Alberta
Police recover massive stolen sports and hobby card collection, seize gun and ammo
News release from Leduc RCMP
Leduc RCMP seek public assistance to identify break and enter – Update charges laid
Leduc RCMP Crime Reduction Unit (LCRU) have recovered over $35,000. in stolen property from The Hobby Spot break and enter, plus unrelated stolen property and have laid charges against one male in relation to this investigation.
On Feb. 7, 2023, Leduc RCMP received information that three of the stolen cards were sold at a card business in Edmonton, Alta. After continued investigation and the assistance of Edmonton Police Service, a suspect and residence were identified.
On Feb. 10, 2023, LCRU with the assistance of Leduc RCMP General Investigation Section and Drug Unit executed a search warrant at a residence in south east area of Edmonton where they arrested the suspect.
As a result of the search, police recovered a large quantity of the stolen property and seized some items including:
- Semi-automatic rifle
- 149 rounds of ammunition
- Cash drawer
- 5grams of suspected crystal methamphetamine
- Over 500 capsules of various medications
- 17 boxes/bottles of various medications
- Several sets of building keys and vehicle keys/vehicle key fobs
- Stolen mail
- Many trading/collecting and gaming cards including NHL, NBA, MLB, Pokemon, Magic The Gathering, Yugioh, Dicemasters, MetaZoo and Flesh and Blood.
- Comic books
- Warhammer Models
Justin Jarrod Charest (32), a residence of Edmonton, was charged with the following:
- Break and enter
- Trafficking property over 5,000.
- Possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000. (x2)
- Unsafe storage of a firearm
- Unauthorized possession of a firearm
- Possession of a controlled substance – methamphetamine
- Fail to comply with release order (x4)
Following a judicial hearing, Charest was remanded in custody. He is scheduled to appear in Leduc provincial court on Feb. 28, 2023.
“This investigation shows the success that comes when we work collaboratively with our policing partner, in Edmonton police service,” says Constable Cheri-Lee Smith. “This multijurisdictional investigation, including the intelligence sharing shows the impact we can have in our communities.”
LCRU’s investigation into this incident is ongoing.
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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