Alberta
Morinville RCMP investigating multi vehicle thefts – Update #2
July 1, 2020
Morinville RCMP investigating multi vehicle thefts – Update #2
Villeneuve, Alta – An armed robbery reported on June 29 was determined to be an extension of incidents that started in the early morning hours of June 29, 2020.
At 2:36 a.m., a break and enter was reported at a commercial business in Morinville, Alta. A vehicle was stolen from the business, and suspects abandoned a vehicle at the location.
At 4:34 a.m., the stolen vehicle was reported abandoned in a rural area in Morinville.
Sometime later a Cadillac Escalade was stolen from Bon Accord.
At 5:42 a.m., an attempted vehicle theft was reported. The victim of the attempted theft followed the suspects who were driving the previously stolen Cadillac Escalade. The victim called 911, but continued to follow the suspects. The suspects are alleged to have fired a shotgun at the pursuing victim of the carjacking. He was not injured.
Morinville RCMP members located the stolen Escalade and a pursuit ensued. A tire deflation device was unsuccessfully deployed. The RCMP member observed a firearm in the possession of an occupant and discharged his firearm toward the Escalade. The occupants in the Escalade managed to flee the RCMP.
Following this exchange, the Escalade was involved in a collision with an unrelated vehicle on Highway 37 and Highway 44.
After the collision, the Escalade went off-road, was abandoned, and the suspects fled on foot. They made an unsuccessful effort to steal another vehicle before two suspects were apprehended by the RCMP with the assistance of Police Dog Services. By 8:30 a.m., two suspects were in custody.
There is no indication that the suspects were injured by the prior gunfire. One of the males was injured as a result of a dog bite and treated for minor injuries before being lodged in police cells.
Andrew Elliott Heigh (28) and Aries Allan Briere (19) are both facing charges of possession of weapon when prohibited, possession of stolen property and attempted theft of motor vehicle (x2).
They remain in custody and are scheduled to attend court tomorrow in Morinville.
The affected public in the area are thanked for their patience while RCMP conducted their investigation. Several Units were involved including the Alberta RCMP Emergency Response Team, Police Dog Services, and the Forensic Identification Section. The investigation into these incidents remains ongoing while the RCMP continue to gather evidence.
Information obtained indicates that there remains a third suspect who has not been identified or located. There is no description available of the third male. Indications are that he has left the Morinville area.
If you have any information about this incident or the third male involved, please contact the Morinville RCMP at 780-939-4550. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.
BACKGROUND:
June 29, 2020
Morinville RCMP investigating car jacking – Update
Villeneuve, Alta. – The RCMP have allowed travel again on area highways, and the public’s movements are no longer being asked to be restricted.
Morinville RCMP members remain in the area while the investigation into this early morning incident continues.
A media update outlining the events surrounding this incident will be made available once further information is gathered and verified.
June 29, 2020
Morinville RCMP investigating car jacking
Villeneuve, Alta. – The RCMP have two males in custody and have an active investigation following an early morning car jacking near Highway 44 and Township Road 544.
At 5:42 a.m. today, Morinville RCMP were alerted to an armed robbery with shots allegedly fired by the culprits. Male suspects stole a vehicle and drove away. The driver of the stolen vehicle was not injured.
The stolen vehicle became disabled, and the males fled on foot. One was arrested near the abandoned vehicle and one was arrested following a track by Police Dog Services.
The area has been contained. There is a large RCMP presence, including Police Dog Services, the RCMP helicopter and supporting detachment members. The public is asked to remain in their residences while police continue to investigate, and to report any suspicious activity.
If you see any suspicious activity call 911.
Alberta
Alberta government should create flat 8% personal and business income tax rate in Alberta
From the Fraser Institute
By Tegan Hill
If the Smith government reversed the 2015 personal income tax rate increases and instituted a flat 8 per cent tax rate, it would help restore Alberta’s position as one of the lowest tax jurisdictions in North America
Over the past decade, Alberta has gone from one of the most competitive tax jurisdictions in North America to one of the least competitive. And while the Smith government has promised to create a new 8 per cent tax bracket on personal income below $60,000, it simply isn’t enough to restore Alberta’s tax competitiveness. Instead, the government should institute a flat 8 per cent personal and business income tax rate.
Back in 2014, Alberta had a single 10 per cent personal and business income tax rate. As a result, it had the lowest top combined (federal and provincial/state) personal income tax rate and business income tax rate in North America. This was a powerful advantage that made Alberta an attractive place to start a business, work and invest.
In 2015, however, the provincial NDP government replaced the single personal income tax rate of 10 percent with a five-bracket system including a top rate of 15 per cent, so today Alberta has the 10th-highest personal income tax rate in North America. The government also increased Alberta’s 10 per cent business income tax rate to 12 per cent (although in 2019 the Kenney government began reducing the rate to today’s 8 per cent).
If the Smith government reversed the 2015 personal income tax rate increases and instituted a flat 8 per cent tax rate, it would help restore Alberta’s position as one of the lowest tax jurisdictions in North America, all while saving Alberta taxpayers $1,573 (on average) annually.
And a truly integrated flat tax system would not only apply a uniform tax 8 per cent rate to all sources of income (including personal and business), it would eliminate tax credits, deductions and exemptions, which reduce the cost of investments in certain areas, increasing the relative cost of investment in others. As a result, resources may go to areas where they are not most productive, leading to a less efficient allocation of resources than if these tax incentives did not exist.
Put differently, tax incentives can artificially change the relative attractiveness of goods and services leading to sub-optimal allocation. A flat tax system would not only improve tax efficiency by reducing these tax-based economic distortions, it would also reduce administration costs (expenses incurred by governments due to tax collection and enforcement regulations) and compliance costs (expenses incurred by individuals and businesses to comply with tax regulations).
Finally, a flat tax system would also help avoid negative incentives that come with a progressive marginal tax system. Currently, Albertans are taxed at higher rates as their income increases, which can discourage additional work, savings and investment. A flat tax system would maintain “progressivity” as the proportion of taxes paid would still increase with income, but minimize the disincentive to work more and earn more (increasing savings and investment) because Albertans would face the same tax rate regardless of how their income increases. In sum, flat tax systems encourage stronger economic growth, higher tax revenues and a more robust economy.
To stimulate strong economic growth and leave more money in the pockets of Albertans, the Smith government should go beyond its current commitment to create a new tax bracket on income under $60,000 and institute a flat 8 per cent personal and business income tax rate.
Author:
Alberta
Province to stop municipalities overcharging on utility bills
Making utility bills more affordableAlberta’s government is taking action to protect Alberta’s ratepayers by introducing legislation to lower and stabilize local access fees. Affordability is a top priority for Alberta’s government, with the cost of utilities being a large focus. By introducing legislation to help reduce the cost of utility bills, the government is continuing to follow through on its commitment to make life more affordable for Albertans. This is in addition to the new short-term measures to prevent spikes in electricity prices and will help ensure long-term affordability for Albertans’ basic household expenses.
Local access fees are functioning as a regressive municipal tax that consumers pay on their utility bills. It is unacceptable for municipalities to be raking in hundreds of millions in surplus revenue off the backs of Alberta’s ratepayers and cause their utility bills to be unpredictable costs by tying their fees to a variable rate. Calgarians paid $240 in local access fees on average in 2023, compared to the $75 on average in Edmonton, thanks to Calgary’s formula relying on a variable rate. This led to $186 million more in fees being collected by the City of Calgary than expected.
To protect Alberta’s ratepayers, the Government of Alberta is introducing the Utilities Affordability Statutes Amendment Act, 2024. If passed, this legislation would promote long-term affordability and predictability for utility bills by prohibiting the use of variable rates when calculating municipalities’ local access fees. Variable rates are highly volatile, which results in wildly fluctuating electricity bills. When municipalities use this rate to calculate their local access fees, it results in higher bills for Albertans and less certainty in families’ budgets. These proposed changes would standardize how municipal fees are calculated across the province, and align with most municipalities’ current formulas.
If passed, the Utilities Affordability Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 would prevent municipalities from attempting to take advantage of Alberta’s ratepayers in the future. It would amend sections of the Electric Utilities Act and Gas Utilities Act to ensure that the Alberta Utilities Commission has stronger regulatory oversight on how these municipal fees are calculated and applied, ensuring Alberta ratepayer’s best interests are protected.
If passed, this legislation would also amend sections of the Alberta Utilities Commission Act, the Electric Utilities Act, Government Organizations Act and the Regulated Rate Option Stability Act to replace the terms “Regulated Rate Option”, “RRO”, and “Regulated Rate Provider” with “Rate of Last Resort” and “Rate of Last Resort Provider” as applicable. Quick facts
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