Alberta
Whitecourt RCMP – police presence in Blue Ridge are in Woodlands County – Update #3 – Barrhead Incident
June 19, 2020
Whitecourt RCMP – police presence in Blue Ridge are in Woodlands County – Update #3 – Barrhead Incident
Barrhead, Alta. – On June 18, 2020, at approximately 9 p.m., Barrhead RCMP received a complaint of a break and enter to a residence located in the area of Secondary Highway 658 near Fort Assiniboine, Alta. The suspect vehicle attempted to ram the complainant’s vehicle in an attempt to flee the property.
Barrhead RCMP attempted to locate the suspect vehicle and the suspect vehicle came to rest in a ditch in the area of the Athabasca river southwest of Fort Assiniboine, before both suspects fled into the forest. RCMP Air Services and the RCMP Police Service Dog was utilized and one of the suspects was taken into custody without incident. The second suspect remained at large.
Further investigation has resulted in the second suspect being identified as Bradley Gordon Duff 35, of no fixed address.
A 28-year-old female from Whitecourt, Alta. remains in custody awaiting a bail hearing.
Barrhead RCMP’s investigation into this matter continues.
The public are warned not to approach Duff as he is believed to be possibly armed and dangerous. Barrhead RCMP are seeking the public’s assistance in locating Duff’s whereabouts as he is a suspect in this break and enter investigation and has outstanding arrest warrants on unrelated matters.
If anyone has information about Bradley Duff’s whereabouts, please contact Barrhead RCMP at 780-674-4848, 911 or your local police. 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 15, 2020
Whitecourt RCMP – police presence in Blue Ridge are in Woodlands County – Update #2
High Prairie, Alta. – On June 14, 2020, High Prairie RCMP received a report of a sighting of a male believed to be Bradley Duff during the night / early morning hours in the vicinity of Range Road 185 and Township Road 742 in Big Lakes County, Alta. This location is 3 km’s southwest of Triangle Hall, located 20 kms west of High Prairie on Highway 2, or 25kms south of Mclennan, Alta., on Highway 2.
Duff is believed to have been wearing all dark or black clothing and a red bandana covering his face and was in the process of removing items from a white Dodge truck parked off the roadway. The same white Dodge truck was later reported to Emergency Services by a passerby to be on fire on June 15, 2020, at 12:30 a.m.
Further investigation determined the Dodge truck had been stolen out of Whitecourt, Alta., and Bradley Duff was the last person known to have been seen driving it.
High Prairie RCMP Detachment has deployed multiple police resources to the area, including RCMP Police Dog Services Unit to conduct a search for Duff.
RCMP are asking that the public please avoid the area and refrain from posting photos and/or video on social media.
An update will be provided when available.
The public are warned not to approach Duff as he is believed to be possibly armed and dangerous. Duff continues to have warrants for his arrest. If anyone has information about Bradley Duff’s whereabouts, please contact Whitecourt RCMP at 780-779-5900 or your local police. 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.”
June 9, 2020
Whitecourt RCMP – police presence in Blue Ridge are in Woodlands County – Update
Whitecourt, Alta. – Whitecourt RCMP members are no longer in the area of Blue Ridge; however, their investigation continues.
On June 9, 2020, at 5:49 a.m., Whitecourt RCMP received a complaint of a vehicle in the ditch with a passenger unconscious with Emergency Services on scene. When the male became conscious, he fled into a forested area.
Whitecourt RCMP’s investigation revealed that the vehicle was stolen out of Edmonton in April 2020. Items in the vehicle and a description of the suspect who fled the scene led RCMP to believe that the suspect is Bradley Duff (35) of no fixed address. Duff is currently on outstanding warrants on other matters.
Whitecourt RCMP, with the assistance of RCMP Police Dog Services and RCMP Air Services conducted a lengthy search of the area and inquiries with residents of the area; however, were unable to locate the suspect.
Whitecourt RCMP are seeking the public’s assistance in locating Duff’s whereabouts as he is a suspect in the stolen vehicle investigation and has outstanding arrest warrants on unrelated matters. RCMP caution the public not to approach Duff as he is considered dangerous. Duff has been known to have access to firearms in the past; however, it is unknown if he is armed at this time.
If anyone has information about Bradley Duff’s whereabouts, please contact Whitecourt RCMP at 780-779-5900 or your local police. 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.”
June 9, 2020
Whitecourt RCMP – police presence in Blue Ridge are in Woodlands County
Whitecourt, Alta. – Whitecourt RCMP would like to advise the public that there is a heavy police presence in the area of Blue Ridge in Woodlands County between Township Road 594 and 592 near Range Road 102 outside Whitecourt.
RCMP are asking that the public please avoid the area and refrain from posting photos and/or video on social media.
An update will be provided when available.
Public information and warning: Man accused of kidnapping and sexual assault on child released
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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