Alberta
Police seize more than 66 kg of illicit drugs in interprovincial trafficking investigation
News release from the Edmonton Police Service
The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) has seized more than 66 kilograms of methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl and heroin in a large-scale drug investigation in central Edmonton.
In December 2023, members of the Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement Section (EDGE) initiated an inter-provincial drug trafficking investigation.
During the investigation, three male suspects were noted to be involved in various aspects of inter-provincial drug trafficking, including transporting drugs into and out of Alberta, as well as distributing them throughout Edmonton, including the inner-city community. A storage location for the drugs was located in a central Edmonton high rise apartment.
On May 9, 2024, police executed search warrants at three residences and four vehicles. As a result of the search warrants, EDGE members seized:
- 55.7 kg of methamphetamine, worth approximately $250,650
- 8.7 kg of cocaine, worth approximately $696,000
- 2.5 kg of fentanyl, worth approximately $300,000
- 83.5 grams of heroin, worth approximately $28,400
- 20 kg of buffing agent
- Five handguns, three of which were loaded at the time of seizure and two of which had defaced serial numbers. Two were also reported stolen in Saskatchewan and Alberta, and one originated from the U.S.
- Four vehicles with hidden compartments
- Approximately $20,000 in various currency
Drugs and firearms located in one of EPS’ largest-ever drug seizures
“This investigation is believed to be one of the largest, if not the largest, seizure of controlled substances in EPS history,” says Staff Sergeant David Paton, with the Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement (EDGE) Section. “Intercepting this huge volume of extremely harmful street drugs before they wreak havoc in our city is a rewarding outcome for our investigators, who have worked tirelessly for months on this operation.”
Jesse Koble, 29, is facing 27 charges, Mitchell Steeg, 31, is charged with nine offences, and Steven Santillana, 34 is charged with two offences, for a total of 38 drug and firearms-related criminal charges.
The EPS takes a strategic approach to drug and organized crime related violence through its Guns and Gangs Strategy. This plan considers the unique factors driving serious crime in the city, identifying key focus areas that require increased and sustained effort to reduce victimization and improve community safety.
The strategy leverages EPS’ internal expertise and external partnerships with other enforcement and social agencies to strike a balance between education, suppression, intervention, and prevention. It encompasses immediate and long-term solutions that both hold those perpetrating violence accountable and lead willing individuals away from gang association.
Alberta
Danielle Smith confirms Alberta will introduce bill to ban men from competing in women’s sports
From LifeSiteNews
Proposed legislation would apply to ‘all competitive women’s and girls’ sports and all provincial sporting organizations as well as in our schools and postsecondary competitive sporting divisions,’ the Alberta premier said.
Alberta will soon introduce a law that bans gender-confused men from competing in women’s sports, Premier Danielle Smith announced.
“As it pertains to women and girls in competitive sports, proposed legislation will be tabled that prohibits individuals born biologically male from competing against women and girls in competitive sporting competitions,” Smith said earlier in the week in an announcement on her X account.
The new law will mean that women and girls in the province will be protected from having to compete against biological men who claim to be women in all sporting scenarios.
Smith, who leads the ruling United Conservative Party (UCP), said the new law will apply to “all competitive women’s and girls’ sports and all provincial sporting organizations as well as in our schools and postsecondary competitive sporting divisions.”
Smith noted that her government would “support the formation of additional” and possibly transgender-only “coed and recreational divisions so that all athletes have as many opportunities as possible to compete in their sport of choice.”
Smith said that before her new bill is tabled in the legislature she is looking to “depoliticize the discussion and focus on the well-being of the children and youth most affected by these policies.”
Earlier in the year, she said her government was looking to bring forth legislation banning gender-confused men from competing in women’s sports.
Alberta’s new law prohibiting men from competing in women’s sports comes after studies have repeatedly revealed that gender-confused males have a considerable advantage over women in athletics.
Indeed, a recent study published in Sports Medicine found that a year of transgender hormone drugs results in “very modest changes” in the inherent strength advantages of men.
Smith’s announcement about banning biological men from competing in women’s sports comes at the same time she promised a much-anticipated bill banning so-called “top and bottom” surgeries for minors as well as other extreme forms of transgender ideology will be tabled in the legislature in the coming days.
The news of the new bill also comes as the UCP looks to November to bring forth a resolution that calls on the government to introduce a law protecting “female spaces” for biological females and their children.
The UCP under Smith wants to bring forth laws focusing on parental rights as well as protecting Albertans’ general rights.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, part of Smith’s new bill would allow parents to opt their children into sexual education lessons rather than opt them out.
LifeSiteNews recently reported on forthcoming legislation to be introduced by the UCP that includes a provision that would cement parental rights as a “God-given right,” with the goal to prevent government overreach into parents raising kids.
It is expected that the UCP government will introduce its new “Bill of Rights” this fall. The bill contains a slew of pro-freedom proposals, including enshrining the “right to life” into law from “conception, gestation in the womb.”
The bill also includes a section that guarantees each citizen has the “right” to medical “informed consent” as well as the “right” to “refuse vaccinations.”
Alberta
Danielle Smith hits back at Liberal ‘gender’ minister who attacked Alberta’s pro-family legislation
From LifeSiteNews
The Alberta premier fact-checked pro-LGBT Minister of Women and Gender Equality Marci Ien’s condemnation of pro-family legislation, pointing out that children who undergo irreversible gender surgeries and drugs suffer from the repercussions for life.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith blasted a Liberal minister for spreading the false claim that legislation will hurt gender-confused kids.
In an Oct. 1 exchange on X, formerly known as Twitter, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith fact-checked pro-LGBT Minister of Women and Gender Equality Marci Ien’s condemnation of pro-family legislation, pointing out that children who undergo irreversible gender surgeries and drugs suffer from the repercussions for life.
“Premier Smith is doubling down on her plans to target trans youth,” Ien had written. “She says this conversation is only for ‘adults.’ That’s because she knows that if she listened to the people affected by these policies, she would have to face how many kids she is hurting.”
“Do you mean like listening to children going through this, @MarciIen?” Smith questioned, linking to a National Post article highlighting the pain and regret by detransitioners who made irreversible decision to take drugs and surgeries to change their bodies as young teens.
Do you mean like listening to children going through this, @MarciIen? 👇 https://t.co/S6jPYuoRGN pic.twitter.com/zldO6immhj
— Danielle Smith (@ABDanielleSmith) October 2, 2024
Later, Smith doubled down on her stance, saying, “In Alberta, we believe children should wait until adulthood before making physical changes to their body.”
“Furthermore, we believe in the rights of loving parents to be meaningfully engaged with their children’s education when sensitive issues are taught,” she continued. “And women and girls deserve the opportunity to compete fairly and safely in female-only divisions.”
In Alberta, we believe children should wait until adulthood before making physical changes to their body.
Furthermore, we believe in the rights of loving parents to be meaningfully engaged with their children’s education when sensitive issues are taught.
And women and girls… pic.twitter.com/pLeaYtkXqZ
— Danielle Smith (@ABDanielleSmith) October 2, 2024
Smith’s new legislation, which will take effect later this month, far surpasses other provinces in its protection of children and would make Alberta’s parental rights laws the strongest in the country.
Licensed doctors are prohibited from performing sex-change surgeries on youth under age 18 in Alberta. Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones will be prohibited for minors under the age of 16 unless the minors have already begun taking those drugs.
Those “born biologically male” will be prohibited from competing against women and girls in competitive sports. Parental opt-in will be required for “each instance” a teacher wishes to discuss gender identity, sexual orientation, or human sexuality.
Parental notification is required for “socially transitioning” a student — that is, changing a student’s given name or pronouns. Unfortunately, 16- and 17-year-olds are still allowed to decide to change their name or pronouns in school, but parents must be notified.
While Smith has received severe backlash from LGBT activists, she revealed in February that the new legislation was a result of hearing of the horrors that took place at the U.K.’s Tavistock Centre, the National Health Service’s “gender clinic” for children who believe they are “transgender.”
In 2019, the clinic was exposed for approving “life-changing medical intervention” for children and teens “without sufficient evidence of its long-term effects.” Shortly after, the clinic was forced to shut down.
Smith was especially touched by the story of Keira Bell, who was given puberty blockers and testosterone injections by the Tavistock clinic and underwent a double mastectomy at age 20. She now “very seriously regrets the process” and has joined a lawsuit against the clinic.
Unfortunately, Bell’s story is not unique, as overwhelming evidence reveals that those who undergo so-called “gender transitioning” are more likely to commit suicide than those who are not given irreversible surgery. A Swedish study found that those who underwent so-called “gender reassignment” surgery ended up with a 19.2 times greater risk of suicide.
In fact, in addition to asserting a false reality that one’s sex can be changed, transgender surgeries and drugs have been linked to permanent physical and psychological damage, including cardiovascular diseases, loss of bone density, cancer, strokes and blood clots, infertility, and suicidality.
Indeed, there is proof that the most loving and helpful approach to people who think they are a different sex is not to validate them in their confusion but to show them the truth.
A new study on the side effects of transgender “sex change” surgeries discovered that 81 percent of those who had undergone “sex change” surgeries in the past five years reported experiencing pain simply from normal movement in the weeks and months that followed — and that many other side effects manifest as well.
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