Your news this week: 133 hampers delivered - 2 Leader’s Fill the Tree hits record - 3 Memories of EINP - 9 OPINION: Canada in limbo - 4
Proud to be an Independent CANADIAN Publication
FREE
Vol. 20, No. 14, Wednesday, January 8, 2025 www.LamontLeader.com
MP Kurek slams PM’s move towards resigning BY JOHN MATHER Reaction has been quick after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Jan. 6 that he will eventually be stepping down as both Liberal leader and Prime Minister. Trudeau made the announcement but his leaving won’t become effective until a successor to him as Liberal leader is chosen and he has also prorogued Parliament until March 24, preventing opposition parties from delivering a non-confidence vote before then.
Battle River-Crowfoot MP Damien Kurek, a longtime vocal opponent of the Prime Minister, didn’t hold back in offering his condemnation of the outgoing prime minister. “Today, we see a coward and liar announce to the nation that he is terrified to face the people he is supposed to lead. Trudeau’s staying or going doesn’t matter; the entire Liberal Party are putting themselves and their own interests before their country. “Not only did he announce his resignation, but Trudeau also announced
that he is shutting down Parliament and committees for two months. “He blames parliamentary dysfunction as the reason for prorogation but failed to mention that it is Liberal scandals causing the dysfunction, specifically the Liberal Government’s refusal to hand over unredacted documents to the RCMP related to the $400 million Green Slush Fund scandal. “We have seen this pattern since 2015, and Canadians have suffered the consequences. From attacks on energy, agriculture, and fundamental rights,
Canadians are hurting after more than nine years of Liberal mismanagement. “Regardless of who the leader of the Liberal Party is today or in the future, Canadians deserve better, and they deserve a choice. Common Sense Conservatives led by Pierre Poilievre are ready to restore the promise of Canada.” Lakeland MP Shannon Stubbs is currently out of the country and was unavailable for comment on Trudeau’s announcement by press time. Continued on Page 2
Dogs thwart would-be vehicle thieves in Lamont BY JANA SEMENIUK Lamont resident Chelsea Stolz is thanking her two dogs for preventing an attempted theft of her truck on Jan. 4. She said she was roused from a deep sleep at 4:30 a.m. when her dogs, Gizmo a pit-bull cross and Roxy a border collie husky, began barking furiously.
“It’s really hard when you work for something and then people think they can just take it away from you.” - Chelsea Stolz “Thank God my dogs heard. I got up (and thought), ‘Why the hell are they barking so early? What is going on?’ (I looked out) my window and I saw (two men),” she said. “I just set off the panic alarm, and they took off, down the street.” Stolz said she captured the attempt on video footage and posted her experience to social media. She said a neighbour on the next block, spotted the would-be thieves still scoping the neighbourhood for more vehicles to steal after leaving her house.
Stolz said she contacted the RCMP didn’t receive the call from Stolz, he immediately, however a member from sympathizes with her frustration. “(Thieves) are stealing and they Fort Saskatchewan K Division said they have no record of the call. They don’t care who they are stealing from. confirmed by email that Stolz officially That really bothers me,” he said. Sgt. Henry said there are some reported the attempted theft on Jan. 6. “It’s really hard when you work for things residents can do to deter thieves something and then people think they and help prevent a vehicle theft. He can just take it away from you. I own referenced the recent chop-shop bust my own business and have had to on Dec. 29 in Athabasca where a GPS jump through a million hoops to tracker in a stolen vehicle led police to a rural properfinance things ty where miland I don’t lions of dollars want to finance worth of stolen another vehiproperty was cle,” she said. found. Stolz said “I’ve always it’s the second recommended time in only GPS trackers,” two months said Henry, thieves have who shared a attempted to recent story of steal her truck, thieves who a 2018 Ram stole a trail 1500 she’s only camera while had since Oct. ravaging a Two Hills rural property, RCMP Sgt. not realizing David Henry the camera had said that GPS tracking although his Gizmo and Roxy on it. detachment
“The trail cam turned itself back on and we had an almost exact location where that thing was sitting, within five meters,” he said, adding that bust resolved three different break and enters after stolen property was recovered. Sgt. Henry said other deterrents that make it harder to steal your vehicle include steering wheel locks, good
... a GPS tracker in a stolen vehicle led police to a rural property where millions of dollars’ worth of stolen property was found. security cameras that notify your phone as well as having a ‘kill-switch’ installed in your vehicle. “It’s a hidden switch that cuts the connection between your battery and the engine. You would have to switch it on before starting your vehicle every time,” he said. From July to Sept. the Fort Saskatchewan RCMP detachment responded to 21 vehicle thefts, up five percent from the same period in 2023 according to a crime statistics report.