Alberta
Police in Edmonton and Central Alberta on the lookout for first degree murder suspect
From the RCMP Major Crimes Unit
RCMP Major Crimes Unit seeking male wanted on first degree murder charge
On Jan. 3, 2020 the Wetaskiwin RCMP responded to a homicide in the city of Wetaskiwin. An investigation conducted by the Major Crimes Unit has led to first degree murder charges against Ryan Jake Applegarth (27).
Applegarth has not been located by the RCMP since an earlier request for public assistance on Jan. 6, when he had arrest warrants on unrelated charges. The whereabouts of Applegarth remain unknown and the Major Crimes Unit is now looking to take him into custody. He is believed to be in either the Wetaskiwin, Maskwacis or Edmonton area. He is believed to be armed and should not be approached.
Applegarth is described as:
– Indigenous
– 5’11” tall / 181 lbs.
– Black hair / brown eyes
– Wears glasses
If you have seen him, or know the whereabouts of Ryan Jake Applegarth, please contact the Wetaskiwin RCMP at 780-312-7267 or your local RCMP. 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:
January 4, 2020
RCMP Major Crimes Unit investigating homicide in Wetaskiwin
The Wetaskiwin RCMP responded to a complaint of a deceased 34-year-old male at a residence in the City of Wetaskiwin on January 3, 2020 at 10:00 p.m. The male was confirmed deceased at the scene. The RCMP Major Crimes Unit (MCU) has been deployed to take carriage of the investigation.
The investigation into this homicide continues. No further information is available at this time.
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
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