Alberta
Province reminds motorists of impaired laws (alcohol and cannabis) for a safer long weekend on the highways
From the Province of Alberta
Plan ahead this long weekend to avoid tragedy
Albertans are reminded to drive safe and sober as they take to the roads over the long weekend.
Driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs puts people at serious risk of injury and death. Cannabis, prescription drugs or over-the-counter medication can be just as dangerous behind the wheel as alcohol, especially when taken in any combination.
Daily traffic volumes tend to increase on Alberta highways during long weekends. During the summer months, long weekends experience about 50 per cent more fatalities and 15 per cent more injuries than the rest of the year.
Impaired driving facts
- The federal government updated Canada’s impaired driving laws in 2018.
- Any amount of alcohol can cause impairment.
- Having a BAC of 0.08 or over within two hours of driving is a criminal offence.
- In Alberta, and in most other Canadian jurisdictions, a driver with a BAC between 0.05 and 0.079 may face provincial consequences through the Immediate Roadside Suspension Program.
- Cannabis limits are measured using nanograms of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in blood.
- Criminal penalties for cannabis are:
- Over 2 ng/ml but less that 5ng/ml of THC in blood:
- Maximum $1,000 fine (summary conviction)
- 5 ng/ml or more THC in blood:
- 1st offence: Minimum $1,000 fine
- 2nd offence: Mandatory 30 days imprisonment
- 3rd and subsequent offence(s): Mandatory 120 days imprisonment
- 2.5 ng/ml or more THC combined with 50 mg/100ml or more alcohol (in blood):
- 1st offence: Minimum $1,000 fine
- 2nd offence: Mandatory 30 days imprisonment
- 3rd and subsequent offence(s): Mandatory 120 days imprisonment
- Refusing to comply with a demand for a sample:
- 1st offence: Minimum $2,000 fine
- 2nd offence: Mandatory 30 days imprisonment
- 3rd and subsequent offence(s): Mandatory 120 days imprisonment
- Over 2 ng/ml but less that 5ng/ml of THC in blood:
- Having the prohibited level of alcohol, THC, or other impairing drugs in your blood within two hours of driving is an offence.
- On average, 6,000 people were convicted of impaired driving in Alberta each year for the last five years (April 2015 to March 2019).
- Over a 10-year period, from 2008 to 2017, 855 people died in Alberta as a result of alcohol- or drug-impaired driving, and nearly 13,000 people were injured.
Alberta
Fortis et Liber: Alberta’s Future in the Canadian Federation
From the C2C Journal
By Barry Cooper, professor of political science, University of Calgary
Canada’s western lands, wrote one prominent academic, became provinces “in the Roman sense” – acquired possessions that, once vanquished, were there to be exploited. Laurentian Canada regarded the hinterlands as existing primarily to serve the interests of the heartland. And the current holders of office in Ottawa often behave as if the Constitution’s federal-provincial distribution of powers is at best advisory, if it needs to be acknowledged at all. Reviewing this history, Barry Cooper places Alberta’s widely criticized Sovereignty Act in the context of the Prairie provinces’ long struggle for due constitutional recognition and the political equality of their citizens. Canada is a federation, notes Cooper. Provinces do have rights. Constitutions do mean something. And when they are no longer working, they can be changed.
Alberta
30 million contraband cigarettes valued at $25 million dollars seized in Alberta
New release from Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC)
Record setting contraband tobacco seizures result from AGLC investigations
Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) recently concluded several investigations which netted two of the largest contraband tobacco seizures in Alberta history. The combined total of the contraband tobacco seized was 154,800 cartons of contraband cigarettes (30.7 million individual cigarettes). These seizures are a result of the work conducted by AGLC’s Tobacco Enforcement Unit with the assistance of provincial law enforcement agencies.
- In a January 2024 investigation, approximately 43,500 cartons (8.7 million individual cigarettes) were seized. This equates to $7 million in retail value with a provincial tax avoidance of $2.4 million. This included the seizure of 15,000 grams of contraband shisha.
- In April of 2024, 60 wrapped pallets were seized from a warehouse setting netting a total of 111,300 cartons of contraband cigarettes (22 million individual cigarettes) which equates to over $18 million in retail value with a provincial tax avoidance of $6.6 million.
- Criminal Charges are pending in both cases.
“These are significant contraband tobacco investigations involving individuals that are part of organized networks whose proceeds defraud Albertans millions of dollars in tax revenue. AGLC will continue to work with our partners to investigate and disrupt the individuals and organizations involved in these illegal activities as part our commitment to a strong contraband tobacco enforcement program in Alberta.”
- Gary Peck, Vice President, Regulatory Services, AGLC
“Contraband tobacco hurts law abiding businesses that follow the rules, and it costs Albertans millions each year from lost tax revenue. Our government is committed to keeping illegal tobacco off the streets and ensuring that the sale of tobacco products comply with the law.”
- Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction
Over the last nine months, AGLC’s Tobacco Enforcement unit has seized an estimated 35 million contraband cigarettes and 115,000 grams of contraband shisha from across the province. The total potential lost tax revenue is estimated to be more than $10.1 million.
Contraband tobacco:
- is any tobacco product that does not comply with federal and provincial laws related to importation, marking, manufacturing, stamping and payment of duties and taxes;
- comes from four main sources: illegal manufacturers, counterfeits, tax-exempt diversions and resale of stolen legal tobacco; and
- can be recognized by the absence of a red (Alberta) or peach/light tan (Canada) stamp bearing the “DUTY PAID CANADA DROIT ACQUITTÉ” on packages of cigarettes and cigars or pouches of tobacco.
In addition to lost revenues that may otherwise benefit Albertans, illegally manufactured products also pose public health and safety risks as they lack regulatory controls and inspections oversight.
Albertans who suspect illegal tobacco production, packaging and/or trafficking are encouraged to contact AGLC’s Tobacco Enforcement Unit at 1-800-577-2522 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Under a Memorandum of Understanding with Alberta Treasury Board and Finance, AGLC enforces the Tobacco Tax Act and conducts criminal investigations related to the possession, distribution and trafficking of contraband tobacco products. In 2022-23, provincial revenue from tobacco taxes was approximately $522 million.
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