Members of a loosely affiliated band of vigilantes who use covert social media accounts to expose and publicly shame alleged online predators have emerged in Medicine Hat.

Police in the southern Alberta city said Thursday they recently met two people who called themselves “Creep Catchers” and claimed to have recently met one of their targets.

They told officers they baited their target by posing online as a teenage girl to arrange a meeting, which they claimed to have recorded on video and threatened to post it on social media.

“Individuals who engage in vigilante activity are putting themselves at considerable risk of defensive or retaliatory harm from the people they are confronting,” Medicine Hat police said in a statement.

Creep Catchers pose a growing concern for law enforcement across North America, including in Calgary, where Dawson Raymond wages a similar public shaming campaign.

Raymond told Postmedia last fall he poses as a young teenage girl on online dating sites, where he claims a surprising number of men request to meet, despite the fact the fictitious girl is a minor. He later confronts these men in person as a friend captures video footage, which he posts to his website.

The Calgary man’s website says Creep Catchers help prevent the exploitation of children and young adults. “We are building our presence across Canada to catch and expose online child/teen predators as well as similar topics of interest,” the site says.

Calgary police say they do not condone Raymond’s vigilante tactics, though they are investigating complaints that have emerged from his video-recorded confrontations.

Officers warn these vigilante acts could interfere with police investigations and the collection of evidence, which could mean suspects are not charged or convicted.

In Medicine Hat, police say those who make public allegations without evidence are at risk of targeting an innocent person, who may launch civil lawsuits for slander, libel or defamation of character.

“Although most Creep Catchers activity remain within legal boundaries, many of the incidents come precariously close to the threshold of several criminal offences,” Medicine Hat police said in its statement.

Those who create fake online profiles with photos from someone else’s social media account could face identity theft or fraud complaints, police said.

Creep Catchers also run the risk of being accused of criminal harassment, public mischief or obstruction of justice, “if they are overly zealous in their efforts.”

“If members of the public truly want to protect potential victims and ensure community safety, their best course of action is to trust and rely on the justice system that’s in place for that exact purpose,” police said.

“Independent vigilante investigations create complications for the courts and ultimately subvert true justice.”

rsouthwick@postmedia.com

A marijuana activist says his high-profile arrest in Calgary has only boosted the profile of his national seed giveaway campaign, which has attracted new seed orders and several offers from suppliers.

Dana Larsen, 44, of Vancouver, was charged with one count of trafficking marijuana and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking. He was later released from custody and is expected to appear in court on May 18.

Larsen was arrested at the Days Inn on Macleod Trail South as his Overgrow Canada event, dubbed “Free Marijuana – Overgrow the Government Tour,” made its stop in Calgary, the second of 14 cities in the tour.

“This kind of police overreaction just gets people worked up, and gets me in the media all across the country,” Larsen said in an interview. 

“Far more people knew about this campaign than did (Wednesday), and far more of them are interested in getting seeds and participating than did (Wednesday).

“In that sense, this has only helped my efforts.”

On the Overgrow Canada website, Larsen says he’s giving away seeds as part of what he calls the largest civil disobedience campaign in Canada’s history, ahead of promised marijuana legalization by Ottawa.

Larsen had originally planned to give away a million cannabis seeds as part of the campaign, but he doubled it to two million after his arrest in Calgary.

Insp. Mike Bossley said even though at least five police officers were in attendance at the Calgary event to keep the peace, the organizer began distributing marijuana seeds to members in the audience. 

One man went out to retrieve more stock and was arrested. Bossley said as the man was being taken into custody, the audience left the hotel – led by Larsen – to watch. The man, who was determined to be a “runner,” was later released without charge. 

But after a Calgary police inspector spoke to Larsen, he allegedly continued to distribute more seed packages at which point he was arrested.

“Everybody has a right to a peaceful demonstration and conversation. So we allowed that process to take place,” Bossley said. 

“As that process took place, we recognized that the seeds that were being trafficked essentially, it was articulated they were in fact marijuana seeds. And as more and more information came to light, officers took the actions they did.”

Bossley said the event became “a little more excited” as it unfolded, so additional officers were called to the scene for support.

A backer of Larsen’s efforts uploaded a video of the arrest to YouTube. Supporters could be heard booing and shouting at police, although the incident largely remained peaceful. 

Officers also searched the van belonging to the event organizer and seized 119 grams of marijuana worth about $1,190, 1,097 grams of marijuana seeds worth about $30,000, and a small amount of cannabis resin and oil. 

Larsen said he has received many more orders for seeds, and has been contacted by people offering to supply additional seeds, after his arrest. He said his bail conditions forbid him from possessing or giving away seeds, so his campaign will give them away by mail order.

 “We must not wait around to see if maybe (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau will be kind enough to let us grow a few cannabis plants at home,” Larsen writes on his website.

“We must seize the moment, seize our freedom and plant our victory gardens!” he writes, urging Canadians to plant seeds on balconies, windowsills, in yards and “into the fresh air where they belong.”

Cindy Heemeryck, tour coordinator for the Overgrow Canada campaign, who posted $1,000 cash after Larsen was granted bail by a Justice of the Peace in Calgary, said she wasn’t impressed by her friend’s arrest.

“Medical patients in this country have the right to grow their own medicine and that’s why this campaign was launched,” Heemeryck said.

Lawyer Kirk Tousaw, who appeared in bail court by phone from B.C. said he opposed the bail conditions proposed by police, but was unsuccessful. He said Larsen is eager to fight these charges.

“I don’t see a conviction on this coming,” Tousaw said by phone, calling it a waste of police and court resources. “Mr. Larsen possesses pretty good defences under the Charter.”

Police say it’s illegal to traffic marijuana, and they will continue enforcing the law.

With files from Kevin Martin

cho@postmedia.com, rsouthwick@postmedia.com

Lisa Freihaut wept as she spoke of no longer being able to see her mother at family gatherings or sit in her beautiful garden.

“My mom loved her family and friends, especially her grandchildren. They were her pride and joy,” Freihaut said Thursday, wiping away tears, as her husband Dean stood by her side. 

“This is the first time I don’t get to send my mom flowers or give her a card on Mother’s Day.”

Freihaut’s mother, Irene Carter, was found slain in her Lethbridge home on Jan. 17. Three months later, police have yet to make an arrest.

Officers went to Carter’s home in the 300 block of Normandy Road South around 2 p.m. that Sunday after family members, who hadn’t been able to reach the 78-year-old, asked officers to check on the senior.

           Irene Carter

They arrived to find Carter dead inside the home. An autopsy revealed she had died of stab wounds. 

Officers canvassed the neighbourhood, interviewed numerous family members and acquaintances, and have followed up on numerous leads, but still have not laid charges in Lethbridge’s first homicide of 2016.

Sgt. Ryan Stef with the Lethbridge Regional Police said there may have been door-to-door canvassers in the area during that time that possibly witnessed something suspicious. But after exhausting that part of the investigation, speaking with Lethbridge companies, police are expanding their search into Calgary.

“We feel there’s a possibility there may be more out there that we’re not aware of. The city of Calgary is a large centre and they do send a lot of companies, door to door type sales, activities, outward,” Stef said.

“We’re looking for some public assistance, anybody that may be aware of a company, a business or people that may have been in Lethbridge at that time, that may potentially be witnesses for us and bring forward some information for us on the investigation.”

Investigators are still working to determine a motive, but have not ruled out the possibility of a robbery. However, Stef declined to comment on what occurred inside the home or whether anything was taken.

He also would not speak to whether police had identified any suspects in the case.

Lethbridge police at the home of  78-year-old Irene Carter in Lethbridge, on Tuesday January 19, 2016. Photo by David Rossiter

“There are leads and we are continuing to follow them up. We’ve been very busy with the file from the first day we became involved. And we’re going to continue to work each and everyday to uncover as many leads as we possibly can,” he said.

As for Freihaut, she just wants anyone with information to come forward to police so the family can start to recover from this “senseless” tragedy.

“We are reaching out to the public for help. If you have any information about what happened to my mom, please contact the Lethbridge Police Service so they can put my mom to rest peacefully and we can start to heal.”

cho@postmedia.com

twitter.com/clara_ho

Unwilling to risk the safety of the public, a city judge on Thursday denied a bail bid by a suspected repeat drunk driver.

“You’re a high risk to reoffend and because of that I would be endangering the public,” provincial court Judge Anne Brown said, in detaining David Ravinesh Lakhan.

Lakhan, 34, faces 23 charges, including five of impaired operation of a motor vehicle in connection with five separate arrests dating back to Jan. 19, 2013.

On that day Lakhan was allegedly driving with a blood/alcohol level of 260 mg of alcohol per 100 mL of blood, more than triple the legal driving limit  of 80 mg.

He was also charged Aug. 11, 2013, where his alcohol reading was 245 mg, on Feb. 8, 2014, when his level was 250, on Jan. 29, 2015, with a reading of 210 mg, and last Nov. 22.

Crown prosecutor Thom Forsyth told Brown that on that occasion Lakhan was pulled over  by Turner Valley RCMP at a mid-afternoon checkstop.

Forsyth said Lakhan provided two breath samples of 180 and 200 mg.

“Present in the car was his wife and two children,” he said, in asking Brown to detain Lakhan pending trial.

Forsyth acknowledged Lakhan has made efforts to deal with his drinking problem while on release on the earlier charges, but it was no longer safe to grant him bail.

“Mr. Lakhan quite clearly has a severe problem, give the facts and charges before you … notwithstanding the previous efforts and good intentions,” he said.

“It’s very fortunate, given the readings, that no one’s been hurt,” Forsyth said.

“The Crown has no confidence in his ability to stay out of future trouble,” he said.

“It’s simply not safe, nor prudent, to release him at this time.”

Defence counsel Pat Flynn had sought Lakhan’s release for the purpose of his client entering a rehabilitation program at the Salvation Army’s Centre of Hope.

“Rehabilitation is the primary focus of anyone dealing with addiction,” Flynn told Brown.

“This is a gentleman who obviously has a grave drinking problem, he’s doing his best to handle it,” he said.

Flynn argued the Centre of Hope 90-day program consists of an initial 30-day lockup which would have kept him under wraps for at least another month.

But Brown said no release order would guarantee public safety.

“It is absolutely impossible to structure a release order for you that would keep the community safe, you are a high risk to reoffend,” she said.

Lakhan’s case returns to court April 18.

KMartin@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @KMartinCourts

A man convicted of sexual interference with a minor has been released in Calgary after a two-year sentence in federal prison, police warn.

Alexander Bathgate, 48, is considered a high risk offender who will be monitored by Calgary police.

Alexander Bathgate, a high-risk offender

Bathgate has previously been convicted of sexual assault, assault, possession of drugs, robbery and theft.

Most of his crimes occurred in British Columbia: Abbotsford, Vancouver, Burnaby and Prince George. He committed others in Dryden, Ont. and in Edmonton, while his conviction for sexual interference with a minor stemmed from a Medicine Hat incident.

Bathgate is Caucasian, standing 5-foot-9 and weighing 160 pounds. He has grey hair with brown eyes, and is known to use the alias Alex Wisla. He has several tattoos, including a demon face on his chest and a woman’s face and a stack of skulls on his shoulders.

Police said they carefully weighed privacy concerns when releasing information about Bathgate’s identity and whereabouts, but they believe it’s in the public’s interest.

The intent is to allow the public to take precautions, not embark in vigilante action, police said.

Premier Rachel Notley tried to reassure Albertans Thursday about both the state of the province and her NDP government’s plan to deal with the “scary time” caused by the massive drop in oil prices.  

But opposition leaders said the premier’s $90,000 televised address to the province a week ahead of the April 14 provincial budget would provide little comfort to provincial residents.

Speaking from the kitchen table of her Edmonton home in a pre-recorded message, Notley committed the NDP to two goals: controlling costs — without “slashing and burning” programs — and creating jobs.

“We can do this,” she said.

“We’re flexible and resilient in Alberta, and we’ve always shown that when we’re faced with challenges, we come together with optimism and determination.”

There were scant new details in the speech but Notley stressed that her government is squarely facing the “serious and prolonged shock” of oil prices that have plunged from over US$105 a barrel in 2014 to under US$40 recently.

She said the government is projecting energy royalties being down nearly 90 per cent from two years ago, putting resource revenue at $1.4 billion for the next fiscal year.

That has left the NDP staring down a deficit that will surpass $10 billion in the upcoming budget. The province is projecting two straight years of recession in 2015 and 2016, while the unemployment rate has nearly doubled since 2014.

Notley said the government is rejecting “reckless cuts” to spending.

Instead, the NDP will “stick to a plan that carefully brings the budget back into balance as the economy recovers,” said Notley, who followed Tory predecessors such as Alison Redford and Jim Prentice in taking to the airwaves to discuss the province’s economic woes.

Notley and Finance Minister Joe Ceci have said the upcoming budget will see a spending increase matching the rate of inflation plus population growth — approximately 2.8 per cent. Spending increases will be lower in future budgets, the NDP pledges.

In what appeared to be a reference to public sector unions heading into contract negotiations, Notley asked “government partners delivering services to Albertans, please remember that Albertans want us to live within our means.”

The premier said the current situation shows that Alberta is “dangerously dependent” on the price of oil and next week’s budget will include an “Alberta Jobs Plan” focusing on job creation and economic diversification.

“We’ve worked hard to create new opportunities for you,” said Notley.

There have been hints the government may cut the province’s three per cent small business tax rate and introduce a new investors tax credit. The NDP has committed to significant infrastructure spending — $34 billion over five years — as a spur to economic growth. 

Notley urged families and individuals facing financial hardship to apply for the government’s new child benefit and family employment tax credit, which come into effect June 1.

The premier also noted the employment insurance benefits that have been recently beefed up for most of Alberta at the province’s request, though she said the government won’t stop pressing Ottawa to extend the enhanced EI program to Edmonton.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley used this graphic in her television address to illustrate the plunge in oil prices.

But Wildrose Leader Brian Jean said policies introduced since the NDP took office, including a tax increase on corporations and high-income earners and plans for a carbon tax in 2017, have hurt the economy.

“We are seeing more of the same broken ideas that got our province into this mess in the first place,” said Jean. “The NDP plan is to continue increases to spending, and continue wage increases for government workers.”

The two main opposition parties have both called for actual spending reductions, with Wildrose calling for a two per cent cut to the province’s $50-billion budget annually until the books are balanced, while the Progressive Conservatives called this week for $4 billion to be chopped over two years. 

Interim PC Leader Ric McIver said Notley’s speech had nothing to offer Albertans except to tell them to “apply for government subsidies.”

“That’s her advice for Albertans. She has no plan,” he told reporters in Edmonton.

Calgary pollster and political analyst Janet Brown said the televised address was a way for Notley to reconnect with Albertans who elected the NDP government last year.

“I think the premier really felt she needed to make a personal appeal to Albertans. She needed to assure them she is taking the downturn in the economy as seriously as they are … she wanted to ensure Albertans heard that directly from her,” said Brown.

“It says something about both the political and the economic situation. It’s tough to govern in these tough economic times.”

With files from Otiena Ellwand

jwood@postmedia.com

A couple reported missing since Tuesday arrived home safe Thursday evening.

Holli Asher, 74, and her partner, 64-year-old Thomas Bories, had been last seen after they picked up their vehicle from a friend’s house after a vacation away.

The couple was driving their truck to Foremost, about 340 kilometres southeast of Calgary, but they weren’t seen or heard from afterward.

Police issued a public plea for help to find the missing couple Thursday afternoon.

CTV News later reported the couple got lost on their way and ran out of gas twice. They slept in their truck one night and spent a second night in a Medicine Hat hotel before spending Thursday afternoon shopping, CTV reported.

Calgary police said the couple arrived home safely Thursday evening.

Premier Rachel Notley’s Kitchen Table Speech wasn’t meant to get her on a reality chef show. It was designed to be reassuring.

She may have achieved that, if otherworldly calm is all it takes to keep Albertans from panicking.

The premier sat at the neatest kitchen table you’ve ever seen. Beside her was a picturesque bowl of fruit. All this was meant to give a homey family impression, and it should have, since the kitchen was in her own house.

Such stagings can come across as hokey and false. When Jim Dinning ran for the PC leadership, it was hard to picture him as a farmhand. Jim Prentice always looked like a banker no matter how they dressed him up.

Given the risks of calculated hokum, Notley came across quite well. She does have a gift for presentation, whether she’s just talking mildly or taking apart an opponent like Prentice. 

Still, 15 minutes of unrelieved blandness can be taxing. I found myself wishing Prentice was at the table to set her another math problem. That at least would have been lively.

Calmly, very calmly, Notley repeated her mantra that her government won’t slash and burn its way out of a recession. The NDP will keep spending both on operations and capital works, and gradually balance the budget later.

There was a bit of tough talk for Ottawa. She urged the Trudeau government to let up on employment insurance restrictions in the Edmonton area.

“We can’t continue to support Canada’s economy, unless Canada supports us,” she said. To Notley, that means approval of “a modern and carefully regulated pipeline.”

“I can promise you this,” she added. “I won’t let up.”

Notley didn’t reveal key numbers from the April 14 budget, but she did confirm again that the deficit will be over $10 billion.

And she put a dramatic twist on the drop of oil and gas revenue — from $10 billion a year when oil was at US$104 per barrel, she said, it will plunge “by almost 90 per cent.”

Omitting any specific mention of the looming carbon tax, Notley focused on measures for families and incentives for the economy.

She promised a four-point jobs plan that bundles several measures already announced: tax benefits for families, infrastructure spending, economic diversification and support for Alberta business.

Only the last one seems to promise anything really fresh; perhaps a tax credit for small business investment.

At the start of her speech, Notley said to Albertans that she would have “a few specific asks of you, to get us where we need to go.”

It turned out that she asked people to apply for benefits — employment insurance and the new federal and provincial child supports.  

The opposition parties were not captivated. “Apply for government subsidies, that’s her advice for Albertans,” said Ric McIver, the interim Progressive Conservative leader. 

“She has no plan to put them back to work, no plan to help them get their job, no plan to bring the investment back in that she has driven out with negative policies.

“The new economy that she promises is a fantasy,” he added. “It’s unicorns and rainbows that no one can identify.”

Wildrose Leader Brian Jean said Notley “needs to find her voice” on pipelines, equalization and other problems facing Albertans.

“I can’t help but think that the Albertans sitting at their kitchen tables, wondering what to do, expected so much more.”

The New Democrats never did have lofty goals for this speech. They simply wanted to convince Albertans that Notley cares about them and has a coherent plan, in advance of an extremely difficult budget.

But still, viewers might have welcomed a trace of the Notley spark that so impressed the province last spring.

Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald

dbraid@postmedia.com

It wasn’t that long ago when more than a dozen bingo halls, packed with enthusiastic players littered the city. 

But stricter smoking bylaws, the rise of online gambling and an inability to attract younger players to the game has forced many local operators to close their doors over the past decade.

Now, the trio of non-profit bingo halls left in Calgary, which combined host more than 100 charity fundraisers each year, hope the city will provide some tax relief as they struggle to stay relevant and keep their doors open. 

“We’re struggling,” said Glenda Pilger, general manger for Bingo Palace in the city’s northeast.

“We’re not as successful as we used to be but we’re keeping our doors open not only for entertainment for the public but for our organizations to be able to raise those funds where otherwise they would not have those funds,” Pilger said. 

On Monday, three councillors will introduce a notice of motion directing administration to draft a bylaw exempting the Bingo Palace, Five Star Bingo and Pub, and the Bingo Barn from municipal property taxes and present it to the city’s priorities and finance committee by May 31.  

“It’s important for the city to help out with non-profit organizations to keep them afloat because they do a fair bit of good not just for the community but individual groups and helps them defray costs,” said Ward 5 Coun. Ray Jones.  

The motion, signed by Jones, and councillors Gian-Carlo Carra and Andre Chabot, notes bingo halls are currently excluded from tax exemption status under the Municipal Government Act’s Community Organization Property Tax Exemption regulation. 

However, the same provincial legislation allows municipalities pass a bylaw exempting non-profits from paying the municipal portion of their property tax. 

“They’re specifically prohibited under (provincial) regulations … but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t exempt them from municipal property taxes,” said Chabot, adding many community associations use bingo halls to support their operations. 

“We don’t tax community associations so why are we taxing the guys who are actively contributing to the support of those community associations,” said Chabot. 

Pilger said the Bingo Palace supports 28 charitable groups by hosting bingo events throughout the year and pays about $80,000 in property taxes annually. 

At one point, more than 60 bingo halls were operating — and thriving — across Alberta, but the number has slowly atrophied to just over 20 as the pastime declined in popularity, she said.

“We try to attract younger generations … but people do associate their grandmother with the industry,” Pilger said. “It’s more of a social event, it’s not like a casino where you go in and you’re in your own zone. We have people here who consider us family.” 

thowell@postmedia.com

Sheena Cuthill, her husband, Timothy Rempel, and his brother Wilhelm Rempel, are each charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder in connection with Ryan Lane’s Feb. 7, 2012, disappearance.

It’s the Crown’s theory that Cuthill had the brothers kill Lane because of a custody dispute over the four-year-old daughter they shared.

Cuthill took the witness stand Friday. Postmedia’s Kevin Martin is covering the trial.

Read the story from this morning’s testimony here. 

You can read our previous coverage of the trial here.

Given his recent experience with STARS air ambulance, paramedics and even Fish and Wildlife workers, it’s a bit ironic Cole Domville is set on a career in policing. 

“His nickname is Constable Cole and that’s what he wants to be. Our motto at home is safety first and he makes sure everyone does the right thing,” said Russ Domville, the seven year old boy’s father.

Cole Domville, 7, holds his 9-1-1 Heroes Award.

Cole clearly did the right thing in dealing with emergency responders when he and his father came across an injured man while quading in Kananaskis Country.

The boy was among eight youngsters honoured Friday at the city’s 9-1-1 Heroes Awards Ceremony. The youth, aged seven to 15, called emergency dispatch last year when family members and even strangers were in distress. They were nominated by the emergency communications officer who took their call or by police or fire who wanted to recognize them as heroes.

Cole was awarded for staying calm and relaying information between 9-1-1 and his dad, who tended to the man who’d been crushed by his quad and was going into shock.

“I went on the phone and talked to them until they got there. I had to ask my dad questions about the guy and then STARS came and Fish and Wildlife and fire.”

While the boy was more interested in his hero trophy and trying out a police sergeant’s baton and handcuffs at the event at Telus Spark, his dad was teary-eyed as his spoke about his son’s actions that day.”

“There were several police officers, Fish and Wildlife, several detachments of fire departments arrived, then the helicopter came. So it was pretty overwhelming, pretty congested, very tense situation,” said Russ Domville. “Cole was quiet and calm and he wasn’t shy. He didn’t get nervous and he was able to communicate to 9-1-1. I’m pretty proud of him.”

Another youngster celebrated Friday for keeping a level head in an emergency was Madison Congdon, 9. She may come by it naturally as her father is a city firefighter.

She was at home when her mother started having vision problems and numbness in her legs.

“She said my dad had to come home and I needed to call 9-1-1. My mom was having some sort of stroke and numbness, and her left side felt like it was asleep.

“I felt really scared because my dad is a firefighter and I didn’t have him there and I wondered ‘Am I going to do this all by myself?’ So I called him and he told me to do all these steps.”

Madison’s mom Cindy is grateful her daughter remained calm. “She did wonderful. She did exactly what she needed to do. She was on one land line with (her dad) and on another phone with dispatch. He coached her through it.

“It was very frightening but I’ve got 100 per cent confidence in her that put in an emergency situation she would know how to handle it.”

Recipients of 9-1-1 Heroes Awards with Mayor Naheed Nenshi and representatives from Calgary’s emergency services at a ceremony at Telus Spark on April 8, 2016. The awards honour children who helped someone in need by calling 9-1-1.

Calgary 9-1-1 commander Richard Hinse said there were more than one million calls to 9-1-1 last year which equates to more than 3,000 calls every day. He thanked the youths for their quick thinking and heroic actions.

“I can tell you that not everyone knows when it’s the right time to call 9-1-1 but each of our heroes today did just that. You called 9-1-1 for someone who was probably having the worst day of their life. You served as the link between them and the help they needed.

“We can only hope when the time comes to choose a job when you get a little older, you’ll consider working for one of us … (emergency responder) jobs are never easy but your actions tell me you might already have the right stuff.”

Other children honoured were:

Cali Dillon, 11, who called 9-1-1 when her diabetic mom fell unconscious;

Miske Hassan, 10, who called when her sister fell unconscious, turned red and started seizing;

Kayden White, 11, and Beckham White, 9: who alerted their mom to smoke in their condominium;

Macy Yoon, 15, who called 9-1-1- when she noticed a young boy, about five, all alone on a CTrain, wearing a dirty T-shirt and no pants. He couldn’t speak English. Although there were adults on the train, Yoon was the only one to tend to the boy and call for help; and

Jade, 13, who called for help when she was home alone and heard someone trying to break into the house. 

Awards were presented by Mayor Nenshi, the nominating ECO, Calgary 9-1-1 Commander Richard Hinse, Calgary Fire Chief Steve Dongworth, Calgary Police Service Deputy Chief Sat Parhar and Acting Director Anne MacDonald, Alberta Health Services EMS Dispatch, Communications and Deployment, Southern Communications Centre.

The city has designated April 10-16 as public safety telecommunications week.

PEKISKO, ALTA — George Pocaterra has made quite a name for himself in Alberta’s southern Kananaskis area.

There’s a Pocaterra Creek, a Pocaterra Ridge and a Mount Pocaterra — all features named after the pioneering Italian immigrant, who came to Canada in 1903 and set up one of the country’s first dude ranches two years later in Highwood Valley. He died in Calgary in 1972.

Ross Fritz with the Bar U Ranch National Historic Site’s newest percheron horses Poca, left and Terra, named after pioneer George Pocaterra. Leah Hennel/Postmedia

Now he’s received a new equine honour: two Percherons acquired at the Bar U Ranch National Historic Site will henceforth be known as Poca and Terra.

Parks Canada says it received more than 1,000 entries in a contest to name the black male horses. The winning suggestions came from Jim Barbaro, 71, a retired Calgary firefighter in Sundre, Alta.

Poca and Terra will shuttle visitors by wagon into the centre of the ranch when it opens for the 2016 season on May 16.

Poca, left, and Terra were named in a contest that received more than 1,000 suggestions from the public. 

Investigators are looking for two witnesses and vehicle information in connection with a shooting late Monday in southwest Calgary.

Police say an unknown number of offenders fired several shots in the area of 67th Avenue and 5th Street S.W. just before midnight.

Officers were called to the scene after shots went through the window of a home in the 700 block of 67th Avenue S.W.

No one was hurt.

Police are now trying to identify two men who are not believed to be involved in the shooting but may have witnessed the events unfold in front of the home.

One of the men was wearing a red or orange jacket or winter coat with fur along the hood and a hat. After the shooting, the pair left the scene on foot, heading south along 5th Street S.W. before disappearing into an alley between 67th Avenue and 68th Avenue S.W. 

Officers are also trying to obtain further descriptions of two darker coloured vehicles seen speeding away from the area.

One headed east on 67th Avenue S.W., then south on Macleod Trail. The second went west on 67th Avenue S.W. to go east on Glenmore Trail from the Phil’s restaurant parking lot.

Earlier reports of a blood trail at the scene have been determined to be false, police added. 

With the Notley government preaching the need for spending restraint, Alberta’s biggest public sector union is expecting the NDP to propose a wage freeze in upcoming negotiations.

In her televised address to the province Thursday night, Premier Rachel Notley said controlling costs is a primary objective of her cash-strapped government. 

In what appeared to be a signal to unions in the speech, the premier’s message to “government partners delivering services” is that Albertans have no appetite for significant public spending increases and that they “want us to live within our means.”

Guy Smith, president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, shrugged off the remarks from Notley, saying in a Friday interview it’s a message similar to those delivered by Tory premiers in the past. 

He said the government has not yet laid out its bargaining position for the AUPE contract for direct government employees that expires next year, but Smith said he “wouldn’t be shocked at all” if the NDP comes to the table offering zeros for wage increases.

“I actually anticipate that or something similar,” said Smith.

“What I’ve been telling our members is, ‘That’s negotiations.’ The employer starts low, we come in with our proposals and, hopefully, somewhere in the middle …,” he said.

“Our members may be disappointed, for sure, because it just makes bargaining that much tougher. But for those of us who’ve been around a while, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.”

While Smith played down the impact of a wage freeze proposal, he noted the playing field has changed with recent Alberta legislation that gives many public sector unions the right to strike. The law, which was needed to comply with a Supreme Court ruling, sets out a process for designating some public sector workers as essential services, while others can walk off the job. 

CBC reported this week that former Alberta Health Services president Vickie Kaminski wrote in her resignation letter last fall that the NDP government would only authorize one per cent wage increases to AUPE health care unions — less than what AHS wanted to offer.

Smith said he was skeptical of the account, because there was never evidence of any better AHS offer, but said that if it was true the NDP intervened in that way, “that’s obviously very concerning to us.” 

Finance Minister Joe Ceci, who spoke Friday at the Canadian Club of Calgary, had little to say about the prospect of the NDP bringing forward a wage freeze proposal.

“I respect the bargaining process, as I know the other side would,” he told reporters.

The government has already introduced wage freezes for MLAs, non-unionized civil servants and employees of agencies, boards and commissions.

Wildrose finance critic Derek Fildebrandt, whose party has repeatedly called for a public sector wage freeze, said the NDP must be prepared to play “hardball” in labour negotiations and unions can’t see zero as simply a starting point in bargaining.

“I’m hopeful that public sector unions understand the gravity of the situation and that it would be grossly inappropriate, irresponsible and unfair for anyone in the government — from MLAs on down — to be getting raises right now,” he said.

With oil prices dropping dramatically since 2014, the NDP government says the deficit in the upcoming budget will top $10 billion. 

In his speech at the Ranchmen’s Club, Ceci reiterated that “we are constraining spending without compromising programs.”

The government has suggested the targeted spending increase in the April 14 budget is the rate of inflation plus population growth, which works out to 2.8 per cent. The government wants to come in under inflation plus population in future budgets.

“Going forward, this government, year over year over year, has to bring in smaller and smaller and smaller deficits,” Ceci said in response to a question from the crowd.

University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe said that keeping spending increases under the rate of inflation plus population growth is a “perfectly defensible” strategy because revenue growth linked to the economy will help shrink the deficit.   

The problem, though, is that absent growth in oil prices, such a plan will only eliminate the deficit in about a decade, Tombe said in an interview Friday.

jwood@calgaryherald.com

Sheena Cuthill told her husband and brother-in-law to approach Ryan Lane with the hope of frightening him off a custody dispute, court heard Friday.

Taking the witness stand in her own defence, Cuthill said the initial discussions about dissuading Lane from pursuing access to the daughter they shared involved friends of Wilhelm Rempel approaching him.

But within hours of Lane`s disappearance on Feb. 7, 2012, Cuthill gave her husband Timothy Rempel the go-ahead to approach the victim with her brother-in-law.

Defence counsel Alain Hepner took Cuthill through a series of text exchanges between her and several other individuals, including her husband, culminating in a brief conversation beginning at 1:20 a.m. on Feb. 6, 2012. 

Sheena Cuthill is accused of murdering Ryan Lane over a custody dispute involving their daughter.

 “Tim says to you, ‘Give me the OK,’ and four minutes later you say, ‘OK,'” Hepner told his client.

“I had changed my mind about the visitation,” Cuthill said, of the plan to have someone pay Lane a visit.

“I decided that I would give in to what they were saying, to give the OK to meet with Ryan,” Cuthill told a four-man, eight-woman Calgary jury.

“And when you say ‘they’, it’s who?” Hepner said.

“Tim and Will,” Cuthill testified.

“OK, and to do what?” the lawyer asked.

“I wasn’t part of that plan, I don’t know what they were going to do,” she said.

“My part of it was just to give the OK.”

Related

• Read more from the trial

Cuthill is charged along with the brothers with the kidnapping and first-degree murder of Lane, who was lured from his father’s northwest Calgary home just before midnight on Feb. 6, 2012, never to be heard from again.

It’s the Crown’s theory Cuthill encouraged her husband and brother-in-law to murder Lane to end a custody dispute they were having over the daughter they shared.

But Cuthill denied instructing the two men to do any harm to Lane.

“Did you ever say to them, or suggest to them that they kill Ryan?” Hepner asked.

“No,” Cuthill replied.

“Did you ever hint to them that you wanted Ryan killed?” he said.

“No,” she repeated.

“Did you ever form a plan to have Ryan killed?”

“None of this was my idea,” Cuthill said.

Earlier in her evidence, which kept her on the witness stand all day, Cuthill conceded Lane wouldn’t simply be dissuaded to pursue access to his daughter with words.

“To be honest, it probably (would involve) a little force, right? Like I wasn’t expecting to just talk to Ryan and Ryan would willingly walk away,” she said.

Her testimony continues on Monday.

KMartin@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/@KMartinCourts

The Alberta government is poised to bring in its lowest return of revenue from oil and gas since bell-bottoms were all the rage in Peter Lougheed’s first term as premier four decades ago.

In her address to the province Thursday night — a week ahead of the April 14 provincial budget — Premier Rachel Notley warned Albertans the government is projecting that energy royalties have dropped by nearly 90 per cent since 2014 because of the massive drop in world oil prices.

A chart used in the premier’s recorded message showed the government pegging resource revenue at $1.4 billion in the 2016-17 fiscal year.

University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe said that one has to go back to the 1974-75 Alberta budget to see a lower take from non-renewable resources, when Lougheed’s first-term PC government brought in $1.3 billion in a financial plan with total revenue of $3.2 billion.

“It’s been a long, long time,” said Tombe, who noted the figures are not adjusted for inflation.

“The figure we see in the 1974-75 budget in real terms is actually much higher than we see today.”

Spending is expected to top $50 billion in next week’s budget and the government has said it will post a deficit higher than $10 billion on revenue around $40 billion.

Finance Minister Joe Ceci would not comment on the resource revenue projection Friday, telling reporters to wait for the budget.

But he recently said the government would be very conservative in its oil price estimate in the 2016-17 budget.

“The private sector forecasts that we listened to and put in our budget 2015 were too high, frankly. So we’re not going to do that again. We’re going to adjust down and we’re going to restrain spending,” Ceci told reporters last week.

Tombe doesn’t quibble with the $1.4 billion projection for resource revenue in the upcoming financial plan.

“It suggests to me they are using realistic oil price forecast in the budget and good on them for that,” he said.

jwood@postmedia.com

Unaffordable dental care and poor diet choices, not lack of fluoride, are the biggest causes of severe oral decay in children, says a University of Calgary study.

A paper released by the School of Public Policy says that while fluoridated water is a factor in improving children’s oral health, public dental insurance would be more effective. 

Renewed clashes over fluoride, sparked by a recent medical report showing child tooth decay is higher in non-fluoridated Calgary than in Edmonton obscures more effective solutions to widespread early childhood cavities, said co-author Jennifer Zwicker.

“We get distracted by the fluoride debate … if there was more of a focus on these other factors, there’d be less of a need for fluoride,” said Zwicker, the school’s manager of health policy.

Lack of affordable dental care, poor teeth cleaning and dietary habits have led to one in 100 children requiring surgery for cavities, or 19,000 of the procedures between 2010 and 2012.

That cost the medical system $21.2 million during that period and is the largest source of day surgeries for children in Canada, said the report.

“In some populations, for 50 per cent of those under the age of three, their first visit to a dentist is in emergency care,” said Zwicker.

“At the end of the day, there’s no substitute for proper oral hygiene and diet.”

While provinces such as Quebec, P.E.I., Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia offer public health coverage of dental care for those up to the ages of 10 or 14, Alberta does not, except for some low income situations, she said

“When public dental insurance and preventive oral hygiene are provided, there is a decrease in the need for reactive dental care,” states Zwicker’s report, titled It’s Not Just About Baby Teeth: Preventing Early Childhood Caries.

Most affected by cavities are low-income, rural and aboriginal populations, states the report.

Cavities can harm childhood development, sleeping and eating patterns, learning and increasing absenteeism, said Zwicker.

“That child has normalized the fact they have pain,” she said.

It’s also important all medical professionals, not just dentists, impress on parents the importance of teeth cleaning and minimizing consumption of sugary drinks, said Zwicker.

Fluoride was removed from Calgary’s water supply five years ago amid concerns over the chemical’s toxicity.

Since then, dentists have blamed the move for a sharp increase in tooth decay among children.

BKaufmann@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/@BillKaufmannjrn

It may not be the big city, but retailers in Cochrane weren’t going to be fooled by substandard counterfeit bills.

Mounties have charged three Calgarians in connection with the recent use of counterfeit currency at local businesses in the town west of Calgary.

They said they received multiple complaints Thursday from businesses about three people using fake bills.

Described by the RCMP as “poor quality,” the bills were made of paper, rather than polymer, and poorly cut. Also, the holographic security panels from $5 and $10 bills were taped to the paper forgeries of $50 and $100 bills.

Police say businesses in Cochrane were specifically targeted on the belief the fake money would be more easily accepted than at businesses in Calgary.

When police arrived, they stopped a vehicle matching the description provided by witnesses outside a local Shoppers Drug Mart, and arrested the three occupants.

Counterfeit $50 bills seized by RCMP in Cochrane are pictured.

A search turned up a counterfeit $100 bill, several counterfeit $50 bills, and three counterfeit U.S. $20 bills. Police also seized a small amount of methamphetamine.

Jason Sorochinski, 31, Gina Sorochinski, 33, and Teri Machinskinic, 19, all of Calgary, were charged with possession and uttering counterfeit currency, and possession of methamphetamine.

RCMP in other jurisdictions have been warning citizens to be on the lookout for funny money.

In Airdrie, between January and March, Mounties received numerous complaints from local businesses of a man and woman passing fake U.S. bills. 

Using video surveillance from businesses, witness statements and assistance from police in Calgary, RCMP identified and arrested two individuals. 

Michael Zero, 32, and Jenna McArthur, 31, were charged with a total of eight counts of uttering counterfeit money. Zero is due in court on April 21 and McArthur’s court date has yet to be set.

In Red Deer, Mounties were investigating after culprits passed U.S. $50 bills of “varying levels of quality” at businesses in the central Alberta city.

Police encourage businesses to educate their employees on how to watch for fake bills. Tips can be found at the Bank of Canada’s website. 

Now saying the young man found dead Thursday morning in a northwest Calgary suburb was the victim of a targeted homicide, police are trying to figure out who did it and why.

Harsimran Singh Birdi, 20, was identified by city police as the victim of homicide a day after he was found laying dead in an alley along the 9700 block of Harvest Hills Link N.E.

Birdi was found by residents, dead, about 8:30 a.m. and police quickly barricaded much of the block with the tell-tale yellow crime scene tape.

Reporters who had viewed the death scene before police ejected them described it as “bloody” with the victim’s face severely battered and Insp. Don Coleman with the major crimes section said there were “signs of violence.”

Police released new information Friday, saying the young man’s slaying was not random.

Exactly what caused Birdi’s death, however, is not yet being released by police, pending further examination after an autopsy conducted Friday.

Hours earlier Thursday morning — at about 2:30 a.m. — residents heard shouts and a vehicle speeding off, but it’s not yet clear if those observations are related to Birdi’s death.

Now Calgary police homicide investigators are trying to piece together what Birdi was up to — where he was, who he was with and the like — in the days prior to his death.

Anybody who might have information is asked to contact police at 403-266-1234, the homicide unit directly at 403-428-8877 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Like some kind of prescribed five-year economic plan, the city traditionally kept a tight leash on the taxi industry.

For decades, it controlled the number of taxi licences and vehicles on the street. 

It decided how much operators could charge.

Civic bylaws even required drivers be “neat and clean in person and dress.”

Starting next week, prepare for something new in Calgary’s taxi universe: full-fledged price competition.

Changes to city bylaws that took effect April 4 now allow for fare adjustments; companies are reacting swiftly to the new landscape.

In recent days, several firms have slashed fares for customers who hail a ride on the street or call for a pick up.

Passenger rates at some companies will drop between 12 and 15 per cent, although the existing maximum price will remain in place.

It’s funny how a change to the bureaucratically named “Livery Transport Bylaw 6M2007” can trigger a full-on price war.

“This is massive,” says Kurt Enders, president of Checker Yellow Cabs and a member of the city’s Taxi and Limousine Advisory Committee.

“It’s a new world with technology, apps and everyone having everything at their fingertips. It’s where the world is going. You either stay current and compete — or become extinct.”

At Checker, the company will charge about 15 per cent less on its fares beginning Monday. 

Over at Delta Cab, the company has said it will also reduce its rate by a similar amount, as will Mayfair Taxi next week.

“You’ve got to be able to compete,” explains Len Bellingham, Mayfair’s president. 

At Associated Cab, the company is chopping fares by about 12 per cent.

“It’s overdue. This industry was restricted in so many ways,” laments Roger Richard, Associated Cab president. “Better competition always makes a better industry.”

Exactly.

Several factors are driving the overhaul, from technological advancements — a cellphone in every pocket — and the threat of new ride-sharing services, to the city’s economic malaise.

According to a city report, the number of taxi trips in Calgary fell by 11 per cent last year versus 2014. 

The price of fuel has also fallen dramatically as oil prices have collapsed.

In October 2014, council approved a rate hike to help cover rising fuel costs but Richard argues it’s not needed anymore with lower pump prices.

He believes it’s more important to stimulate the market, luring customers away from competing modes of transportation, such as car rentals or transit.

It’s a new way of thinking. In past downturns, Calgary cab companies couldn’t react like other businesses and slash prices or offer incentives.

Thankfully, that era is over.

The economic rules of supply and demand should prevail but this could mean a reshuffling of market share in the months ahead. It may also cause economic pain for drivers who earn less, if the fees they pay taxi companies don’t drop as well.

Other regulations have also fallen by the wayside.

Previous requirements that cab drivers take five days of training, which included teaching them on the city’s geography and customer service, have been scaled back to two days. The training price tag has also fallen to $300 from $550.

“Customers have advised us they’d like to see less regulation for taxis, and allow for a competitive marketplace to exist,” explains Mario Henriques, the city’s chief livery inspector.

Research done by the city last year backs up that view.

It also indicates the public wants more service offered during peak periods of demand, such as on weekends when it’s tough to get a lift at last call.

Despite these changes, the taxi system is still governed on the safety side, with rules requiring vehicle inspections and background police checks.

It still limits the number of participants. The number of plates on the streets is now set at 1,659.

Keeping a tight rein on the number of players limits competition, although I expect the imminent arrival of ride-sharing services will change the dynamic.

The irony is it was the brief appearance of Uber, using apps to connect with passengers, that triggered the regulatory overhaul.

“It’s interesting that it took a bylaw that supposedly is to allow ride-sharing services to come to the city to allow pricing to become flexible,” says Ramit Kar, Uber’s Alberta general manager. 

“When you reduce the price, you do see more people taking rides.”  

For consumers, the old regulated price for people who call or hail a taxi still exists as a maximum. 

But under the new bylaw, there is no maximum or minimum for anyone using an authorized app to arrange a ride. To improve transparency, customers must be told of the estimated trip cost and rate charged for such a booking.

Uber doesn’t agree with Calgary’s new rules, although Kar says he’s still “chomping at the bit” to enter the city if the bylaw is modified.

There’s one final, critical component to this bold new world: the drivers who’ve already been squeezed by the economy.

According to city data, the average wage for drivers last year fell to $16.30 an hour, down about one per cent from 2014.

Most drivers pay weekly fees to the company and any fare drop will cut into how much they make per trip.

Some cab companies have indicated they’ll drop their fees to drivers, but others may not.

“I don’t know how we’re going to make it,” says Narinder Tumber, who began driving a cab in 1983 and now drives for Associated. “If they go lower, lower, lower, how are we going to survive?”

Make no mistake: operating a taxi is a tough business. 

But it is a business. Now, it can act like one in the middle of a fierce price war.

Chris Varcoe is a Calgary Herald columnist.

cvarcoe@calgaryherald.com