Connect with us
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=12]

Alberta

Police seize 9 vehicles, guns and ammo in chop shop bust in Leduc County

Published

3 years ago

3 minute read

News Release from Leduc RCMP

Leduc RCMP Crime Reduction Unit dismantle chop shop and recover 9 stolen vehicles

On April 1, 2022, officers of the Leduc Crime Reduction Unit obtained and executed a search warrant with the assistance of Leduc RCMP General Investigation Section and Drug Unit, Wetaskiwin RCMP Crime Reduction Unit, the RCMP Emergency Response Team, RCMP Police Dog Services and the RCMP Auto Theft Unit, on a rural property that they believed was being used as a chop shop in the area of Township Road 492 and Range Road 235 in Leduc County.

Four people were arrested at the scene.

As a result of the search, police seized a large quantity and variety of ammunition, firearms and prohibited weapons, vehicle identification number (VIN) fabrication equipment and motor vehicle parts. Police also recovered several stolen license plates and 9 stolen vehicles. The estimated value of the seized and recovered property is $ 191,000.

Shawn Robert Phinney (30) of Wetaskiwin, Alta. was arrested on outstanding warrants out of Parkland and Wetaskiwin.

Following a judicial hearing, Phinney was remanded into custody. He is scheduled to appear in Wetaskiwin provincial court on April 21, 2022.

Monique Stephanie Gardner (43) and Corey Robert David Landry (33) of Leduc County and Steven Joseph Irvine (29) of no fixed address are jointly charged with multiple offences:

  • Careless use of a firearm (X3)
  • Tampering with a serial number (X2)
  • Unauthorized possession of a weapon (X3)
  • Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000. (X6)
  • Possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000. (X5)
  • Tampering with a vehicle identification number (X2)
  • Fraudulent concealment (X2)

Steven Joseph Irvine was also charged with:

  • Possession of a weapon contrary to order (X2)

Irvine was also arrested on outstanding warrants out of Edmonton and Landry was also arrested on outstanding warrants out of Leduc.

Steven Irvine was brought before a Justice of the peace who released him. He is scheduled to appear in Leduc provincial court on April 7, 2022. Monique Gardner and Corey Landry were brought before a Justice of the peace who released them both to appear in Leduc provincial court on April 28, 2022.

 

“Property crime remains a priority for the Leduc RCMP and we will continue to dedicate resources who can collaborate with our partner agencies to target those individuals who cause the most harm to our communities.” Says Inspector Jeff McBeth, Officer in Charge of the Leduc RCMP. “We will continue to use intelligence led policing to steer the direction of our Crime Reduction Unit to relentlessly target and arrest prolific offenders.”

Related Topics:

Todayville is a digital media and technology company. We profile unique stories and events in our community. Register and promote your community event for free.

Follow Author

More from this author
Daily Caller / 53 mins ago

AI Needs Natural Gas To Survive

2025 Federal Election / 1 hour ago

‘Sadistic’ Canadian murderer claiming to be woman denied transfer to female prison

Internet / 10 hours ago

US government gave $22 million to nonprofit teaching teens about sex toys: report

Alberta

Alberta takes big step towards shorter wait times and higher quality health care

Published on April 9, 2025

By

From the Fraser Institute

By Nadeem Esmail

On Monday, the Smith government announced that beginning next year it will change the way it funds surgeries in Alberta. This is a big step towards unlocking the ability of Alberta’s health-care system to provide more, better and faster services for the same or possibly fewer dollars.

To understand the significance of this change, you must understand the consequences of the current (and outdated) approach.

Currently, the Alberta government pays a lump sum of money to hospitals each year. Consequently, hospitals perceive patients as a drain on their budgets. From the hospital’s perspective, there’s little financial incentive to serve more patients, operate more efficiently and provide superior quality services.

Consider what would happen if your local grocery store received a giant bag of money each year to feed people. The number of items would quickly decline to whatever was most convenient for the store to provide. (Have a favourite cereal? Too bad.) Store hours would become less convenient for customers, alongside a general decline in overall service. This type of grocery store, like an Alberta hospital, is actually financially better off (that is, it saves money) if you go elsewhere.

The Smith government plans to flip this entire system on its head, to the benefit of patients and taxpayers. Instead of handing out bags of money each year to providers, the new system—known as “activity-based funding”—will pay health-care providers for each patient they treat, based on the patient’s particular condition and important factors that may add complexity or cost to their care.

This turns patients from a drain on budgets into a source of additional revenue. The result, as has been demonstrated in other universal health-care systems worldwide, is more services delivered using existing health-care infrastructure, lower wait times, improved quality of care, improved access to medical technologies, and less waste.

In other words, Albertans will receive far better value from their health-care system, which is currently among the most expensive in the world. And relief can’t come soon enough—for example, last year in Alberta the median wait time for orthopedic surgeries including hip and knee replacements was 66.8 weeks.

The naysayers argue this approach will undermine the province’s universal system and hurt patients. But by allowing a spectrum of providers to compete for the delivery of quality care, Alberta will follow the lead of other more successful universal health-care systems in countries such as Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland and create greater accountability for hospitals and other health-care providers. Taxpayers will get a much better picture of what they’re paying for and how much they pay.

Again, Alberta is not exploring an untested policy. Almost every other developed country with universal health care uses some form of “activity-based funding” for hospital and surgical care. And remember, we already spend more on health care than our counterparts in nearly all of these countries yet endure longer wait times and poorer access to services generally, in part because of how we pay for surgical care.

While the devil is always in the details, and while it’s still possible for the Alberta government to get this wrong, Monday’s announcement is a big step in the right direction. A funding model that puts patients first will get Albertans more of the high-quality health care they already pay for in a timelier fashion. And provide to other provinces an example of bold health-care reform.

Nadeem Esmail

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
Continue Reading

Alberta

Alberta’s embrace of activity-based funding is great news for patients

Published on April 9, 2025

By

From the Montreal Economic Institute

Alberta’s move to fund acute care services through activity-based funding follows best practices internationally, points out an MEI researcher following an announcement made by Premier Danielle Smith earlier today.

“For too long, the way hospitals were funded in Alberta incentivized treating fewer patients, contributing to our long wait times,” explains Krystle Wittevrongel, director of research at the MEI. “International experience has shown that, with the proper funding models in place, health systems become more efficient to the benefit of patients.”

Currently, Alberta’s hospitals are financed under a system called “global budgeting.” This involves allocating a pre-set amount of funding to pay for a specific number of services based on previous years’ budgets.

Under the government’s newly proposed funding system, hospitals receive a fixed payment for each treatment delivered.

An Economic Note published by the MEI last year showed that Quebec’s gradual adoption of activity-based funding led to higher productivity and lower costs in the province’s health system.

Notably, the province observed that the per-procedure cost of MRIs fell by four per cent as the number of procedures performed increased by 22 per cent.

In the radiology and oncology sector, it observed productivity increases of 26 per cent while procedure costs decreased by seven per cent.

“Being able to perform more surgeries, at lower costs, and within shorter timelines is exactly what Alberta’s patients need, and Premier Smith understands that,” continued Mrs. Wittevrongel. “Today’s announcement is a good first step, and we look forward to seeing a successful roll-out once appropriate funding levels per procedure are set.”

The governments expects to roll-out this new funding model for select procedures starting in 2026.

* * *

The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.

Continue Reading

Trending

X