Alberta
ASIRT investigating shooting death of 39 year old suspect near Rocky Mountain House
New Release from ASIRT (Alberta Serious Incident Response Team)
Investigation into RCMP officer-involved shooting fatality continues
On Aug. 14, 2021, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was directed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a 39-year-old man who was shot and killed by police at an oilfield battery site during a standoff that same day.
On the evening of Aug. 13, 2021, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police became involved in what started as an investigation into an armed carjacking earlier that day in Parkland County, during which a GMC truck was stolen. During the course of that investigation, a 39-year-old man was identified as a suspect. As the situation unfolded, police received additional information that led them to believe that the 39-year-old man may also have been involved in a homicide in Edmonton.
In the early morning hours of Aug. 14, 2021, the 39-year-old man repeatedly contacted police. He advised them that he was in possession of a weapon and that he had a hostage. As these communications continued, police continued in their efforts to locate the man and the stolen vehicle from the carjacking.
The stolen GMC truck was located and, at approximately 7:43 a.m., the vehicle was cleared by police. A police service dog tracked the occupant(s) of the vehicle to a nearby outbuilding at an oilfield battery site west of Rocky Mountain House. It was determined that the man police had been in communication with was inside one of the outbuildings on site; however, it remained unclear whether anyone else was inside. The man was believed to have been armed with a firearm.
RCMP officers, including RCMP Emergency Response Team (ERT) officers, a dog handler and a police service dog, contained the scene while negotiators attempted to persuade the man to surrender peacefully. As these negotiations continued, at approximately 1:30 p.m., the man exited the outbuilding, initiating a confrontation with police. During the confrontation, one officer discharged a service weapon that fires less lethal rounds; other officers subsequently discharged service firearms. The man was struck, sustaining critical injuries, and fell to the ground. Emergency medical intervention was attempted, but the man died on scene.
A 12-gauge pistol grip pump-action shotgun, as well as live and spent shotgun ammunition, were recovered on scene. The scene was subsequently cleared and it was determined that during the period of containment, the man had been alone in the outbuilding.
The events leading up to the eventual critical incident at the oilfield battery site, and any offences that may have been committed by the man, including the carjacking and possible homicide, remain under investigation by the police services of the relevant jurisdiction. ASIRT’s investigation will focus on the events relating to the containment at the oilfield battery site and the uses of force that ultimately resulted in the death of the man.
ASIRT’s mandate is to effectively, independently and objectively investigate incidents involving Alberta’s police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.
Alberta
Alberta government should eliminate corporate welfare to generate benefits for Albertans
From the Fraser Institute
By Spencer Gudewill and Tegan Hill
Last November, Premier Danielle Smith announced that her government will give up to $1.8 billion in subsidies to Dow Chemicals, which plans to expand a petrochemical project northeast of Edmonton. In other words, $1.8 billion in corporate welfare.
And this is just one example of corporate welfare paid for by Albertans.
According to a recent study published by the Fraser Institute, from 2007 to 2021, the latest year of available data, the Alberta government spent $31.0 billion (inflation-adjusted) on subsidies (a.k.a. corporate welfare) to select firms and businesses, purportedly to help Albertans. And this number excludes other forms of government handouts such as loan guarantees, direct investment and regulatory or tax privileges for particular firms and industries. So the total cost of corporate welfare in Alberta is likely much higher.
Why should Albertans care?
First off, there’s little evidence that corporate welfare generates widespread economic growth or jobs. In fact, evidence suggests the contrary—that subsidies result in a net loss to the economy by shifting resources to less productive sectors or locations (what economists call the “substitution effect”) and/or by keeping businesses alive that are otherwise economically unviable (i.e. “zombie companies”). This misallocation of resources leads to a less efficient, less productive and less prosperous Alberta.
And there are other costs to corporate welfare.
For example, between 2007 and 2019 (the latest year of pre-COVID data), every year on average the Alberta government spent 35 cents (out of every dollar of business income tax revenue it collected) on corporate welfare. Given that workers bear the burden of more than half of any business income tax indirectly through lower wages, if the government reduced business income taxes rather than spend money on corporate welfare, workers could benefit.
Moreover, Premier Smith failed in last month’s provincial budget to provide promised personal income tax relief and create a lower tax bracket for incomes below $60,000 to provide $760 in annual savings for Albertans (on average). But in 2019, after adjusting for inflation, the Alberta government spent $2.4 billion on corporate welfare—equivalent to $1,034 per tax filer. Clearly, instead of subsidizing select businesses, the Smith government could have kept its promise to lower personal income taxes.
Finally, there’s the Heritage Fund, which the Alberta government created almost 50 years ago to save a share of the province’s resource wealth for the future.
In her 2024 budget, Premier Smith earmarked $2.0 billion for the Heritage Fund this fiscal year—almost the exact amount spent on corporate welfare each year (on average) between 2007 and 2019. Put another way, the Alberta government could save twice as much in the Heritage Fund in 2024/25 if it ended corporate welfare, which would help Premier Smith keep her promise to build up the Heritage Fund to between $250 billion and $400 billion by 2050.
By eliminating corporate welfare, the Smith government can create fiscal room to reduce personal and business income taxes, or save more in the Heritage Fund. Any of these options will benefit Albertans far more than wasteful billion-dollar subsidies to favoured firms.
Authors:
Alberta
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