ASIRT says shooting of armed suspect reasonable use of force

From ASIRT (Alberta Serious Incident Response Team

On Sept. 27, 2017, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was directed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the arrest of a 29-year-old man in Lloydminster that resulted in an officer-involved shooting.

During the arrest, the man was struck by a police vehicle and two RCMP officers discharged their service pistols, resulting in serious injury.

ASIRT interviewed police and civilian witnesses, including the 29-year-old man and both subject officers. Large portions of the events, including the uses of force were captured on audio and video recordings. ASIRT’s investigation is complete.

Having reviewed the investigation, executive director Susan Hughson, QC concluded there were no reasonable grounds, nor reasonable suspicion, to believe the involved officers committed any criminal offence.

On Sept. 27, 2017, Lloydminster RCMP officers attempted to stop a Dodge truck in relation to an outstanding investigation. The truck entered the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant. An officer in a marked RCMP vehicle pulled behind the truck and activated its lights and siren. Other officers pulled in front of the truck. In response, the driver of the truck drove over the drive-thru curb and up an embankment to the roadway, speeding past two officers standing with their service pistols pointed at the truck. As the driver exited the parking lot, he headed northbound on 40 Avenue and engaged in a high-speed criminal flight from police.

As the truck approached 52 Street, it collided with a SUV driven by a 25-year-old woman, causing extensive damage to both vehicles and causing the woman’s vehicle to roll, landing on its roof. The woman did not sustain serious injury. The visible damage to her vehicle and the force of the collision would have easily left an observer with the belief that any occupant would have likely sustained serious injury or died. Data downloaded from the truck confirmed that immediately prior to the collision, it had been travelling at a speed of 144 km/h, and was moving at 124 km/h at the moment of collision.

The truck stopped on the side of the road. A passenger fled on foot from the truck to an adjacent field. The 29-year-old exited the truck holding a handgun, and immediately ran towards a man who stopped his truck to provide assistance.

An officer in pursuit pulled over his marked police vehicle and exited upon seeing the collision. He shouted verbal commands to drop the gun as the 29-year-old man ran towards the second truck. When the armed man failed to comply, the officer fired his service pistol. The man kept running and reached the civilian’s truck, attempting to gain entry. With a gun in hand, the man began banging on the driver’s window and yelling for him to “get out of the truck.”

As the armed man stood at the driver’s door, a second officer drove up in his unmarked RCMP SUV and clipped the armed man with the vehicle, causing him to spin away and fall, dropping the gun. As the second officer exited his SUV, the man got up, grabbed the handgun and raised it. The officer fired two shots from his service pistol striking the man.

The man fell to the ground, where he was arrested and handcuffed. RCMP members contacted Emergency Medical Services, who responded to the scene, provided medical attention and transported the man to a nearby hospital. He was subsequently transferred by STARS air ambulance to an Edmonton hospital where he was treated for what would ultimately turn out to be serious, permanent injuries including partial paralysis.

Under S. 25 of the Criminal Code, police officers are entitled to use as much force as is reasonably necessary to carry out their lawful duties. When necessary, where an officer believes, on reasonable grounds, that the person presents an imminent risk of death or grievous bodily harm to the officer or any other person, he or she may use force that is intended or likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm. An officer may also use lethal force in limited circumstances to prevent the flight of a person.

During the course of these events, the 29-year-old man demonstrated he was highly motivated to escape, having driven over an embankment and fled police. He was not only prepared to endanger others to do so, but had possibly already injured or killed an uninvolved woman who had simply been in his path, having forcefully collided with her vehicle. Instead of remaining at the scene of the collision or checking on the condition of the driver of the other vehicle, the man took a handgun from the truck before running towards a vehicle that stopped to provide assistance. In these circumstances, the man objectively presented a risk of death or grievous bodily harm to the occupant of that vehicle. Having directed the man to stop or drop the gun, the first officer’s use of force was reasonable and necessary. This risk became even more immediate when the man reached and attempted to enter the stopped truck. The use of the police vehicle to remove the armed man from the vehicle door of the innocent bystander was reasonable in the circumstances.

Having been fired on by the first officer, and struck by a police vehicle, the man stood and instead of running or surrendering, decided to pick up the handgun. In that moment, the man presented a risk of grievous bodily harm or death to not only the innocent bystander but also to the officer.

The officers’ use of force during this event, while they were lawfully placed and engaged in the lawful execution of their duties, was both reasonable and justified in the circumstances. In the opinion of the executive director, there can be no doubt that the actions of the officers prevented the man from committing what could be characterized as an armed robbery, or more simply, a “car-jacking”, that could have easily resulted in the serious injury or death of the driver of that vehicle. As such, no charges will be laid against the officers.

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.

Duane Rolheiser

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

IEA peak-oil reversal gives Alberta long-term leverage

Published on November 28, 2025

Todayville

This article supplied by Troy Media.

By Rashid Husain Syed

The peak-oil narrative has collapsed, and the IEA’s U-turn marks a major strategic win for Alberta

After years of confidently predicting that global oil demand was on the verge of collapsing, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has now reversed course—a stunning retreat that shatters the peak-oil narrative and rewrites the outlook for oil-producing regions such as Alberta.

For years, analysts warned that an oil glut was coming. Suddenly, the tide has turned. The Paris-based IEA, the world’s most influential energy forecasting body, is stepping back from its long-held view that peak oil demand is just around the corner.

The IEA reversal is a strategic boost for Alberta and a political complication for Ottawa, which now has to reconcile its climate commitments with a global outlook that no longer supports a rapid decline in fossil fuel use or the doomsday narrative Ottawa has relied on to advance its climate agenda.

Alberta’s economy remains tied to long-term global demand for reliable, conventional energy. The province produces roughly 80 per cent of Canada’s oil and depends on resource revenues to fund a significant share of its provincial budget. The sector also plays a central role in the national economy, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and contributing close to 10 per cent of Canada’s GDP when related industries are included.

That reality stands in sharp contrast to Ottawa. Prime Minister Mark Carney has long championed net-zero timelines, ESG frameworks and tighter climate policy, and has repeatedly signalled that expanding long-term oil production is not part of his economic vision. The new IEA outlook bolsters Alberta’s position far more than it aligns with his government’s preferred direction.

Globally, the shift is even clearer. The IEA’s latest World Energy Outlook, released on Nov. 12, makes the reversal unmistakable. Under existing policies and regulations, global demand for oil and natural gas will continue to rise well past this decade and could keep climbing until 2050. Demand reaches 105 million barrels per day in 2035 and 113 million barrels per day in 2050, up from 100 million barrels per day last year, a direct contradiction of years of claims that the world was on the cusp of phasing out fossil fuels.

A key factor is the slowing pace of electric vehicle adoption, driven by weakening policy support outside China and Europe. The IEA now expects the share of electric vehicles in global car sales to plateau after 2035. In many countries, subsidies are being reduced, purchase incentives are ending and charging-infrastructure goals are slipping. Without coercive policy intervention, electric vehicle adoption will not accelerate fast enough to meaningfully cut oil demand.

The IEA’s own outlook now shows it wasn’t merely off in its forecasts; it repeatedly projected that oil demand was in rapid decline, despite evidence to the contrary. Just last year, IEA executive director Fatih Birol told the Financial Times that we were witnessing “the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era.” The new outlook directly contradicts that claim.

The political landscape also matters. U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House shifted global expectations. The United States withdrew from the Paris Agreement, reversed Biden-era climate measures and embraced an expansion of domestic oil and gas production. As the world’s largest economy and the IEA’s largest contributor, the U.S. carries significant weight, and other countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom, have taken steps to shore up energy security by keeping existing fossil-fuel capacity online while navigating their longer-term transition plans.

The IEA also warns that the world is likely to miss its goal of limiting temperature increases to 1.5 °C over pre-industrial levels. During the Biden years, the IAE maintained that reaching net-zero by mid-century required ending investment in new oil, gas and coal projects. That stance has now faded. Its updated position concedes that demand will not fall quickly enough to meet those targets.

Investment banks are also adjusting. A Bloomberg report citing Goldman Sachs analysts projects global oil demand could rise to 113 million barrels per day by 2040, compared with 103.5 million barrels per day in 2024, Irina Slav wrote for Oilprice.com. Goldman cites slow progress on net-zero policies, infrastructure challenges for wind and solar and weaker electric vehicle adoption.

“We do not assume major breakthroughs in low-carbon technology,” Sachs’ analysts wrote. “Even for peaking road oil demand, we expect a long plateau after 2030.” That implies a stable, not shrinking, market for oil.

OPEC, long insisting that peak demand is nowhere in sight, feels vindicated. “We hope … we have passed the peak in the misguided notion of ‘peak oil’,” the organization said last Wednesday after the outlook’s release.

Oil is set to remain at the centre of global energy demand for years to come, and for Alberta, Canada’s energy capital, the IEA’s course correction offers renewed certainty in a world that had been prematurely writing off its future.

Toronto-based Rashid Husain Syed is a highly regarded analyst specializing in energy and politics, particularly in the Middle East. In addition to his contributions to local and international newspapers, Rashid frequently lends his expertise as a speaker at global conferences. Organizations such as the Department of Energy in Washington and the International Energy Agency in Paris have sought his insights on global energy matters.

Troy Media empowers Canadian community news outlets by providing independent, insightful analysis and commentary. Our mission is to support local media in helping Canadians stay informed and engaged by delivering reliable content that strengthens community connections and deepens understanding across the country.

Alberta

READ IT HERE – Canada-Alberta Memorandum of Understanding – From the Prime Minister’s Office

Published on November 28, 2025

Todayville

From Energy Now

Prime Minister of Canada

Calgary, Alberta

PREFACE

At this pivotal global moment, Canada and Alberta, working closely with Indigenous Peoples and industry, must work together cooperatively, and within their respective jurisdictions, to foster the conditions necessary for infrastructure, including pipelines, rail, power generation, a strong and integrated transmission grid, ports and other means that will unlock and grow natural resource production and transportation in Western Canada. As a result, Canada will be able to reach its international export goals and develop new technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI), and, through innovation and intergovernmental cooperation, be a source of clean energy to lower global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

WHEREAS

Canada and Alberta remain committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050;
Alberta and Canada will work together to achieve the shared objective of establishing Canada as a global energy superpower, unlocking the growth potential of Western Canada’s oil and gas (including liquified natural gas (LNG)), renewable energy, critical minerals, and other resources that the world needs;
Alberta and Canada recognize their obligations to consult with, and where appropriate accommodate, Indigenous Peoples; and
Canada and Alberta are committed to respecting Aboriginal and Treaty rights, engaging in early, consistent, and meaningful consultation with Indigenous Peoples, in a manner that promotes reconciliation, and respects the rights and cultures of Indigenous Peoples while advancing economic opportunities through Indigenous ownership and partnerships.

THE OBJECTIVES

The Governments of Canada and Alberta are focused on achieving the following objectives and have developed the following clear actions towards this goal:

Increasing production of Alberta oil and gas to reach Canada’s export and national security goals, creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs, while simultaneously reaching carbon neutrality by, in part, reducing the emissions intensity of Canadian heavy oil production to best in class in terms of the average for heavy oil by 2050.
Increasing electrical generation for consumer and industrial use on Alberta’s electricity grid, including meeting the needs of AI data centres, while simultaneously reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for the electricity sector by 2050.
Creating electricity and energy policies that address consumer affordability, electricity grid stability, economic competitiveness and long-term competitive certainty, that attract Canadian and foreign sources of private sector capital investment.
Reducing layers of regulatory overlap and simplifying regulatory systems to ensure a maximum 2-year timeframe for permitting and approvals with the goal of shorter project approval timelines where feasible.
Providing meaningful opportunity for Indigenous rightsholders to participate in consultation processes and economic opportunities through Indigenous ownership, partnerships and benefits.

THE PROJECTS

Construction of one or more private sector constructed and financed pipelines, with Indigenous Peoples co-ownership and economic benefits, with at least one million barrels a day of low emission Alberta bitumen with a route that increases export access to Asian markets as a priority. The application for this pipeline project will be ready to submit to the Major Projects Office on or before July 1, 2026. It is agreed this new pipeline would be in addition to the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline for an additional 300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day destined for Asian markets.
Construction and financing of the world’s largest carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) project (Pathways) for the purpose of making Alberta oil among the lowest carbon intensity produced barrels of oil in the world.
Construction of thousands of megawatts of AI computing power, with a large portion dedicated to sovereign cloud for Canada and its allies.
Construction of large transmission interties with British Columbia and Saskatchewan to strengthen the ability of the western power markets to supply low carbon power to oil, LNG, critical minerals, agricultural, data centres and CCUS industries in support of their sustainability goals.

THE COMMITMENTS

Alberta commits to:

Act as proponent for advancing the development of a bitumen pipeline to Asian markets, that offers the opportunity for Indigenous co-ownership and other forms of economic benefits, for designation and authorization under the Building Canada Act.
In consultation with Indigenous leadership, utilize the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC) to help backstop Indigenous co-ownership of the bitumen pipeline project and, if appropriate, Pathways.
Extend the Alberta Carbon Capture Incentive Program (ACCIP) to support Pathways.
Foster the development of sequestration permitting, worker training, and the capability for Alberta exports of CCUS-related products and services.
On or before July 1, 2026, implement a policy framework to incentivize large investments in data centre development, including incentives for Canadian sovereign computing.
On or before January 1, 2027, collaborate with Canada to develop a nuclear generation strategy to build and operate competitive nuclear power generation that can serve the Alberta and inter-connected markets by 2050.
Collaborate with Canada to significantly increase the inter-tie transfer capability between the western provinces (with consideration to the northern regions) to build the low carbon generation and transmission grid that supports the growth of low intensity heavy oil, LNG, critical minerals, agriculture, data centres and CCUS industries for export growth and domestic use.
Collaborate with B.C. to ensure British Columbians share substantial economic and financial benefits of the proposed pipeline.

Canada commits to:

In consideration for the mutual commitments agreed to in this MOU, Canada will not implement the Oil and Gas Emissions Cap, which has not yet been put into effect.
Acknowledge Alberta’s approach to regulating heavy electricity generation emitters through Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) program for Alberta to provide long-term certainty and time needed by industry and innovators to develop the needed CCUS, direct air capture, nuclear infrastructure and other emissions technologies necessary to achieving a net-zero power grid by 2050.
Suspend immediately the Clean Electricity Regulations (CER) in Alberta pending a new carbon pricing agreement, which includes the electricity sector, administered through Alberta’s TIER program to be negotiated by the parties on or before April 1, 2026. Upon completion of the new carbon pricing agreement and factoring all other measures to the satisfaction of both parties, Canada will place the CER in Alberta in abeyance.
Declare that an Alberta bitumen pipeline to Asian markets as a priority, that offers opportunities for Indigenous co-ownership and economic benefits, is a project of national interest and can be referred to the Major Projects Office for consideration of designation under the Building Canada Act.
Collaborate with Alberta to provide a clear and efficient approval process for the Alberta bitumen pipeline under the Building Canada Act.
In consultation with Indigenous leadership, utilize Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee Corporation to help backstop Indigenous co-ownership of the bitumen pipeline project and, if appropriate, Pathways.
If an Alberta bitumen pipeline is ultimately approved under the Building Canada Act and provides opportunities for Indigenous co-ownership and shared economic benefits, Canada confirms that it will enable the export of bitumen from a strategic deep-water port to Asian markets, including if necessary through an appropriate adjustment to the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act.
Extend federal ITCs and other policy supports to encourage large scale CCUS investments, including Pathways and enhanced oil recovery in order to provide the certainty needed to attract large additional sources of domestic and foreign capital.
Work collaboratively with Alberta to design policy supports that enable deployment of nuclear technology, CCUS and energy storage to enable decarbonization of the electricity system, while ensuring its reliability and affordability.
As outlined in Budget 2025, propose amendments to the Competition Act to remove some of the “greenwashing” provisions that are creating investment uncertainty.
Undertake to conduct good faith consultations with Alberta on the development and implementation of federal regulatory or policy measures that might impact Alberta industry and the shared goal of making Canada a global energy superpower.

Canada and Alberta together will:

Canada and Alberta agree to engage with British Columbia immediately in a trilateral discussion on the pipeline project, and during the potential development and construction of the bitumen pipeline referred to in this MOU, and to further the economic interests of B.C. related to their own projects of interest that involve the Province of Alberta including interties. In addition, Canada will work with B.C. on other projects of national interest in their jurisdiction.
Canada and Alberta also agree to engage meaningfully with Indigenous Peoples in both Alberta and British Columbia on this project, with the involvement of the B.C. Government for engagement with B.C. First Nations.
Work collaboratively to design and commit to globally competitive, long-term carbon effective prices, carbon levy recycling protocols, and sector-specific stringency factors for large Alberta emitters in both the oil and gas and electricity sectors through Alberta’s TIER system. The TIER system will ramp up to a minimum effective credit price of $130/tonne. The parties will conclude an agreement on industrial carbon pricing on or before April 1, 2026.
Examples of issues to be addressed in the new agreement include the date for introduction of the effective price and the price increases over time.
This industrial carbon pricing agreement will include a financial mechanism to ensure both parties maintain their respective commitments over the long term to provide certainty to industry, and to achieve the intended emissions reductions.
Recognizing Alberta’s jurisdiction over the TIER system, Canada and Alberta agree to work co-operatively to ensure the Alberta carbon market functions reliably and provides a predictable basis for decision-making by industry and investors. This includes a shared undertaking that following the completion of this Memorandum of Understanding, the two governments will work co-operatively to ensure the application of Alberta’s carbon pricing system (including pricing and stringency) is adapted to the specific circumstances of the electricity sector, the oil and gas sector, and other large emitters such as fertilizer and cement sectors.
Enter into a methane equivalency agreement on or before April 1, 2026, with a 2035 target date and a 75% reduction target relative to 2014 emissions levels.
Work cooperatively with the Pathways partner companies to develop and enter into a tri-lateral MOU on or before April 1, 2026 for a multi-phased approach to delivering a set of emissions savings projects (the “Phase 1 Pathways Projects”), focused predominantly on carbon capture and storage, solvent-based replacements or other actions taken by Pathways that reduce emissions intensity. The Phase 1 Pathways Projects will be built and commence operations in a staged manner between 2027 and 2040 to achieve committed emissions reductions at date-certain intervals. Canada and Alberta agree this tri-lateral MOU and the approval and commencement of the initial Phase 1 Pathways Projects will be a precondition to the commencement of the approved bitumen pipeline referred to in this MOU.
Canada and Alberta agree that the approval, commencement and continued construction of the bitumen pipeline is a prerequisite to the Pathways project, including the extension of the Alberta ACCIP Program.
Canada and Alberta agree that the Pathways Project is also a prerequisite to the approval, commencement and continued construction of the bitumen pipeline, given that the two projects referred to in this MOU are mutually dependent.
Canada and Alberta agree that in order to hold all parties to account for all phases of the Pathways projects, the trilateral MOU with Pathways must include effective enforcement mechanisms to ensure the completion of all phases of the infrastructure and the associated emissions reductions by the Pathways companies as outlined in the MOU. Such mechanisms could include, but are not limited to, tax and regulatory measures.
Canada and Alberta agree to work collaboratively, including with other provinces where appropriate, to develop domestic carbon capture supply chains and Canadian steel and pipe production supply chains.
Negotiate a cooperation agreement on impact assessments on or before April 1, 2026, that reduces duplication through a single assessment process that respects federal and provincial jurisdictions.
Work cooperatively to streamline the regulatory processes among federal agencies, the Canadian Energy Regulator, the Alberta government and municipalities to achieve a maximum 2-year timeframe for approvals while targeting shorter approval timelines where feasible.
Work cooperatively with Indigenous parties in Alberta to consult and accommodate on the CO2 pipeline and capture and storage facilities related to Pathways.
Continue to work together to achieve the objectives set out in this MOU.
Establish a communications protocol whereas each party must agree to public communications of this MOU and its content prior to information being released.

IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE

Canada and Alberta will appoint an Implementation Committee responsible for delivering the following outcomes:

A carbon pricing equivalency agreement on or before April 1, 2026.
A methane equivalency agreement on or before April 1, 2026.
A tri-lateral MOU with the Pathways companies on or before April 1, 2026.
A cooperation agreement on impact assessments by on or before April 1, 2026.
Determining the means by which Alberta can submit its pipeline application to the Major Projects Office on or before July 1, 2026.
Acquiring feedback from the federal government for Alberta’s policy framework for AI data centres which is to be finalized by Alberta on or before July 1, 2026.
Collaborating with Alberta on the design of Alberta’s nuclear power generation strategy which is to be finalized by Alberta on or before January 1, 2027.