-Edmonton police have issued Canada-wide warrants for a suspect in three drive-by shootings investigators believe are connected with extortions involving South Asian home builders. The incidents all happened in December. In one case, someone fired shots at a bedroom window of a home in the Cy Becker neighbourhood of Edmonton. A similar incident happened two days later in Winnipeg. Police say in the Edmonton and Winnipeg incidents, the homeowners were extorted for money and threatened beforehand.   In the meantime, police are looking for this vehicle in connection with the Winnipeg shootin ..read more

-The ALERT team’s ICE-unit has charged a Calgary school principal with offences related to child sexual abuse materials.    Investigators say the suspect allegedly uploaded those materials through Skype, while a number of phones and computers have since been seized from the man’s home.      They say some were also found on his work-issued cellphone.      61-year old Bruce Campbell was employed as a principal at Sacred Heart Elementary in Calgary. ************** -The province is putting more money into wildfire preparedness, for a to ..read more

-A 33-year old Constable with the St. Paul RCMP detachment is facing counts of child exploitation offences.     The ALERT ICE-team say their investigation began last November, after the suspect allegedly uploaded some exploitation videos to Snapchat.     And they say they seized evidence from the suspect’s home computer and mobile devices during a search of his home.      Evan Peacock has been charged with two counts of possessing, distributing and accessing child pornography.    ICE is encouraging anyone with information ab ..read more

-Edmonton police are releasing a series of surveillance videos of suspects in those home builder extortion schemes. It’s known as “Project Gaslight”, where South Asian home builders are being told to come up with cash, or their projects and homes will be set on fire. Investigators say several arsons are linked with the matter, as they’re investigating 34 events. On Nov. 6, 2023, in the area of 16 Avenue and 12 Street, three suspects are seen getting out of a vehicle with a gas can, and later running back to the same vehicle. Police are looking for information on the identities of the three sus ..read more

-A judge has ruled a class-action lawsuit can proceed against the Catholic Church and a priest who used to work in Edmonton.      It’s being led by residential school survivor Sphenia Jones, after the priest in question allegedly described evidence of unmarked graves as lies and manipulation during one of his sermons.      The suit also alleges the priest claimed Indigenous children died of natural causes.      But lawyers for the church say the remarks were made in Polish, and were misinterpreted ..read more

-Alberta is going to become home to the largest renewable diesel facility in Canada, as Imperial has qualified for the Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit program.     When production begins next year, Imperial says that facility will convert locally sourced biofeedstocks such as canola oil, into lower-emission renewable diesel.     It will be the first of its kind in Alberta, and construction is already underway at the Strathcona refinery.     It’s expected to produce more than 1-billion litres of renewable diesel every year ..read more

Gruff Gushnowski chats with Foreigner bassist Jeff Pilson about the Farewell tour, and his Rock ‘n’ Roll life ..read more

-If you’d been hoping to hear something for agriculture in this week’s federal budget, you probably heard the sound of crickets.      But since the tax on capital gains of at least 250-thousand dollars is being hiked to 66-percent, Keith Currie with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture says they’re trying to find out what THAT could mean for farmers.    Meanwhile, Kyle Larkin with the Grain Growers of Canada says he would have liked to have seen an acceleration of the capital-cost bonus depreciation, which allows farmers to buy the latest, and possibly more ..read more

-The federal budget came down yesterday and the feds want to spend more than 8-billion dollars on housing initiatives. Small and medium sized businesses will receive about 2.5-billion dollars in carbon rebates later this year. Taxes on cigarettes and vaping products are going up, while the government plans to make it easier to renew or switch between cellphone plans to get a better rate.. In the meantime, the highest earners in the country will be hit with new taxes to offset the billions the feds plan to spend on housing and social supports, as   Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says ..read more

-The Minister of Service Alberta says the government is working to make sure people still waiting for their money after opting out of life-lease agreements, get what they’re owed. Dale Nally also says the Life Lease Protection Amendment Act will demand the return of entrance fees within 180 days of the cancellation of an agreement, and a ten day cooling off period, where a life-lease buyer could cancel, if they change their minds. ****************** -If you live in the city of Edmonton and feel what you’re already paying in property taxes this year is too much, city administration wants more ..read more