Alberta
Red Deer Justice Centre looking to add courtroom space as construction nears completion
Construction of the new Red Deer Justice Centre is nearing completion.
Alberta’s government is investing in courthouse infrastructure to provide Albertans with courthouses that are modern, safe and easy to access.
Upgrading and building new courthouses improves Albertans’ access to the justice system by adding courtrooms and making buildings easier for everyone to navigate. Red Deer is getting a new building with additional courtrooms while Brooks, Hinton and Peace River will see renovations to the existing courthouses to make them more user-friendly and to provide updated security, privacy and accessibility features.
Red Deer Justice Centre
With an investment of more than $200 million, construction of the new Red Deer Justice Centre is nearing completion. Once finished, it will have 12 courtrooms ready for use, an increase from eight at the current facility. This will allow more cases to be heard at one time so matters can proceed in a timely manner. A $200,000 investment in Budget 2023 will support a planning study to build out four additional courtrooms, which, when complete, will bring the total number of courtrooms to 16.
The justice centre will also have spaces for people taking alternative approaches to the traditional courtroom trial process, with three new suites for judicial dispute resolution services, a new Indigenous courtroom with dedicated venting for smudging purposes, and a dedicated suite for alternative dispute resolution services such as family mediation and civil mediation.
Albertans continue to access court services at the existing Red Deer courthouse while the new centre is being built.
“Upgrading our province’s courthouses gives Albertans a more secure and comfortable experience when they need to visit court. By building a new justice centre in Red Deer, we are taking steps to increase capacity in the justice system to keep up with demand.”
Brooks courthouse
The upgraded Brooks courthouse is fully operational, as renovations were completed in August. A $4.6-million investment by Alberta’s government enabled many improvements to the courthouse, including a new public waiting area, vulnerable witness room, holding cells, prisoner dock and other updates. Alberta’s government is also investing in upgrades to courtroom audiovisual equipment at the Brooks courthouse.
“Access to justice services within communities across Alberta is critically important. Not only will these projects help increase access to the judicial system, boost the local economy and create jobs, they will also ensure effective and accessible delivery of services Albertans rely on.”
Hinton courthouse
Alberta’s government has invested $2.7 million for accessibility improvements to the Hinton courthouse. Improvements include wider entrances and more accessible handicap buttons at the main entrance and public washrooms, and more space at security screening areas. Renovations began in July and are expected to be complete by the end of the year. In the meantime, Albertans are accessing court services at the nearby Pembina Place building.
“The Canadian Bar Association – Alberta Branch has long been calling for upgrades to Alberta’s court infrastructure through our Agenda for Justice, including improving courtroom technology to make virtual appearances more widely available, improving physical accessibility to ensure that all Albertans can safely access court facilities, and improving capacity to address our province’s growing population. We are pleased to see these improvements underway, and look forward to continued investments in Alberta’s court infrastructure and modernization.”
Peace River courthouse
To increase accessibility, Alberta’s government is providing $250,000 for a barrier-free access project at the courthouse in Peace River. Operations are expected to continue without disruption during renovations, which will begin next month.
Alberta
Alberta court upholds conviction of Pastor Artur Pawlowski for preaching at Freedom Convoy protest
From LifeSiteNews
Lawyers argued that Pastor Artur Pawlowski’s sermon was intended to encourage protesters to find a peaceful solution to the blockade, but the statement was characterized as a call for mischief.
An Alberta Court of Appeal ruled that Calgary Pastor Artur Pawlowski is guilty of mischief for his sermon at the Freedom Convoy-related border protest blockade in February 2022 in Coutts, Alberta.
On October 29, Alberta Court of Appeal Justice Gordon Krinke sentenced the pro-freedom pastor to 60 days in jail for “counselling mischief” by encouraging protesters to continue blocking Highway 4 to protest COVID mandates.
“A reasonable person would understand the appellant’s speech to be an active inducement of the illegal activity that was ongoing and that the appellant intended for his speech to be so understood,” the decision reads.
Pawlowski addressed a group of truckers and protesters blocking entrance into the U.S. state of Montana on February 3, the fifth day of the Freedom Convoy-styled protest. He encouraged the protesters to “hold the line” after they had reportedly made a deal with Royal Canadian Mounted Police to leave the border crossing and travel to Edmonton.
“The eyes of the world are fixed right here on you guys. You are the heroes,” Pawlowski said. “Don’t you dare go breaking the line.”
After Pawlowski’s sermon, the protesters remained at the border crossing for two additional weeks. While his lawyers argued that his speech was made to encourage protesters to find a peaceful solution to the blockade, the statement is being characterized as a call for mischief.
Days later, on February 8, Pawlowski was arrested – for the fifth time – by an undercover SWAT team just before he was slated to speak again to the Coutts protesters.
He was subsequently jailed for nearly three months for what he said was for speaking out against COVID mandates, the subject of all the Freedom Convoy-related protests.
In Krinke’s decision, he argued that Pawlowski’s sermon incited the continuation of the protest, saying, “The Charter does not provide justification to anybody who incites a third party to commit such crimes.”
However, defence lawyer Sarah Miller pointed out that that Pawlowski’s sermon was protected under freedom of speech, an argument that Krinke quickly dismissed.
“While the appellant is correct that peaceful, lawful and nonviolent communication is entitled to protection, blockading a highway is an inherently aggressive and potentially violent form of conduct, designed to intimidate and impede the movement of third parties,” he wrote.
Pawlowski was released after the verdict. He has already spent 78 days in jail before the trial.
Pawlowski is the first Albertan to be charged for violating the province’s Critical Infrastructure Defence Act (CIDA), which was put in place in 2020 under then-Premier Jason Kenney.
The CIDA, however, was not put in place due to COVID mandates but rather after anti-pipeline protesters blockaded key infrastructure points such as railway lines in Alberta a few years ago.
Alberta
Heavy-duty truckers welcome new ‘natural gas highway’ in Alberta
Clean Energy Fuels CEO Andrew Littlefair, Tourmaline CEO Mike Rose, and Mullen Group chairman Murray Mullen attend the opening of a new Clean Energy/Tourmaline compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling station in Calgary on Oct. 22, 2024. Photo courtesy Tourmaline
From the Canadian Energy Centre
New compressed natural gas fueling stations in Grande Prairie and Calgary join new stop in Edmonton
Heavy-duty truckers hauling everything from restaurant supplies to specialized oilfield services along one of Western Canada’s busiest corridors now have more access to a fuel that can help reduce emissions and save costs.
Two new fuelling stations serving compressed natural gas (CNG) rather than diesel in Grande Prairie and Calgary, along with a stop that opened in Edmonton last year, create the first phase of what proponents call a “natural gas highway”.
“Compressed natural gas is viable, it’s competitive and it’s good for the environment,” said Murray Mullen, chair of Mullen Group, which operates more than 4,300 trucks and thousands of pieces of equipment supporting Western Canada’s energy industry.
Right now, the company is running 19 CNG units and plans to deploy another 15 as they become available.
“They’re running the highways right now and they’re performing exceptionally well,” Mullen said on Oct. 22 during the ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the new station on the northern edge of Calgary along Highway 2.
“Our people love them, our customers love them and I think it’s going to be the way for the future to be honest,” he said.
Heavy-duty trucks at Tourmaline and Clean Energy’s new Calgary compressed natural gas fuelling station. Photo courtesy Tourmaline
According to Natural Resources Canada, natural gas burns more cleanly than gasoline or diesel fuel, producing fewer toxic pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
The two new CNG stops are part of a $70 million partnership announced last year between major Canadian natural gas producer Tourmaline and California-based Clean Energy Fuels.
Their deal would see up to 20 new CNG stations built in Western Canada over the next five years, daily filling up to 3,000 natural gas-fueled trucks.
One of North America’s biggest trucking suppliers to businesses including McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Subway and Popeye’s says the new stations will help as it expands its fleet of CNG-powered vehicles across Canada.
Amy Senter, global vice-president of sustainability with Illinois-based Martin Brower, said in a statement that using more CNG is critical to the company achieving its emissions reduction targets.
For Tourmaline, delivering CNG to heavy-duty truckers builds on its multi-year program to displace diesel in its operations, primarily by switching drilling equipment to run on natural gas.
Between 2018 and 2022, the company displaced the equivalent of 36 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of diesel that didn’t get used, or the equivalent emissions of about 58,000 passenger vehicles.
Tourmaline CEO Mike Rose speaks to reporters during the opening of a new Tourmaline/Clean Energy compressed natural gas fuelling station in Calgary on Oct. 22, 2024. Photo courtesy Tourmaline
Tourmaline CEO Mike Rose noted that the trucking sector switching fuel from diesel to natural gas is gaining momentum, notably in Asia.
A “small but growing” share of China’s trucking fleet moving to natural gas helped drive an 11 percent reduction in overall diesel consumption this June compared to the previous year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“China’s talking about 30 percent of the trucks sold going forward are to be CNG trucks, and it’s all about reducing emissions,” Rose said.
“It’s one global atmosphere. We’re going to reduce them here; they’re going to reduce them there and everybody’s a net winner.”
Switching from diesel to CNG is “extremely cost competitive” for trucking fleets, said Clean Energy CEO Andrew Littlefair.
“It will really move the big rigs that we need in Western Canada for the long distance and heavy loads,” he said.
Tourmaline and Clean Energy aim to have seven CNG fuelling stations operating by the end of 2025. Construction is set to begin in Kamloops, B.C., followed by Fort McMurray and Fort St. John.
“You’ll have that Western Canadian corridor, and then we’ll grow it from there,” Littlefair said.
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