Author: Shelly W

Categories
Ft Mac

Highway 63 Traffic May Back Up Due to Wide Load Convoy

highway 63, Fort MacMurray
highway 63, Fort MacMurray

Fort MacMurray residents may want to prepare for possible traffic delays and back ups on highway 63 in the coming days, but this will only be a problem for a few days. There will be a convoy with two wide loads that are headed for a site owned by CNRL which is north of Fort MacMurray. The convoy will have to travel at night and move in stages to minimize disruption to local residents and traffic on highway 63, so the entire process will take a few days. The convoy will take up both lanes of the highway, making it impossible for other traffic to share the road at the same time. In addition the entire convoy must pull over on a periodic basis to ensure that any traffic delays or stops are not excessively long.

Although the latest traffic snarl on highway 63 will inconvenience residents the people in the Fort MacMurray area can take a look on the bright side. The convoy will only affect traffic on highway 63 for a total of 3 days, and it will only be using the road at night. This is intended to minimize any inconvenience to travelers, and protect those in the convoy from having to block both lanes during the times when traffic on highway 63 is the heaviest. Fort MacMurray is the last staging area for the convoy before the two wide loads reach their final destination at the site. Most residents will not even realize that traffic on highway 63 is affected.

Categories
Breaking News Canada

Who Was Martin Rouleau?

terrorism in Canada, home grown terrorists, Martin Rouleau
terrorism in Canada, home grown terrorists, Martin Rouleau

Just who was Martin Rouleau? Was he one of the home grown terrorists trying to spread terrorism in Canada? According to RCMP and other law enforcement agencies the answer was yes. A few days ago Martin Rouleau used his car to run down and try to kill two members of the Canadian Armed Forces, although one of the two is expected to survive so far. The RCMP had been working with Rouleau over the last four to five months, trying to help Martin change his radical way of thinking after he converted to Islam a little over a year and a half ago. The last time that the RCMP met with Martin Rouleau was less than two weeks before he committed his terrorist act, and Rouleau was killed after he ran down the service members by a law enforcement officer who witnessed the incident and followed him.

Martin Rouleau was one of the suspected home grown terrorists that law enforcement was keeping close tabs on. Rouleau came to the attention of the RCMP after he was stopped at an airport in July, and his passport was seized but there was no evidence that he had committed or was planning to commit a crime. For this reason Martin was not arrested, although he was on the radar of the RCMP and that is why the agency was meeting with Rouleau, his family, and even the imam of the mosque that he attended. Rouleau was killed when he left the scene of the murder and was followed by a law enforcement officer. Martin flipped the vehicle into a ditch, and when he emerged with a knife the officer shot and killed him.

Categories
Breaking News Canada

5 More Details About Terrorist Michael Zehaf-Bibeau

Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, terrorist act
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, terrorist act

1. Michael Zehaf-Bibeau had a very good upbringing, so his terrorist act is even harder for people who knew him as a child and young adult to understand. According to a former neighbor, Janice Parnell, “I know that [his] mother was very caring and a very involved parent. Actually both parents seem to have been. The boy seemed to have had a very good upbringing. He had a good home base. He was involved in community things.”

2. Zehaf-Bibeau had a criminal record in his past. Most of his record involves petty crimes like drug possession and credit card forgery, but he was also previously arrested for robbery as well. In Vancouver in 2011 Michael was charged for uttering threats and for robbery.

3. Susan Bibeau is distraught over the actions of her son, and she has publicly said she was sorry for what he did and expressed her shock. When asked by reporters why she was crying Bibeau said “I’m crying for victims, not for my son. Can you ever explain something like this?”

4. Friends of Michael Zehaf-Bibeau have told reporters that they witnessed unusual behavior by Michael that was erratic before his terrorist act. One friend explained to a CBC journalist “We were having a conversation in a kitchen, and I don’t know how he worded it. He said the devil is after him. I think he must have been mentally ill.”

5. People who knew Michael stated that he planned to travel to the Middle East in coming months, but he never gave a definite travel date when discussing these plans.

Categories
Canada

5 Facts About Michael Zehaf-Bibeau

Zehaf-Bibeau, terrorism
Zehaf-Bibeau, terrorism

1. Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was born in Quebec, Canada, and he spent his childhood in Montreal. The son of Bulgasem Zehaf and Susan Bibeau, Michael grew up in a family that had no ties to terrorism or Islam. Bulgasem Zehaf is a business professional in Quebec, and Susan Bibeau, who works for the Immigration and Refugee Board, divorced when Michael was younger.

2. Zehaf-Bibeau had been placed on a watch list by the Canadian government, and his passport had been pulled. The watch list showed that Michael was considered a high risk traveler but did not provide further details.

3. Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the man who was shot while committing acts of terrorism on Parliament Hill, converted to Islam a decade ago. The family did not share his new religious beliefs or his radicalism. Friends say that Michael wanted to go to the Middle East to study Islam and was a frequent visitor to local mosques.

4. The shooter has visited the USA in the past, most recently in 2013. Law enforcement confirms that Zehaf-Bibeau visited America at least 4 times, and there may be more visits that have not been discovered yet. The US Government has stated that they do not believe that there is any link between Michael and US extremists.

5. Canada law enforcement agencie4s believe that the shooter on Parliament Hill acted alone, and that he had no connection to Martin Rouleau. If there were other individuals involved the police have not identified them or uncovered any facts to support more than one individual is responsible.

Categories
World

Is Terrorist Attack on Ottawa Parliament Due To Canada Joining the Fight Against ISIS?

terrorist attack, Ottawa
terrorist attack, Ottawa

On October 22, 2014 a terrorist attack in Ottawa gained the attention of the entire country, and even the world. Was this attack due to Canada joining the international community in the fight against ISIS? The answer is not clear. Terrorist attacks are carried out by many different radical organizations around the globe and there has not been any link to ISIS identified yet, but that does not rule out the possibility. While Canadian military forces have not put any boots on the ground there has been some involvement in the global fight against terrorism. One soldier was killed in the Ottawa terror attack yesterday, a 24 year old reservist named Nathan Cirillo, who was standing guard when he was shot and killed while watching over the National War Memorial.

Whether the latest terrorist attack in Ottawa was connected to ISIS or not the fact is that both Canada and the United States have seen the threat of terrorism and related acts increase. Unfortunately both countries have home grown radicals on their soil, and it can be very difficult predicting which individuals will try to carry out attacks like the one on Parliament Hill. The only thing that stopped the attack yesterday was a hero who shot and killed the gunman. Right now it is suspected that the attack was the work of a single individual but the investigation is not completed yet. According to Julian Fantino, the Veterans Affairs Minister “All the details are not in, but the sergeant-at-arms, a former Mountie, is the one that engaged the gunman, or one of them at least, and stopped this. He did a great job and, from what I know, shot the gunman and he is now deceased.”

Categories
Ft Mac

Wood Buffalo RCMP Traffic Stop Leads to Numerous Charges Against Local Individuals

Wood Buffalo RCMP, traffic stop
Wood Buffalo RCMP, traffic stop

A late night traffic stop by Wood Buffalo RCMP on October 6 resulted in numerous charges against local Fort MacMurray residents. A 21 year old local female, Ashley Louise Waldriff, and a 22 year old local male, Jamie Lee Ridderikhoff, were charged with multiple offenses once the traffic stop was conducted by Wood Buffalo law enforcement. Jamie Lee Ridderikhoff was charged with stolen property charges, prostitution charges, and drug trafficking offenses. Waldriff was charged with drug trafficking and with offenses for stolen property. Law enforcement reported that a patrol officer was on duty right after midnight, and the officer observed both individuals who were engaged in suspicious activity in a parked vehicle. This led the Wood Buffalo RCMP to approach the vehicle where it became apparent that the two people inside were engaging in sexual activity in the vehicle.

According to Wood Buffalo RCMP officer Cst. Kandice Perry said that the initial investigation led to the arrests of the individuals in the vehicle. Perry went on to say that “The investigation revealed that they were engaging in sexual activity in the vehicle. During their investigation, arrests were made. Once the search was made on the vehicle they located the cocaine in addition to a large sum of money within the vehicle.” The actual charges against Ridderikhoff included a single count of living off the avails of prostitution, a single count of possession of stolen property, and two charges for trafficking a controlled substance. Waldriff faces one count for each of the following offenses: possession of stolen property, trafficking a controlled substance, and possession for the purposes of trafficking.