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Alberta

Morinville RCMP investigating multi vehicle thefts – Update #2

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5 minute read

July 1, 2020

Morinville RCMP investigating multi vehicle thefts – Update #2

Villeneuve, Alta – An armed robbery reported on June 29 was determined to be an extension of incidents that started in the early morning hours of June 29, 2020.

At 2:36 a.m., a break and enter was reported at a commercial business in Morinville, Alta. A vehicle was stolen from the business, and suspects abandoned a vehicle at the location.

At 4:34 a.m., the stolen vehicle was reported abandoned in a rural area in Morinville.

Sometime later a Cadillac Escalade was stolen from Bon Accord.

At 5:42 a.m., an attempted vehicle theft was reported.  The victim of the attempted theft followed the suspects who were driving the previously stolen Cadillac Escalade. The victim called 911, but continued to follow the suspects. The suspects are alleged to have fired a shotgun at the pursuing victim of the carjacking. He was not injured.

Morinville RCMP members located the stolen Escalade and a pursuit ensued. A tire deflation device was unsuccessfully deployed.  The RCMP member observed a firearm in the possession of an occupant and discharged his firearm toward the Escalade. The occupants in the Escalade managed to flee the RCMP.

Following this exchange, the Escalade was involved in a collision with an unrelated vehicle on Highway 37 and Highway 44.

After the collision, the Escalade went off-road, was abandoned, and the suspects fled on foot. They made an unsuccessful effort to steal another vehicle before two suspects were apprehended by the RCMP with the assistance of Police Dog Services. By 8:30 a.m., two suspects were in custody.

There is no indication that the suspects were injured by the prior gunfire. One of the males was injured as a result of a dog bite and treated for minor injuries before being lodged in police cells.

Andrew Elliott Heigh (28) and Aries Allan Briere (19) are both facing charges of possession of weapon when prohibited, possession of stolen property and attempted theft of motor vehicle (x2).

They remain in custody and are scheduled to attend court tomorrow in Morinville.

The affected public in the area are thanked for their patience while RCMP conducted their investigation.  Several Units were involved including the Alberta RCMP Emergency Response Team, Police Dog Services, and the Forensic Identification Section. The investigation into these incidents remains ongoing while the RCMP continue to gather evidence.

Information obtained indicates that there remains a third suspect who has not been identified or located.  There is no description available of the third male.  Indications are that he has left the Morinville area.

If you have any information about this incident or the third male involved, please contact the Morinville RCMP at 780-939-4550.   If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.

BACKGROUND:

June 29, 2020

Morinville RCMP investigating car jacking – Update

Villeneuve, Alta. – The RCMP have allowed travel again on area highways, and the public’s movements are no longer being asked to be restricted.

Morinville RCMP members remain in the area while the investigation into this early morning incident continues.

A media update outlining the events surrounding this incident will be made available once further information is gathered and verified.

June 29, 2020

Morinville RCMP investigating car jacking

Villeneuve, Alta. – The RCMP have two males in custody and have an active investigation following an early morning car jacking near Highway 44 and Township Road 544.

At 5:42 a.m. today, Morinville RCMP were alerted to an armed robbery with shots allegedly fired by the culprits.  Male suspects stole a vehicle and drove away.  The driver of the stolen vehicle was not injured.

The stolen vehicle became disabled, and the males fled on foot.  One was arrested near the abandoned vehicle and one was arrested following a track by Police Dog Services.

The area has been contained. There is a large RCMP presence, including Police Dog Services, the RCMP helicopter and supporting detachment members. The public is asked to remain in their residences while police continue to investigate, and to report any suspicious activity.

If you see any suspicious activity call 911.

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Alberta

Alberta court upholds conviction of Pastor Artur Pawlowski for preaching at Freedom Convoy protest

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From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

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.”

“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.

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Alberta

Heavy-duty truckers welcome new ‘natural gas highway’ in Alberta

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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

By Deborah Jaremko

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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