Winnipeg Free Press Posted:
Thompson will get a sobering centre.
The provincial government will give the former Polaris Centre at the University College of the North to the northern city for the facility.
The sobering centre will reduce the number of intoxicated people who are hospitalized or held in police holding cells, Justice Minister Friesen said Monday.
The Thompson Sobering Centre will provide a safe and secure environment, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for non-violent, publicly intoxicated individuals to stay while the effects of drugs or alcohol wear off.
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Public intoxication continues to be a significant health and public safety issue in Thompson, with more than 2,400 detentions under the Intoxicated Persons Detention Act in 2020 and more than 1,100 so far in 2021, said Friesen. The calls to help intoxicated people put a significant burden on Thompson’s RCMP detachment, as well as loca
$2.8 million for the construction and operation of its centre.
Thompson Mayor Colleen Smook praised the province for providing the funding and the buildings for the facility. It s a great use of the materials that we already have, and the $2.8 million to renovate and ongoing costs is just such a commitment to all of the north and something that we will strive to work very hard to make it work.
A 2015 inquest called for a sobering centre in Thompson after looking into the death of Jeffrey Ray Mallet, who died in 2008 after being taken into custody for being drunk.
It is believed he was dead for up to 10 hours before RCMP officers discovered his body.
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Article content Carrie Doll hosts Women & Wealth’s International Women’s Day event. File photo Photo by David Bloom /Postmedia
Artists Nancy Boyd, Isla Burns, Camrose Ducote, Jennifer Hornyak and Joice M. Hall are among the all-female roster for the Wallace Galleries’ International Women’s Day group exhibition titled #CHOOSETOCHALLENGE. Attendance at the opening reception on Saturday, March 6 is by appointment; the exhibition runs until March 24.
At Wallace Galleries, wallacegalleries.com.
Mount Royal University keeps it digital with a celebration featuring videos and podcasts going live on the university website on International Women’s Day. Speakers include Kylie Woods, the founder of Chic Geek; Kendra Kincade, the CEO of Elevate Aviation, and a couple of TransAlta executive VPs in Jane N. Fedoretz and Kelly O’Reilly Wilks.