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Headlines: Feb. 24, 2025

· The Pulse
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  • The Edmonton Police Commission announced deputy chiefs Devin Laforce and Warren Driechel as interim chiefs of the Edmonton Police Service following Dale McFee's departure. Both will retain their current portfolios and will alternate as the senior officer on a monthly basis. A national search for a full-time replacement is expected to take about a year, and both interim chiefs are eligible for the permanent position.
  • Edmonton businessman Sam Mraiche, owner of MHCare Medical, which secured a $70-million government contract in 2022 to import children's pain medication, also has ownership stakes in two private surgical facilities in Red Deer and Lethbridge that were negotiating contracts with Alberta Health Services (AHS). Alberta Surgical Group, which operates a facility in Edmonton, also has ownership stakes in the numbered companies. Alberta's auditor general is reviewing AHS and the health ministry's contracting and procurement procedures amid allegations that government officials pressured AHS to sign contracts at rates higher than those of competitors.
  • A numbered company led by MHCare Medical owner Sam Mraiche made a $300,000 profit after selling a west Edmonton property to the Alberta government three months after purchasing it. The company bought the property at 14425 124 Avenue NW for $1.7 million in June 2024 and sold it for $2 million in August 2024. Infrastructure Minister Pete Guthrie, who accepted Edmonton Oilers playoff tickets from MHCare last year, has ordered an independent audit of the purchase and notified the auditor general. The Alberta New Democrats are calling for a public inquiry into government procurement practices.
  • The Brick House Recovery Centre, a new private addiction treatment centre in Edmonton, offers immediate help without wait lists. The centre aims to address gaps in the public system by providing integrated mental health care and real-world application. It offers virtual and in-person detox programs, intensive outpatient programs, and is entirely privately funded, though some insurance providers may cover costs.
  • Four more groups of education support workers in Alberta, including 570 in the Black Gold School Division south of Edmonton, will go on strike on Feb. 24, joining more than 4,000 striking workers in Edmonton and other communities. CUPE Alberta president Rory Gill said members are demanding better provincial funding for public education, warning that more union locals may take strike votes.
  • The First Nations Health Consortium hosted a free winter golf camp for Indigenous girls in Edmonton last weekend, following a successful summer camp in 2024. The camp aimed to encourage Indigenous girls to feel like they belong in the sport. After the initial plan to register 15 girls between the ages of seven and 18 crashed the website due to high numbers, organizers accepted 32 girls to the Edmonton camp.
  • Edmonton LGBTQ+ advocate Marni Panas is seeking a judicial review of an Alberta Human Rights Tribunal ruling, after she filed a complaint in 2019 about being misgendered by 911 dispatchers. Although the tribunal recognized the discrimination, it dismissed the complaint, stating the dispatchers' actions were unintentional. Panas's application argues the tribunal erred in not holding the Edmonton Police Service employees liable. The police service said it regrets the hurt caused and has taken steps to ensure similar incidents do not happen again.
  • The Edmonton Police Service hate crimes unit is seeking help identifying a suspect who defaced Evolution Wonderlounge, a downtown Edmonton gay bar, on Dec. 22, 2024. The suspect damaged an exterior window, carving what appeared to be a cross over a "Protect Trans Kids" poster, police said in a release. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police or Crime Stoppers.
  • An Edmonton youth soccer coach was arrested in Sherwood Park by Strathcona County RCMP after after $40,000 went missing from the Selects Football Club U-11 tier 1 tournament fund. The team has since raised nearly $60,000 through a GoFundMe campaign and plans to attend a tournament in October. Randy Knodel faces 12 counts of fraud and one count of uttering a forged document. He is scheduled to appear in an Edmonton court on March 17.
  • Global Health Imports, the company co-founded by former federal cabinet minister and Edmonton MP Randy Boissonnault, has been deemed ineligible for federal government contracts until 2030. The decision follows a 90-day suspension in November 2024 and investigations into the company's claims of being Indigenous-owned. Boissonnault stepped down from cabinet in November 2024 after questions arose about his claims to Indigenous identity.
  • Archpriest Cornell Zubritsky of the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Edmonton provides support to Ukrainian immigrants in his congregation. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began three years ago, approximately 300,000 Ukrainians have come to Canada on emergency visas. Zubritsky assists the 150-person congregation with employment, housing, and immigration issues, in addition to offering emotional support.
  • The Alberta Energy Regulator fined Cancen Oil Processors Inc., an Edmonton-registered company, $303,769 for contravening an environmental protection order at its New Sarepta site. The decision said the company was aware of the risks of leaving fluids in out-of-service tanks since April 2022, and then received a notice of non-compliance in August 2022 for not containing a spill. In February 2023, the regulator issued an environmental protection order, which the company did not follow, resulting in a release of harmful materials into a man-made water runoff pond. Cancen plans to remediate the site starting in May by removing contaminated soil.