Alberta
Over 800 overdose deaths in 2021 – Alberta RCMP recognize International Overdose Awareness Day

News release from Alberta RCMP
Alberta RCMP recognizes International Overdose Awareness Day 2022
In 2021, Alberta lost over 800 lives to meth-related accidental overdoses – a 28% increase from such tragic fatalities in 2020. On Aug. 31, 2022, the Alberta RCMP recognizes International Overdose Awareness Day by launching a methamphetamine awareness campaign in collaboration with the Canadian Integrated Response to Organized Crime. The campaign will help educate, protect and inform the public about negative impacts of methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs – as well as highlight the Alberta Clandestine Lab Enforcement and Response (CLEAR) Team and their role as a liaison with the chemical industry.
Methamphetamine is pervasive in our communities and has contributed to property crimes and crimes of violence. The Criminal Intelligence Service Canada identified methamphetamine as having one of the highest threat levels “due to its geographical reach, high burden of harm, and increased involvement of organized crime groups.” According to a 2017 Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drugs Survey, 3.7% of Canadians have used methamphetamine at least once in their lifetime. While methamphetamine use among the general population in Canada may be low, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction notes that “there has been a dramatic increase in the availability and harms associated with methamphetamine in Canada” since 2013 – with notable trends in Western regions.
The Alberta CLEAR Team provides specialized operational support in identifying, assessing, processing and dismantling illegal synthetic drug production labs, processing locations, dump sites and Butane Hash Oil labs. Often, the CLEAR Team is called upon to liaise with the chemical industry in Alberta to ‘back track’ chemical precursors and facilitate the real time exchange of information regarding methods of diversion and indicators of suspicious transactions.
In the coming months, Alberta RCMP will share information at @AlbertaRCMP on Twitter and the @RCMPinAlberta Facebook page. To keep updated, follow #MethHurtsCommunities.
Quick Facts
Table 1: Alberta Substance Use Surveillance System
Provincial Statistic | 2020 | 2021 |
Meth-related accidental overdoses | 655 | 836 |
Emergency Department visits related to substance use | 10,846 | 10,401 |
Naloxone kits given out (community site and pharmacy kits) | 100,257 | 154,171 |
Self reported reversals | 8,554 | 15,623 |
Total number of EMS responses to opioid related event | 5,245 | 8,253 |
Weekly average of EMS responses to opioid related event | 98.96 | 158.71 |
Source: https://www.alberta.ca/substance-use-surveillance-data.aspx
Table 2: Drug Analysis Services
Provincial Statistic | 2020 | 2021 |
Total number of stimulants identified during analysis per year | 7,285 | 7072 |
Number of methamphetamine samples | 4,236 | 4,095 |
Table 3: Alberta RCMP Methamphetamine Offences
Offence Type | 2020 | 2021 |
Possession | 1,747 | 1,190 |
Trafficking | 339 | 259 |
Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking | 404 | 373 |
Importing/Exporting | 2 | 0 |
Possession for the Purpose of Exporting | 1 | 0 |
Production | 18 | 5 |
Possess/Produce/Sell/Import Anything Used to Produce/Traffic | 6 | 4 |
Grand Total | 2,517 | 1,831 |
Source: RCMP Police Reporting and Occurrence System
Alberta
UCP asks Albertans to consider an Alberta Pension Plan

News release from the United Conservative party
The government is eager to hear your views. To find more information, and participate in a survey, tap the button below.
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Albertans deserve a pension plan that reflects their hard work and earnings, and it is up to Albertans to decide which pension plan that is.
-Your UCP Team
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Alberta
Police arrest two more people following killing of eight-year-old girl in Alberta

An Edmonton Police Service logo is shown at a press conference in Edmonton, Oct. 2, 2017. Police in Edmonton have charged two more people following the killing of an eight-year-old girl whose remains were found on a First Nation south of the provincial capital in April. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Edmonton
Police in Edmonton have charged two more people following the killing of an eight-year-old girl whose remains were found on a First Nation south of the provincial capital.
Officers responded on April 24 to a welfare call about the girl at an Edmonton home but were unable to locate her.
Her remains were discovered five days later on the Samson Cree Nation in Maskwacis.
Shayden Lightning, who is 21, and Raighne Stoney, who is 36, have been charged with being an accessory to murder and causing an indignity to a body.
Three others were initially charged in the case.
Police are not releasing the names of two of the accused in order to protect the identities of other children related to the victim, whose identity is under a publication ban.
A 27-year-old woman faces a charge of first-degree murder and a 25-year-old man faces charges of being an accessory to murder and causing an indignity to a body.
Edward Nievera, 67, was charged with being an accessory to murder and causing an indignity to a body.
Edmonton police Staff Sgt. Colin Leathem said in a release Friday that the recent arrests will be the last in the case and that the investigation has concluded.
“We want to thank the RCMP in Maskwacis and Wetaskiwin for their assistance with this investigation,” he said. “Needless to say, this was an exceptionally distressing investigation to work on, and they went above and beyond in helping to facilitate these final arrests and bring this file to conclusion.
“While nothing can change the horror of what occurred, we hope (the arrests) can provide some measure of justice to those who knew and loved this little girl.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2023.
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