Alberta
Crown seeking a 22 1/2-year sentence in appeal of Edmonton sexual assault case
By Angela Amato in Edmonton
A Crown prosecutor says a former club promoter who was convicted of sexually assaulting five women over six years should receive an additional 15 years to his sentence because he planned his attacks.
Matthew McKnight, who is 2 1/2 years into his eight-year sentence, was convicted in 2020 for the assaults that happened in Edmonton between 2010 and 2016.
Crown prosecutor Matthew Griener told the Court of Appeal that McKnight should receive 22 1/2 years because he was premeditative in offering women free alcohol at the bars where he was working before he took them home and assaulted them.
“It’s not a case about casual sex,” Griener told the court Tuesday. “It’s a case about serial rape.”
Griener argued that McKnight’s sentence should be longer because the assaults happened on different days with different women and should be recognized as separate sentences to be served consecutively.
“Each one was an isolated offence, not a spree,” Griener said.
McKnight’s lawyer, Peter Sankoff, told the court that his client accepts the blame for the assaults and has been taking sexual wellness classes. He added that the progress McKnight has made in prison should be taken into consideration.
Sankoff also argued that while McKnight did give the women alcohol, the assaults were not premeditated. The lawyer said two of the assaults met the criteria for being planned.
In January, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed a defence appeal for a new trial for McKnight. In that appeal, Sankoff argued the Crown used sarcasm and inflammatory language during cross-examination during the trial.
McKnight was an event promoter for Urban Sparq Hospitality and worked at several bars and clubs across the city.
Court heard that he offered alcohol to the victims, who were between the ages of 18 and 22, then assaulted them at his downtown apartment.
Griener said the women testified that when they regained consciousness, they didn’t know where they were and had no memory of how they got there. No evidence of drugging or drug use was found by the court.
“They were made vulnerable by the perpetrator,” Griener said.
The court said it would make a written decision at a later date.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2023.
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
Official statement from Premier Danielle Smith and Energy Minister Brian Jean on the start-up of the Trans Mountain Pipeline
-
International2 days ago
Trump campaign says he will pardon Jan. 6 prisoners on ‘case-by-case basis’ if re-elected
-
conflict2 days ago
NYPD says protesters had weapons, gas masks and ‘Death to America!’ pamphlets
-
illegal immigration1 day ago
Biden’s DOJ Threatens To Sue Another State For Enforcing Immigration Law
-
Economy1 day ago
‘Gambling With The Grid’: New Data Highlights Achilles’ Heel Of One Of Biden’s Favorite Green Power Sources
-
illegal immigration1 day ago
More Chinese Illegal Migrants Apprehended At Southern Border In Two Days Than In All Of 2021: REPORT
-
ESG1 day ago
Tennessee Taking Lead In Protecting Civil Rights And Free Enterprise—And Stopping Political Debanking
-
Energy1 day ago
Market Realities Are Throwing Wrench In Biden’s Green Energy Dreams
-
conflict11 hours ago
Over 200 Days Into War, Family Of American Hostage in Gaza Strives For Deal To Bring Son Home