Edmonton
Pharmacist says $150M savings in provincial budget will have negative consequences
Opinion by Aileen Jang, Pharmacist
95% of Albertans polled named pharmacists as the most accessible healthcare professional. Year after year, pharmacists have ranked among the top 3 as the most trusted profession. On May 17, 2018 the new pharmacy Funding Framework will come into effect and the Alberta government claims there will be a savings of $150 million dollars.
The goal of every government is to reduce spending and cut costs. As a taxpayer, I agree with this but only if it is done in a manner that is not harmful to its citizens. When funding is decreased to the pharmacy, patients will ultimately be the ones to pay the price. Wait times for filling your prescriptions; consultations on your medications and health conditions; and injection services will all increase. The reality is that patient care will suffer when pharmacists no longer have the resources to provide the services Albertans have come to rely on.
This past influenza campaign, pharmacists provided 51% of the vaccinations. The reduced fee to community pharmacies for providing this service in future will decrease this number. The result will be an increased strain to the public health clinics and physician offices ultimately resulting in added costs and strain to the healthcare system.
In 2017, pharmacists helped over 16,000 Albertans in their attempt to quit smoking. This service alone will save the system healthcare dollars by improving the health of our patients.
Pharmacists provided over 500,000 Albertans with prescription renewals when they were unable to see or find a family physician. This service allows pharmacist to work with the physician and patient to improve their health while saving the healthcare system money.
Pharmacists are health professionals and want to provide high quality care. However, the NDP government has signaled that patient care is not important, instead focusing solely on a budget that is largely beyond the control of pharmacists as drug costs are not set by pharmacies but by government and big pharma. For these reasons, pharmacists are upset and demanding dialogue but have met with ignorance of the facts and empty promises to engage with us.
by Aileen Jang, Pharmacist
Alberta
Edmonton Murder Shows Trudeau Has Lost Control Of Crime
Harshanedeep Singh from rozanaspokesman.com
News release from the Conservative Party of Canada
After nine years, the NDP-Liberal government has lost control of crime. Violent crime has skyrocketed by 50 percent since Trudeau became Prime Minister and 256 people were killed by a criminal who was out on bail or another form of release in 2022, the latest year available with full data.
On Saturday, Canadians witnessed the shocking, heinous murder of Harshandeep Singh, a 20-year-old security guard in Edmonton, Alberta. Singh was shot in the back while thanklessly doing his job as a nighttime security guard at a central Edmonton apartment building. A promising young life was snuffed out by a cold-blooded monster.
“One cannot imagine how Harshandeep’s family and friends feel,” said Tim Uppal, Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family at this incredibly difficult time.”
Edmonton Police have since arrested two individuals and charged them with first degree murder: “Evan Rain, 30, and Judith Saulteaux, 30, were arrested and charged with 1st degree murder in relation to Singh’s death.”
Early indications suggest that Rain has a known prior violent history, with media reports aligning with Rain’s current age. In 2018, an “Evan Chase Francis Rain”, then age 24, was charged for a violent kidnapping in Wetaskiwin, one hour south of Edmonton. A woman was forced into the trunk of a car at gunpoint. It is not clear from media reports how this case was concluded.
In 2022, “Evan Rain, 28, of Paul First Nation” (45 minutes west of Edmonton) faced twenty-nine charges for a violent robbery in northern Saskatchewan involving firearms.
This is from the 2022 RCMP news release at the time:
Evan Rain, 28, of Paul First Nation, is charged with:
-one count, robbery, Section 344, Criminal Code;
-one count, have face masked with intent to commit an indictable offence, Section 351(2), Criminal Code;
-eight counts, possess a firearm knowing it was obtained by the commission of an offence, Section 96(2), Criminal Code;
-one count, possession of property obtained by the commission of an offence, Section 354(1)(a), Criminal Code;
-one count, mischief under $5,000, Section 430(4), Criminal Code;
-sixteen counts, possess a firearm while prohibited, Section 117-01(3), Criminal Code; and
-one count, point a firearm, Section 87(2), Criminal Code.
The status of these charges is not readily apparent. The RCMP’s 2022 news release does make clear that Rain was already prohibited from possessing firearms: “sixteen counts, possess a firearm while prohibited, Section 117-01(3).”
“It appears that our so-called ‘justice’ system terribly failed Harshandeep Singh – just as it has outrageously failed so many others,” said Uppal. “Harshandeep Singh’s murder cannot be accepted as just an unfortunate, unavoidable reality in our society. Authorities should answer to Rain’s prior police interactions and potential criminal history, including whether he was out on bail or some other form of release order.”
Life wasn’t like this before Justin Trudeau. Since the NDP-Liberal government passed Bill C-75 and Bill C-5, which gave high priority to releasing repeat violent offenders and took away mandatory jail time for certain violent crimes, a crime wave has been unleashed across the country. This was evident in a report from the Fraser Institute which showed that Canada’s violent crime rate is 14 percent higher than that of the United States’.
Trudeau’s only response to this has been to crack down on law-abiding firearms owners and Indigenous hunters which has done nothing to improve Canada’s public safety. Instead, violent gun crime is up by a staggering 116 percent since the Liberals formed government.
Enough is Enough. Canadians deserve to feel safe in their communities. Only Common Sense Conservatives will bring home safe streets by ending Justin Trudeau’s catch-and-release justice system and bringing jail, not bail, for repeat violent offenders.
Alberta
Multi-million dollar drug seizure in southwest Edmonton
News release from ALERT (The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team)
Nearly $2.5 million in drugs and cash was seized from a southwest Edmonton condo building. A warrant has been issued for an Edmonton man.
ALERT Edmonton’s organized crime team made the seizure on October 9, 2024 after searching an address in the Windermere neighbourhood. The Edmonton Police Service helped with the search warrant execution.
ALERT seized an estimated $2.3 million worth of drugs, which included:
- 17.7 kilograms of cocaine;
- 5.3 kilograms of MDMA;
- 950 grams of methamphetamine;
- 3.1 kilograms of ketamine;
- 5 kilograms of psilocybin mushrooms;
- 20,000 oxycodone pills;
- 4,705 illicit prescription pills;
- $41,000 cash.
ALERT searched the address following an investigation that dates back to June 2024. Investigators developed information about a high-level drug trafficker operating in the Edmonton area with a number of supply lines.
The drug seizure marks ALERT’s largest since a record bust earlier in the year. In August, 27 kilograms of cocaine were seized from a west Edmonton home. The two investigations are unrelated.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Minh Nguyen. The 36-year-old Edmonton man is wanted on charges of possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking, possession of proceeds of crime, and possession of counterfeit money.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact police.
The investigation began in June 2024 after ALERT received information about a drug supplier based in the Edmonton area. ALERT alleges Nguyen was supplying other drug dealers in Edmonton and northern Alberta communities.
Members of the public who suspect drug or gang activity in their community can call local police, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers is always anonymous.
ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta Government and is a compilation of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime.
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