Crime
EPS expands online reporting tool to include historic sexual assault
The Edmonton Police Service has expanded its online crime reporting tool to include historic sexual assault. In instances where sexual assault has occurred more than seven days prior, victims are now able to file a report through a secure webform on edmontonpolice.ca.
Please note that the online sexual assault reporting tool is not anonymous – personal information is required to complete the form. However, it does provide the option to submit the report for information-only or investigation. Individuals will only be contacted by an officer when their report is submitted for investigation. If they submit for information-only, they will be issued a file number that they may hold on to until they are ready to proceed to investigation – that file number can then be given to EPS to update the report or proceed with investigation.
Sexual Assault Online Reporting Frequently Asked Questions
Below is a list of common questions for sexual assault online reporting. Where possible, links to other areas of interest have been provided. If you have questions while entering your report, please call the online reporting help line at 780-391-6001.
How do I know if I have been sexually assaulted?
Sexual assault is any sexual contact where consent is not given, consent is revoked, or you are unable to consent due to incapacitation.
Click here to see more information on what is sexual assault.
Click here to see more information on consent.
When can I report a sexual assault online?
You can report a sexual assault online if it meets the following criteria:
• It is not an emergency and you are not in danger.
• The incident did not occur within the last 7 days.
• You are reporting on behalf of yourself and you are 16 years or older.
• There is no evidence that may be lost if it is not collected immediately (e.g. clothing with possible DNA evidence, surveillance video, witnesses, weapons, social media messages).
• You have an email account this is secure and is not shared, so that you will not be in danger if you receive emails from the EPS.
What if the sexual assault happened outside of Edmonton? Can I file a report using this online reporting system?
If the incident you are reporting happened outside the city limits of Edmonton, should you choose to report this incident, you can report it to the police agency in the jurisdiction where the incident occurred. For example, the Edmonton International Airport falls within the jurisdiction of the RCMP.
What will happen after I make an online sexual assault report?
Once you complete your online report the following will occur:
• You will see the words: “Your online police report has been submitted”. This indicates that your report was successfully submitted.
• You will be given a temporary police report number.
• All cases filed using the Online Reporting System will be reviewed within 7 business days.
• Once processed, you will receive a permanent police report number that replaces the temporary one.
• If you are submitting this report to initiate a police investigation you will be contacted by an investigator within 10 business days.
• If you are submitting this report for information purposes only, we will not contact you.
What will happen after I make an online sexual assault report?
Once you complete your online report the following will occur:
• You will see the words: “Your online police report has been submitted”. This indicates that your report was successfully submitted.
• You will be given a temporary police report number.
• All cases filed using the Online Reporting System will be reviewed within 7 business days.
• Once processed, you will receive a permanent police report number that replaces the temporary one.
• If you are submitting this report to initiate a police investigation you will be contacted by an investigator within 10 business days.
• If you are submitting this report for information purposes only, we will not contact you.
What will happen after I make an online sexual assault report?
Once you complete your online report the following will occur:
• You will see the words: “Your online police report has been submitted”. This indicates that your report was successfully submitted.
• You will be given a temporary police report number.
• All cases filed using the Online Reporting System will be reviewed within 7 business days.
• Once processed, you will receive a permanent police report number that replaces the temporary one.
• If you are submitting this report to initiate a police investigation you will be contacted by an investigator within 10 business days.
• If you are submitting this report for information purposes only, we will not contact you.
What if the sexual assault happened a long time ago?
There is no statute of limitations on sexual assault; you can choose to report at any time.
What information do I need to include in the body of my report?
Just tell us what happened.
What can DNA evidence be used for?
DNA is a reliable form of evidence in many criminal cases. DNA evidence can be collected from blood, hair, skin cells, and other bodily substances. It can even be used to solve old crimes that occurred prior to the development of DNA testing technology.
If I change my mind after I have reported to police, do I have to continue with the investigation?
In the vast majority of cases, you will determine whether or not the investigation proceeds. In rare occurrences, when public safety is at risk (i.e. prolific sex offenders, serial murderers), the investigation must continue.
What if I previously reported a sexual assault and chose not to proceed with an investigation at that time, but I would like to proceed with a police investigation now?
Please call EPS at (780) 423-4567 (#377 from your mobile) and advise that you would like to re-open a sexual assault investigation. You will need to provide your name and file number (if you have one).
Crime
CBSA Bust Uncovers Mexican Cartel Network in Montreal High-Rise, Moving Hundreds Across Canada-U.S. Border
A court document cited by La Presse in prior reporting on the case.
The conviction targets Edgar Gonzalez de Paz, 37, a Mexican national identified in court evidence as a key organizer in a Montreal-based smuggling network that La Presse documented in March through numerous legal filings.
According to the Canada Border Services Agency, Gonzalez de Paz’s guilty plea acknowledges that he arranged a clandestine crossing for seven migrants on January 27–28, 2024, in exchange for money. He had earlier been arrested and charged with avoiding examination and returning to Canada without authorization.
Breaking the story in March, La Presse reported: “A Mexican criminal organization has established itself in Montreal, where it is making a fortune by illegally smuggling hundreds of migrants across the Canada-U.S. border. Thanks to the seizure of two accounting ledgers, Canadian authorities have gained unprecedented access to the group’s secrets, which they hope to dismantle in the coming months.”
La Presse said the Mexico-based organization ran crossings in both directions — Quebec to the United States and vice versa — through roughly ten collaborators, some family-linked, charging $5,000 to $6,000 per trip and generating at least $1 million in seven months.
The notebooks seized by CBSA listed clients, guarantors, recruiters in Mexico, and accomplices on the U.S. side. In one April 20, 2024 interception near the border, police stopped a vehicle registered to Gonzalez de Paz and, according to evidence cited by La Presse, identified him as one of the “main organizers,” operating without legal status from a René-Lévesque Boulevard condo that served as headquarters.
Seizures included cellphones, a black notebook, and cocaine. A roommate’s second notebook helped authorities tally about 200 migrants and more than $1 million in receipts.
“This type of criminal organization is ruthless and often threatens customers if they do not pay, or places them in a vulnerable situation,” a CBSA report filed as evidence stated, according to La Presse.
The Montreal-based organization first appeared on the radar in a rural community of about 400 inhabitants in the southern Montérégie region bordering New York State, La Presse reported, citing court documents.
On the U.S. side of the line, in the Swanton Sector (Vermont and adjoining northern New York and New Hampshire), authorities reported an exceptional surge in 2022–2023 — driven largely by Mexican nationals rerouting via Canada — foreshadowing the Mexican-cartel smuggling described in the CBSA case.
Gonzalez de Paz had entered Canada illegally in 2023, according to La Presse. When officers arrested him, CBSA agents seized 30 grams of cocaine, two cellphones, and a black notebook filled with handwritten notes. In his apartment, they found clothing by Balenciaga, a luxury brand whose T-shirts retail for roughly $1,000 each.
Investigators have linked this case to another incident at the same address involving a man named Mario Alberto Perez Gutierrez, a resident of the same condo as early as 2023.
Perez Gutierrez was accompanied by several men known to Canadian authorities for cocaine trafficking, receiving stolen goods, armed robbery, or loitering in the woods near the American border, according to a Montreal Police Service (SPVM) report filed as evidence.
The CBSA argued before the immigration tribunal that Gonzalez de Paz belonged to a group active in human and drug trafficking — “activities usually orchestrated by Mexican cartels.”
As The Bureau has previously reported, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Cabinet was warned in 2016 that lifting visa requirements for Mexican visitors would “facilitate travel to Canada by Mexicans with criminal records,” potentially including “drug smugglers, human smugglers, recruiters, money launderers and foot soldiers.”
CBSA “serious-crime” flags tied to Mexican nationals rose sharply after the December 2016 visa change. Former CBSA officer Luc Sabourin, in a sworn affidavit cited by The Bureau, alleged that hundreds of cartel-linked operatives entered Canada following the visa lift.
The closure of Roxham Road in 2023 altered migrant flows and increased reliance on organized smugglers — a shift reflected in the ledger-mapped Montreal network and a spike in U.S. northern-border encounters.
The Bureau is a reader-supported publication.
To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Crime
Public Execution of Anti-Cartel Mayor in Michoacán Prompts U.S. Offer to Intervene Against Cartels
“I don’t want to be just another mayor on the list of those executed”
On the first night of November, during Day of the Dead celebrations, the independent, anti-cartel mayor of Uruapan in Michoacán, Carlos Manzo, was assassinated in the heart of his city during a public festival. His bloody murder has underscored the deadly risks faced by local officials who may lack adequate protection from a state that critics say is corroded by corruption and penetrated by powerful cartel networks that, in some regions, have supplanted government authority. The killing intensifies urgent questions about political and police corruption, cartel impunity, and the scope of U.S.–Mexico security cooperation — with a response from the U.S. State Department today offering to “deepen security cooperation with Mexico.”
Manzo, a fiercely outspoken anti-cartel mayor who took office in 2024 as Uruapan’s first independent leader, was gunned down as he stood before crowds at the annual Day of the Dead candlelight celebration. Witnesses said gunfire erupted shortly after Manzo appeared onstage, holding his young son moments before the attack. The festival, known locally as the Festival de las Velas, drew hundreds of families to Uruapan’s central plaza — now transformed into the scene of Mexico’s latest high-profile political assassination, and a catalyst for nationwide outrage, as online protests surged and citizens called for demonstrations against cartel violence.
According to early reports, at least two suspects have been detained and one attacker was killed on site. Authorities asserted — despite the success of the attack — that Manzo had been under National Guard protection since December 2024, with additional reinforcements added in May 2025 following credible threats to his life.
In Washington today, the killing drew political reaction. “My thoughts are with the family and friends of Carlos Manzo, mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico, who was assassinated at a public Day of the Dead celebration last night. The United States stands ready to deepen security cooperation with Mexico to wipe out organized crime on both sides of the border,” Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, the former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, said in a statement shared online.
Federal Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said the gunmen “took advantage of the vulnerability of a public event” to carry out the attack, despite a standing security perimeter.
President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the killing as a “vile” assault on democracy and vowed there would be “zero impunity.” Her administration convened an emergency security meeting and pledged that the investigation would reach the “intellectual authors” of the crime. Yet the murder has already ignited outrage across Mexico over the government’s failure to protect local officials in cartel-dominated states such as Michoacán, where extortion, assassinations, and territorial disputes continue to erode basic governance.
Manzo had publicly warned of his fate. “I don’t want to be just another mayor on the list of those executed,” he said earlier this year, as he pressed the federal government for better coordination between municipal and military authorities. For years, Uruapan — an agricultural and trade hub in western Mexico — has been the site of deadly clashes between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and remnants of the Knights Templar Organization, both vying to control lucrative extortion and drug routes.
The killing of Manzo fits a dark and familiar pattern. In 2025 alone, several mayors in Michoacán, Guerrero, and Tamaulipas have been killed in attacks widely attributed to organized-crime groups. In June, the mayors of Tepalcatepec and Tacámbaro were ambushed and slain while traveling in official convoys. More than 90 local officials have been murdered since 2018 — a rate that analysts say reflects how cartels target municipal governments to ensure political control over territories tied to narcotics, mining, and agriculture. Uruapan, at the heart of Mexico’s avocado belt, is a strategic prize for the cartels that tax every shipment leaving the region.
The mayor’s death also recalls earlier tragedies that scarred the nation. In 2012, Dr. María Santos Gorrostieta Salazar, the former mayor of Tiquicheo, was abducted and murdered after surviving two assassination attempts and defying cartel threats. Her death became emblematic of the dangers faced by reformers who refuse to cooperate with criminal groups. More than a decade later, Manzo’s murder illustrates that little has changed — except the brazenness of the attackers, now willing to strike in front of cameras and families celebrating one of Mexico’s most sacred holidays.
The killing has also reignited long-standing U.S. frustration over Mexico’s inability to stem cartel violence, even as the Trump administration has expanded counter-narcotics operations at the border. Under Trump’s renewed directives, the U.S. has classified several Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and empowered the Pentagon to develop strike options against high-value targets abroad. A September 2025 joint statement between Washington and Mexico City pledged deeper intelligence sharing and cross-border enforcement initiatives, including efforts to halt arms trafficking southward.
However, Mexico’s government remains deeply wary of any U.S. military involvement on its soil. President Sheinbaum has warned that “Mexico will not stand for an invasion in the name of counter-cartel operations,” rebuffing Republican calls for unilateral action. Her position lays bare a long-standing tension between Mexico’s need for U.S. support and its insistence on sovereignty — a fault line that Manzo’s killing has reignited.
The Bureau is a reader-supported publication.
To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
It’s time for Canada to remember, the heroes of Kapyong
Carney’s budget spares tax status of Canadian churches, pro-life groups after backlash
McKinsey outlook for 2025 sharply adjusts prior projections, predicting fossil fuels will dominate well after 2050
Carney government lets Supreme Court decision stand despite outrage over child porn ruling
UN Chief Rages Against Dying Of Climate Alarm Light
US Eating Canada’s Lunch While Liberals Stall – Trump Admin Announces Record-Shattering Energy Report
Thawing the freeze on oil and gas development in Treaty 8 territory
-
armed forces2 days ago
It’s time for Canada to remember, the heroes of Kapyong
-
Business2 days agoCarney’s Floor-Crossing Campaign. A Media-Staged Bid for Majority Rule That Erodes Democracy While Beijing Hovers
-
Business1 day agoLiberals refuse to disclose the amount of taxpayer dollars headed to LGBT projects in foreign countries
-
Daily Caller20 hours agoUS Nuclear Bomber Fleet Shares Fence With Trailer Park Linked To Chinese Intel-Tied Fraudster
-
Digital ID1 day agoCanada moves forward with digital identification for federal benefits seekers
-
Alberta1 day agoSchool defunding petition in Alberta is a warning to parents
-
espionage20 hours agoChinese-Owned Trailer Park Beside U.S. Stealth Bomber Base Linked to Alleged Vancouver Repression Case
-
Daily Caller20 hours agoLaura Ingraham Presses Trump On Allowing Flood Of Chinese Students Into US