Federal service drops case involving cannabis activist whose charges were stayed last month Federal prosecutors have decided to drop their appeal of a court ruling that dismissed charges against a prominent B.C. cannabis activist. Dana Larsen was arrested in Calgary during a national tour to give away millions of marijuana seeds to the public. On Monday, Larsen said in Vancouver that the Crown's appeal was to be heard July 2 in the Alberta Court of Appeal. But after a review this week, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said it is dropping the case. [continues 375 words]
The federal Crown has decided to drop its appeal of a ruling dismissing charges against a prominent cannabis activist who was arrested in Calgary during a national tour to give away millions of marijuana seeds to the public. On Monday, Dana Larsen said he was served notice at his home in Vancouver and the case was to be heard July 2 in the Alberta Court of Appeal. But after a subsequent review this week, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said it is dropping the case. [continues 395 words]
A union that represents 3,000 oilsands workers at Suncor Energy sites i n northeastern Alberta has won a court injunction against random drug testing. Unifor Local 707- A had argued that random testing would be a violation of workers' rights and privacy. Calgary-based Suncor has said random tests are needed to bolster safety and wanted to start the program this month. In his ruling, Queen's Bench Justice Paul Belzil said the privacy rights of employees are just as important as safety. "In my view the balance of convenience favours granting the injunction," Belzil said in a written judgment released Thursday. [continues 388 words]
Two former Alberta government cabinet ministers and a police chief are part of a group that is working to promote the legal recreational marijuana industry. Former justice minister Jonathan Denis belongs to an organization called the Canadian Cannabis Chamber that is providing legal, lobbying and security advice to companies as Canada prepares for the legalization of pot next July. Denis said he never dreamed he would be working as an advocate for an industry that will sell a substance that people were arrested for during his years as Alberta's solicitor general. [continues 193 words]
Suncor Energy has lost another legal round in its plan to randomly test thousands of unionized oilsands workers in Alberta for drugs and alcohol. But the court battle pitting work-site safety against individual privacy rights isn't over. Earlier this month, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union Local 707 won an injunction against a testing policy that was implemented during the summer. A judge ordered the matter be settled through arbitration. An Alberta Court of Appeal judge ruled Tuesday against a Suncor application for a stay of the injunction. Suncor said it will continue the fight to keep its work sites safe. [continues 323 words]
EDMONTON -- Construction and energy companies are happy with an Alberta court ruling that upholds the right of employers to test workers in safety-sensitive jobs for drugs. The Alberta Court of Appeal's decision overturned a lower court judgment that said Kellogg, Brown & Root Co. discriminated against a man in 2002 when it fired him from an oilsands project near Fort McMurray after he tested positive for marijuana. John Chiasson, who admitted to being a recreational pot smoker, filed a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission, which ruled against him. The commission said there needs to be a balance between an individual's human rights and the needs of an employer in protecting others. [continues 231 words]
Failing U.S. Policies In Afghanistan Are Killing Canadians, British Report Says KANDAHAR -- Canadian troops and Afghan civilians are paying with their lives because of failing U.S. policies to erase the opium poppy crop, says a report by a British think-tank. The poppy eradication campaign has driven rural farmers into such extreme poverty that they are shifting their support to the Taliban because the international community and the Afghan government are not doing enough to meet their basic needs, says the report by the London-based Senlis Council. [continues 307 words]
Alberta's booming construction industry is looking at changing its safe workplace guidelines to include random drug and alcohol tests for employees. The proposal is part of a review by the Construction Owners Association of Alberta of its current workplace practices. Employers and union leaders taking part in the review are grappling to balance a push for safer work sites with the legal rights of employees. "It is on the table. It is accurate to say people are looking at it," said Bob Blakely, director of Canadian Affairs of the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO. [continues 305 words]
MAYERTHORPE, Alta.-- Investigators trying to assemble the bloodstained pieces of the massacre of four Mounties said Friday it was not yet clear how the shooter met his end. "At this time we are still unable to confirm how James Roszko died," said RCMP regional Supt. Marty Cheliak. Cheliak would not confirm reports the 46-year-old Roszko had been shot and killed by a police sniper. He said the investigation on Roszko's farm near Mayerthorpe in northwestern Alberta would continue for several days. [continues 312 words]
Alberta should consider amending its human rights law to allow for random drug testing to make worksites safer, says a government-appointed committee. The recommendation is part of a report that was submitted to the province in July 2003 but has not been made public. The province should consider "legislative solutions: if such testing isn't found to be justifiable under the Alberta Human Rights Act, says a copy of the report obtained by The Canadian Press. The government's silence on the issue prompted members of the oil and gas sector to write a letter this month asking the province to respond to the report as they themselves grapple with how to deal with impaired employees. [continues 175 words]
EDMONTON -- Alberta should consider amending its human rights law to allow for random drug testing to make worksites safer, says a government-appointed committee. The recommendation is part of a report which was submitted to the province in July 2003 but has not been made public. The province should consider "legislative solutions: if such testing isn't found to be justifiable under the Alberta Human Rights Act," says a copy of the report obtained by The Canadian Press. The government's perceived inaction on the issue prompted members of the oil and gas sector to write a letter this month asking the province to respond to the report as they grapple with how to deal with impaired employees. [continues 334 words]
Alberta should consider amending its human rights law to allow for random drug testing to make work sites safer, says a government-appointed committee. The recommendation is part of a report submitted to the province in July 2003 but has not been made public. The province should consider "legislative solutions" if such testing isn't found justifiable under the Alberta Human Rights Act, the report says. The government's silence on the issue prompted members of the oil and gas sector to write a letter this month asking the province to respond to the report. [continues 211 words]
EDMONTON -- Alberta should consider amending its human rights law to allow for random drug testing to make worksites safer, a government-appointed committee says. The recommendation is part of a report submitted to the province in July, 2003, but has not been made public. The province should consider "legislative solutions" if such testing isn't found to be justifiable under the Alberta Human Rights Act, says the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Canadian Press. The government's silence on the issue prompted members of the oil and gas sector to write a letter this month asking the province to respond to the report as they grapple with how to deal with impaired employees. [continues 550 words]
Edmonton Mayor Has Had Enough EDMONTON -- Police found young Richard Prasad's bloody body slumped over the wheel of a car with a gaping bullet hole in his chest, yet another killing in an ongoing gang war over illegal drugs. Rather than accept the violent death of the 17-year-old as just another crime statistic, Edmonton Mayor Bill Smith decided 2003 was the year to say enough is enough. He called a snap news conference and angrily ordered drug pushers to get out of town. [continues 341 words]
61-Member Elite Squad Targets Organized Crime Sixty-one elite cops are set to launch a major offensive against organized crime in Alberta. And the drug trade will be among their first targets. Insp. Joe Loran - the cop in charge of the new Integrated Response to Organized Crime corps, or IROC - said the unit is now ready to dig into organized crime groups across the province. "We will be dedicated to dismantling and disrupting organized crime," says Loran, a taciturn 25-year RCMP veteran. [continues 396 words]
If crime doesn't pay, it certainly does cost. Alberta Solicitor General Heather Forsyth announced $3.5 million in funding earlier this year to get the new Integrated Response to Organized Crime unit off the ground. And, Forsyth said, the province will spend $5.1 million on the IROC next year and $5.2 million in 2005. "We stole what has been working well across the country and put together what we consider to be a very innovative team which is going to attack organized crime," Forsyth said. [continues 208 words]
Barb was only 14 years old the first time she smoked d-methamphetamine with friends in her rural home town. The euphoria was so intense her life soon revolved around getting high on the powerful and highly addictive drug that is sweeping into Alberta's small towns and cities. But soon the euphoria was replaced with delusions, hallucinations and paranoia. Eventually Barb (not her real name) became alienated from her family, left school and began questioning her sanity. ''I kind of knew right away that I was addicted to it. It made me really happy,'' said Barb, now 17, who eventually received psychiatric treatment and rehabilitation. [continues 355 words]
Small-Town Alberta Awash In Dangerous Drug Barb was only 14 years old the first time she smoked d-methamphetamine with friends in her rural Alberta community. The euphoria was so intense her life soon revolved around getting high on the powerful and highly addictive drug that is sweeping into small towns and cities. But soon the euphoria was replaced with delusions, hallucinations and paranoia. Eventually Barb (not her real name) became alienated from her family, left school and began questioning her sanity. [continues 371 words]
FLIN FLON, MAN. -- Like a proud farmer admiring a bumper crop, Health Minister Allan Rock was all smiles yesterday as he went deep underground to tour Canada's only legal marijuana-growing operation. Wearing blue coveralls and a miner's helmet, Rock and his entourage boarded a vehicle that slowly snaked down through the dark silence of an old copper-mine shaft to a bustling hydroponic lab carved out of the rock hundreds of metres below the surface. There, under tight security and the blinding glare of powerful grow lights, a forest of vibrant green plants burst from containers, filling the chamber with a musky sweetness. [continues 539 words]
FLIN FLON, Man. (CP) - Like a proud farmer admiring a bumper crop, Health Minister Allan Rock was all smiles Thursday as he went deep underground to tour Canada's only legal marijuana growing operation. Riding on a special vehicle, Rock and his entourage snaked down through the dark silence of an old copper mine shaft for 15 minutes to a bustling hydroponic lab carved out of the rock hundreds of metres below the surface. There, under tight security and beneath the blinding glare of powerful grow lights, a forest of vibrant green plants burst from containers, filling the chamber with a musky sweetness. [continues 810 words]
