemented the 10 per cent global duty last week after the United States Supreme Court's ruling reined in the president's erratic and unpredictable tariffs.

In a 6-3 ruling on Feb. 20, America's top court concluded it was not legal for Trump to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, better known as IEEPA, for his sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs and fentanyl-related duties on Canada, Mexico and China.

Trump replaced the IEEPA tariffs with a 10 per cent worldwide tariff using Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. That duty can only increase to 15 per cent and it will expire after 150 days unless Congress votes to extend it.

Eye-gouging attack nets jail time

A woman has been sentenced to eight months behind bars for assaulting a woman by repeatedly punching her and gouging her eyes.

“The eyes are such a delicate part of a person, and unfortunately, you … gouged her eyes to the point where her eyelid was ripped and her tear ducts were injured,” Judge Lindy Choy said. “You can’t just go and attack someone like that.”

Shantelle Beaulieu, 31, pleaded guilty to the charge of assault causing bodily harm in Brandon provincial court on Wednesday.

The Crown recommended a sentence of eight months, while defence argued for a time-served sentence of seven months. Both agreed that the sentence should be followed by 18 months of supervised probation.

All set up for the show

» Photos by Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun

Manitoba government introduces bills on crime, health and other issues

WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government introduced more than a dozen bills in the legislature Thursday aimed at cracking down on machetes, reducing the use of sick notes and enacting other measures promised in its throne speech last fall.

Among the proposals is a ban on possession of pepper spray and long-bladed weapons in urban public areas such as parks. Using such weapons is already prohibited in urban areas, and the NDP government said cracking down on possession goes a step further.

"We know that simple possession of them in an urban area does not have any legitimate use," Justice Minister Matt Wiebe told reporters.

"And so we want to give police those tools to ... ensure that it doesn't get used in a violent way that we've seen in the past."