Manitoba providing money for memorial to honour Carman homicide victims
The provincial government is providing funding to the Town of Carman to honour the five people who were killed in February, and to help those who helped the town heal.
Amanda Clearwater, her three kids, Bethany, Jayven and Isabella, and her niece Myah-Lee Gratton, were killed in mid-February, and Clearwater's common-law partner Ryan Manoakeesick has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder. Those charges haven't been tested in court.
On Wednesday, the Manitoba government announced it will provide $20,000 to help the community build a memorial in honour of the victims, and another $300,000 will go to Carman Wellness Connections.
The volunteer-run organization provides mental health supports, and helps, "find solutions that minimize the impact of limited income."
"The front-line staff of Carman Wellness Connections reacted swiftly and compassionately to bring healing to the community by providing resources and emotional health support. Our government is proud to support the important work they do," said Premier Wab Kinew in a news release.
Nancy Clearwater, Amanda's mother, said she is still in shock about the whole situation, but appreciates the government's funding.
"It will help memorialize my (grandchildren) and my daughter, and hopefully bring awareness to domestic violence," she said a news conference Wednesday.
Karen Tjaden, a board member for the organization, said the funding provides stability for them to continue their work.
"With this funding, we can enhance our programs, expand our reach and make a lasting difference in the community," said Tjaden in a news release.
Carman Mayor Brent Owen said the financial support would help the community for many years.
"Almost three months later, I know many are still feeling the impacts of it during this time. Many of us have found hope in watching our community come together and support each other," said Owen.
The Clearwater family will help design the memorial, with the hopes it will be put in a community park. There is no timeline for when it will be built, but Owen indicated the town will likely contribute more funding to the project as well.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Drive one of these vehicles? You may pay 37 per cent more than average insurance costs due to thefts
As the number of auto theft incidents rises in Canada, so have insurance premiums for drivers, even the ones whose vehicles aren't stolen.
Israel's war cabinet minister moves to dissolve parliament: statement
Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz's centrist party has proposed holding a vote to dissolve parliament in a bid to bring about an early election, his party said in a statement on Thursday.
'I'm not wealthy': Ontario senior shocked she owes $40,000 in capital gains after gifting land
An Ontario senior who wanted to help her daughter and grandson eventually own homes one day decided to give them two lots on her property as a gift—but she didn’t know it would eventually cost her tens of thousands of dollars.
DEVELOPING BMO clients face outages in Canada, U.S. following data centre fire alarm
Bank of Montreal clients on both sides of the border Thursday morning have reported outages with banking services. BMO said its technical team is investigating.
Exorbitant fees get Gazans out with no help from Ottawa
The comforting sound of giggling grandchildren has chased away the cloud of anxiety that has loomed over Mohammed and Intisar Nofal's home for the past seven months.
Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., begins RBC Canadian Open defence
Nick Taylor begins the defence of his RBC Canadian Open title this morning.
B.C. mortgage broker ran $270-million Ponzi scheme, then fled Canada, bankruptcy trustee says
The trustee appointed to manage the bankruptcies of a Victoria mortgage company and its owner has concluded that they committed "numerous offences" and operated as a "massive Ponzi scheme."
Want to turn off Meta AI? You can't - but there are some workarounds
If you use Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram, you've probably noticed a new character pop up answering search queries or eagerly offering tidbits of information in your feeds, with varying degrees of accuracy.
opinion Trump's Republicans falling far behind in fundraising, infrastructure
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, Washington political analyst Eric Ham explains how and why Republicans -- up and down the ballot -- are falling far behind Democrats in both fundraising and infrastructure.