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Alberta

Alberta Serious Incident Response Team investigating fatal police shooting at Cochrane

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From the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT)

Investigation continues into RCMP officer-involved shooting

On Dec. 7, 2019, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was directed to investigate the circumstances surrounding an RCMP officer-involved shooting in Cochrane, Alberta, that resulted in the death of a 28-year-old man.

On Dec. 6, 2019, Cochrane RCMP and the Calgary Police Service received information from two separate individuals raising significant concerns about the behaviour and recent messages sent by the 28-year-old man. Police were also advised that the man, currently bound by a condition prohibiting him from being in possession of firearms, had several firearms in his possession within the residence.

Based on the information provided, the decision was made to attend the residence, to arrest the man for breach of his release conditions and remove access to the firearms. Shortly after 7 p.m., the officers  arrived  at the home, which is located in a populated residential area in northwest Cochrane. The man, who was armed with a firearm and the sole occupant of the residence, refused to surrender. The home was contained and the RCMP Emergency Response Team (ERT) responded to the location. RCMP successfully applied for a warrant to enter the home to arrest the man.

Telephone contact with the man was established, but attempts over the next several hours to negotiate his surrender failed. At one point, an RCMP armoured vehicle pulled up to the rear of the residence, at the overhead vehicle door to the attached garage. Shortly thereafter, approximately five to six shots were believed to have been fired from inside the garage, through the solid garage vehicle door, in what would have been in the general direction of the armoured vehicle.

Ultimately, in the early morning hours, after attempting various forms of intervention, ERT officers deployed a chemical agent into the residence. Moments later, at approximately 1:40 a.m., the man exited the residence and a confrontation occurred between officers and the man, which resulted in an officer discharging his firearm. The man was struck and fell to the ground. Emergency medical aid was provided on scene, and the man was transported by ambulance to hospital, but did not survive.

A loaded .22 calibre semi-automatic rifle was recovered from the snow near where the man fell.

Investigation continues into RCMP officer-involved shooting (2)

The .22 calibre semi-automatic rifle that was recovered:

Investigation continues into RCMP officer-involved shooting (1)

Initial examination at the scene revealed what appeared to be bullet holes in the overhead vehicle door of the attached garage, and seven spent shell casings were recovered from inside the attached garage. Six bullet holes were identified on the garage of a nearby residence. A search of the residence led to the recovery of two other guns and additional ammunition.

ASIRT’s investigation, which will focus on what led up to the officer-involved shooting, continues. It will include additional interviews with witnesses. In order to preserve the integrity of the investigation, no further information will be released at this time.

ASIRT’s mandate is to effectively, independently and objectively investigate incidents involving Alberta’s police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Alberta

Low oil prices could have big consequences for Alberta’s finances

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From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill

Amid the tariff war, the price of West Texas Intermediate oil—a common benchmark—recently dropped below US$60 per barrel. Given every $1 drop in oil prices is an estimated $750 million hit to provincial revenues, if oil prices remain low for long, there could be big implications for Alberta’s budget.

The Smith government already projects a $5.2 billion budget deficit in 2025/26 with continued deficits over the following two years. This year’s deficit is based on oil prices averaging US$68.00 per barrel. While the budget does include a $4 billion “contingency” for unforeseen events, given the economic and fiscal impact of Trump’s tariffs, it could quickly be eaten up.

Budget deficits come with costs for Albertans, who will already pay a projected $600 each in provincial government debt interest in 2025/26. That’s money that could have gone towards health care and education, or even tax relief.

Unfortunately, this is all part of the resource revenue rollercoaster that’s are all too familiar to Albertans.

Resource revenue (including oil and gas royalties) is inherently volatile. In the last 10 years alone, it has been as high as $25.2 billion in 2022/23 and as low as $2.8 billion in 2015/16. The provincial government typically enjoys budget surpluses—and increases government spending—when oil prices and resource revenue is relatively high, but is thrown into deficits when resource revenues inevitably fall.

Fortunately, the Smith government can mitigate this volatility.

The key is limiting the level of resource revenue included in the budget to a set stable amount. Any resource revenue above that stable amount is automatically saved in a rainy-day fund to be withdrawn to maintain that stable amount in the budget during years of relatively low resource revenue. The logic is simple: save during the good times so you can weather the storm during bad times.

Indeed, if the Smith government had created a rainy-day account in 2023, for example, it could have already built up a sizeable fund to help stabilize the budget when resource revenue declines. While the Smith government has deposited some money in the Heritage Fund in recent years, it has not created a dedicated rainy-day account or introduced a similar mechanism to help stabilize provincial finances.

Limiting the amount of resource revenue in the budget, particularly during times of relatively high resource revenue, also tempers demand for higher spending, which is only fiscally sustainable with permanently high resource revenues. In other words, if the government creates a rainy-day account, spending would become more closely align with stable ongoing levels of revenue.

And it’s not too late. To end the boom-bust cycle and finally help stabilize provincial finances, the Smith government should create a rainy-day account.

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Alberta

Governments in Alberta should spur homebuilding amid population explosion

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From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill and Austin Thompson

In 2024, construction started on 47,827 housing units—the most since 48,336 units in 2007 when population growth was less than half of what it was in 2024.

Alberta has long been viewed as an oasis in Canada’s overheated housing market—a refuge for Canadians priced out of high-cost centres such as Vancouver and Toronto. But the oasis is starting to dry up. House prices and rents in the province have spiked by about one-third since the start of the pandemic. According to a recent Maru poll, more than 70 per cent of Calgarians and Edmontonians doubt they will ever be able to afford a home in their city. Which raises the question: how much longer can this go on?

Alberta’s housing affordability problem reflects a simple reality—not enough homes have been built to accommodate the province’s growing population. The result? More Albertans competing for the same homes and rental units, pushing prices higher.

Population growth has always been volatile in Alberta, but the recent surge, fuelled by record levels of immigration, is unprecedented. Alberta has set new population growth records every year since 2022, culminating in the largest-ever increase of 186,704 new residents in 2024—nearly 70 per cent more than the largest pre-pandemic increase in 2013.

Homebuilding has increased, but not enough to keep pace with the rise in population. In 2024, construction started on 47,827 housing units—the most since 48,336 units in 2007 when population growth was less than half of what it was in 2024.

Moreover, from 1972 to 2019, Alberta added 2.1 new residents (on average) for every housing unit started compared to 3.9 new residents for every housing unit started in 2024. Put differently, today nearly twice as many new residents are potentially competing for each new home compared to historical norms.

While Alberta attracts more Canadians from other provinces than any other province, federal immigration and residency policies drive Alberta’s population growth. So while the provincial government has little control over its population growth, provincial and municipal governments can affect the pace of homebuilding.

For example, recent provincial amendments to the city charters in Calgary and Edmonton have helped standardize building codes, which should minimize cost and complexity for builders who operate across different jurisdictions. Municipal zoning reforms in CalgaryEdmonton and Red Deer have made it easier to build higher-density housing, and Lethbridge and Medicine Hat may soon follow suit. These changes should make it easier and faster to build homes, helping Alberta maintain some of the least restrictive building rules and quickest approval timelines in Canada.

There is, however, room for improvement. Policymakers at both the provincial and municipal level should streamline rules for building, reduce regulatory uncertainty and development costs, and shorten timelines for permit approvals. Calgary, for instance, imposes fees on developers to fund a wide array of public infrastructure—including roads, sewers, libraries, even buses—while Edmonton currently only imposes fees to fund the construction of new firehalls.

It’s difficult to say how long Alberta’s housing affordability woes will endure, but the situation is unlikely to improve unless homebuilding increases, spurred by government policies that facilitate more development.

Tegan Hill

Director, Alberta Policy, Fraser Institute

Austin Thompson

Senior Policy Analyst, Fraser Institute
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