Alberta
Red Deer to have a drug treatment court to help break the cycle of crime and addiction
From the Province of Alberta
Supporting recovery and combatting drugs in Red Deer
A new drug treatment court in Red Deer will help support addiction treatment and recovery, while increased support for law enforcement will target drug traffickers and suppliers.
Red Deer will have one of five drug treatment courts outside of Edmonton and Calgary as part of government’s four-year investment of up to $20 million toward expanding the program across the province.
The government is also providing Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) with a $50-million budget increase for initiatives to disrupt and dismantle organized crime. A portion of this new funding will allow ALERT to expand regional organized crime units across the province, including the addition of three new investigators to the regional unit based in Red Deer.
“Our government will be opening a drug treatment court in Red Deer to reduce crime by offering treatment to those struggling with addiction to help get their lives back on track. We are also ensuring law enforcement in central Alberta have the resources they need to disrupt and dismantle the organized crime groups that traffic and supply the illegal drugs that fuel addiction and take a terrible toll on our communities.”
“Our government has made several important investments in mental health and addiction services across the province over the last year to ensure all Albertans have access to the supports they need to get on the road to recovery. This announcement is no exception. Drug treatment courts are an important way to help Albertans on the road to recovery. We are committed to ensuring people everywhere, including in Red Deer, get the support they need now and in the future.”
“I am pleased that our government has chosen Red Deer as one of the locations for five new drug treatment courts in Alberta. This provides a new avenue for Albertans struggling with substance abuse in central Alberta. I look forward to seeing the positive impact it has on its participants, their families, and our broader community.”
“The City of Red Deer welcomes news that the Government of Alberta has selected our city for a drug treatment court. With the significant public safety and health issues our community and region are facing, this will help to break the systemic cycle of addiction and crime as a much-needed alternative legal mechanism, as well as alleviate backlog pressures currently facing our justice system locally. Additional capacity in the local justice system will also help support the interests of victims of crime.”
Expanding drug treatment courts
Drug treatment courts help break the cycle of crime motivated by addiction by giving people who commit non-violent offences access to judicially supervised treatment and recovery. Treatment is supplemented by frequent drug testing, incentives, sanctions and social services support.
“A drug treatment court in Red Deer will be an integral part of a positive, fundamental course correction in the public interest, providing opportunities for us to support individuals choosing to forsake crime, make restitution, and seek freedom from addictions, while respecting businesses and families in our wonderful community. Better days are ahead.”
“Rehabilitation of offenders is part of the sentencing regime courts must follow. Those people who are motivated to commit offences because of their addiction to drugs are often most in need of rehabilitation. A drug treatment court serving Red Deer and surrounding areas will assist the court in meeting this objective and we very much look forward to this addition to the court in central Alberta.”
“Drug treatment court is the reason I am alive today. I was facing four years in jail for trafficking methamphetamine in Camrose and was so sick and deep into my addiction that my life was falling apart. My children and I were near death. Today, I am proud to say that I continue my life in recovery and advocate for others who struggle with addictions and mental health.”
“Drug treatment court was an integral part of my recovery journey. Like many, I caused a tremendous amount of harm while in active addiction. Without this program, I might not be alive today and I certainly wouldn’t be living a quality life in recovery. I am grateful for this government’s continued expansion of this program so others get the same opportunity for recovery that it gave me.”
“Parents Empowering Parents (PEP) has built a strong partnership with the drug treatment court program over the years. This innovative program and the partnership we’ve built has meant that participants and their families are supported through their long-term recovery. We are excited to hear about the expansion of this program across the province and look forward to seeing its positive impacts.”
“The announcement of the Red Deer Drug Treatment Court is an indication of the innovative and progressive work that Minister Schweitzer has undertaken to combat rural crime in Alberta. Drug treatment courts have proven success in creating the opportunity to change the lives of those who are caught in this cycle of addiction and crime.”
New funding will be used to establish drug treatment courts in five locations outside of Calgary and Edmonton. The court in Red Deer, along with a new program in Lethbridge announced earlier this year, is expected to be operational by late 2021. Three additional sites have yet to be determined.
Drug treatment courts have been operating in Edmonton since 2005 and Calgary since 2007, and part of the $20 million in additional funding is also being used to double the total combined capacity of the two existing courts to about 80 participants a year.
Expanding ALERT
As part of a build-up of regional organized crime units around the province, ALERT is adding three positions to an existing team of 15 investigators based in Red Deer.
“The added resources, and enhancement of our ALERT team in Red Deer, will create more opportunities for collaboration, intelligence sharing, and provide a more versatile response to serious and organized crime in the central Alberta region.”
This move will expand ALERT’s geographic reach in rural areas. It also creates opportunities for investigators from smaller law enforcement agencies to gain experience working on complex cases, which they take back to their respective organizations.
Alberta
Median workers in Alberta could receive 72% more under Alberta Pension Plan compared to Canada Pension Plan
From the Fraser Institute
By Tegan Hill and Joel Emes
Moving from the CPP to a provincial pension plan would generate savings for Albertans in the form of lower contribution rates (which could be used to increase private retirement savings while receiving the same pension benefits as the CPP under the new provincial pension), finds a new study published today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
“Due to Alberta’s comparatively high rates of employment, higher average incomes, and younger population, Albertans would pay a lower contribution rate through a separate provincial pension plan while receiving the same benefits as under the CPP,” said Tegan Hill, director of Alberta policy at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Illustrating the Potential of an Alberta Pension Plan.
Assuming Albertans invested the savings from moving to a provincial pension plan into a private retirement account, and assuming a contribution rate of 5.85 per cent, workers earning the median income in Alberta ($53,061 in 2025) could accrue a stream of retirement payments totalling $454,741 (pre-tax)—a 71.6 per cent increase from their stream of CPP payments ($264,968).
Put differently, under the CPP, a median worker receives a total of $264,968 in retirement income over their life. If an Alberta worker saved the difference between what they pay now into the CPP and what they would pay into a new provincial plan, the income they would receive in retirement increases. If the contribution rate for the new provincial plan was 5.85 per cent—the lower of the available estimates—the increase in retirement income would total $189,773 (or an increase of 71.6 per cent).
If the contribution rate for a new Alberta pension plan was 8.21 per cent—the higher of the available estimates—a median Alberta worker would still receive an additional $64,672 in retirement income over their life, a marked increase of 24.4 per cent compared to the CPP alone.
Put differently, assuming a contribution rate of 8.21 per cent, Albertan workers earning the median income could accrue a stream of retirement payments totaling $329,640 (pre-tax) under a provincial pension plan—a 24.4 per cent increase from their stream of CPP payments.
“While the full costs and benefits of a provincial pension plan must be considered, its clear that Albertans could benefit from higher retirement payments under a provincial pension plan, compared to the CPP,” Hill said.
Illustrating the Potential of an Alberta Pension Plan
- Due to Alberta’s comparatively high rates of employment, higher average incomes, and younger population, Albertans would pay a lower contribution rate with a separate provincial pension plan, compared with the CPP, while receiving the same benefits as under the CPP.
- Put differently, moving from the CPP to a provincial pension plan would generate savings for Albertans, which could be used to increase private retirement income. This essay assesses the potential savings for Albertans of moving to a provincial pension plan. It also estimates an Albertan’s potential increase in total retirement income, if those savings were invested in a private account.
- Depending on the contribution rate used for an Alberta pension plan (APP), ranging from 5.85 to 8.2 percent, an individual earning the CPP’s yearly maximum pensionable earnings ($71,300 in 2025), would accrue a stream of retirement payments under the total APP (APP plus private retirement savings), yielding a total retirement income of between $429,524 and $584,235. This would be 22.9 to 67.1 percent higher, respectively, than their stream of CPP payments ($349,545).
- An individual earning the median income in Alberta ($53,061 in 2025), would accrue a stream of retirement payments under the total APP (APP plus private retirement savings), yielding a total retirement income of between $329,640 and $454,741, which is between 24.4 percent to 71.6 percent higher, respectively, than their stream of CPP payments ($264,968).
Tegan Hill
Director, Alberta Policy, Fraser Institute
Joel Emes
From LifeSiteNews
Alberta’s Fairness and Safety in Sport Act bans transgender males from women’s sports within the province but cannot regulate out-of-province transgender athletes.
Alberta’s ban on gender-confused males competing in women’s sports will not apply to out-of-province athletes.
In an interview posted July 12 by the Canadian Press, Alberta Tourism and Sport Minister Andrew Boitchenko revealed that Alberta does not have the jurisdiction to regulate out-of-province, gender-confused males from competing against female athletes.
“We don’t have authority to regulate athletes from different jurisdictions,” he said in an interview.
Ministry spokeswoman Vanessa Gomez further explained that while Alberta passed legislation to protect women within their province, outside sporting organizations are bound by federal or international guidelines.
As a result, Albertan female athletes will be spared from competing against men during provincial competition but must face male competitors during inter-provincial events.
In December, Alberta passed the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act to prevent biological men who claim to be women from competing in women’s sports. The legislation will take effect on September 1 and will apply to all school boards, universities, as well as provincial sports organizations.
The move comes after studies have repeatedly revealed what almost everyone already knew was true, namely, that males have a considerable advantage over women in athletics.
Indeed, a recent study published in Sports Medicine found that a year of “transgender” hormone drugs results in “very modest changes” in the inherent strength advantages of men.
Additionally, male athletes competing in women’s sports are known to be violent, especially toward female athletes who oppose their dominance in women’s sports.
Last August, Albertan male powerlifter “Anne” Andres was suspended for six months after a slew of death threats and harassments against his female competitors.
In February, Andres ranted about why men should be able to compete in women’s competitions, calling for “the Ontario lifter” who opposes this, apparently referring to powerlifter April Hutchinson, to “die painfully.”
Interestingly, while Andres was suspended for six months for issuing death threats, Hutchinson was suspended for two years after publicly condemning him for stealing victories from women and then mocking his female competitors on social media. Her suspension was later reduced to a year.
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