Vandals set fire to Manitoba MLA Nahanni Fontaines constituency office

The Winnipeg police major crimes unit is once again investigating an act of vandalism at the constituency office of MLA Nahanni Fontaine after the fire department extinguished an early morning blaze. Fontaine is a First Nation politician who sits in the cabinet of Premier Wab Kinew. At an event earlier today for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Kinew asked people to support Fontaine and not engage in political violence. “Everyone deserves to be safe when they go to work,” Kinew said, “And when we look at what’s going on around North America — with violence going on in politics in the States, and we see all sorts of division happening here in Canada — I just want to make it really clear that in Manitoba, we have to keep peace, we have to keep calm. “And when you look at the residential school survivors, they changed Canada for the better in an entirely peaceful, dignified, compassionate way.” Winnipeg police had little to say when contacted. They say no suspects have been identified. Some of the windows at Fontaine’s office were covered in smoke residue, while her rear windows were completely broken. The front door lock on the office door appears to have been pried open. Two weeks ago, police were called to the office after her front windows were smashed. There have also been four fires set at the constituency office of Bernadette Smith since August. Smith is also an Indigenous politician and member of Kinew’s cabinet. Police have not made any arrests in that case either. “This is a serious matter that is currently under police investigation so we will not be commenting further at this time,” said a statement from the provincial government. According to the fire department, a call came in at 4:56 a.m. for a fire in “a single-storey office building” on Main St. The fire was under control 30 minutes later. No one was inside at the time and no injuries were reported the fire department said. Continue Reading