Cuts in Funds that Hire the Heat

News by Megan Eichhorn

The Calgary Sun’s, Dave Dormer and Richard Liebrecht, reported on September 28, 2009 that the provincial government may be making budget-cuts that affect the funds used to hire cops in Alberta. Initially, one hundred new cops were to be hired in Alberta, about 30% of which would be in Calgary. Past increases in the police force have lead to a decrease in gang and drug activity in Alberta. Calgary mayor, Dave Bronconnier, feels that public safety is a spending priority and the city will hire new cops with or without provincial government funds.

Dormer and Liebrecht used quotes from government officials to establish facts in the article, as well as a statistic for the decrease in crime. The article emphasized the contradiction between Ed Stelmach’s support for crime-fighting funds and solicitor general, Fred Lindsay’s budget cuts. The issue of provincial funds to hire more cops municipally is the primary aspect of this piece.

The writers have a fairly obvious opinion on the issue, which is that Stelmach should not allow funds for policing to be cut. There is not much evidence for the other side of this issue, except Lindsay’s reasoning that, “these are tough economic times.”

Following this article, as well as Nadia Moharib’s piece from September 17, 2009, more stories that promote crime-fighting funds will probably be written, challenging the provincial government’s budget cuts by advocating statistics that crime has paused but not stopped.

Dormer, D., & Liebrecht, R. (2009, September 28). Cuts eyed for cop hiring plan. Calgary Sun. Retrieved September 29, 2009, from http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2009/09/28/11160061-sun.html

Gang Migration?

Analysis by Kelsey Andersen

Following the fatal shooting that occured September 6th, 2009, The Calgary Sun's, Bill Kaufmann, began to investigate the two rival gangs that were involved. Both gangs involved reside in Alberta and neighbouring province, British Columbia. The news of the national rivals spread quickly tot he public, and many concerns, questions and debate were brought up about the migration of gangs, especially in Calgary, Alberta.

Calgary police chief, Rick Hanson, stated, "Would it be a surprise to us? Not at all, but until we can ascertain a motive, we can't say if it's something that's migrated,"

With evidence pointing in both directions, it is hard to tell if there is an actual migration going on between the B.C. and Alberta gangs. The September 6th shooting could have also arisen from a Calgary-based dispute. Hanson proceeds to promise that "It's never left our radar screen," but he also goes on to claim that police are looking out for retaliation amongst the gangs. Police forces in both provinces have been working symbiotically for quite some time, and will continue to do so.

The flow of this article was satisfactory, which gave it a more 'news-based' feeling to it, rather than more opinionated. The article seemed to be an unbiased opinion, and necessary facts were used. The author of the article, Bill Kauffmann, did a great job of getting the information out quickly without, “excess”. Kauffmann also did extremely well with communication to readers what the police were experiencing and planning to do with the issue at hand. All in all this article was very vactual, and displays a deep understanding from the Kauffmann.

B.Kauffmann. (September 8, 2009) Calgary Sun. In B.C gangs moving into Calgary? Retrieved September 29, 2009.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/alberta/2009/09/08/10784721-sun.html

Ban Tran!

Opinion by Nicolle Amyotte

Upon reading and being drawn in by an editorial written by an anonymous source titled, “Send Tran back” the previous day, Calgarian Masroor Ahmed penned the response Jackie Tran has worn out his welcome for the Calgary Herald on September 2, 2009. Because it is an editorial, the author is of course expressing his own opinion, which is that Jackie Tran should have been deported years ago. The writer is explicit with his viewpoint, going so far as comparing Jackie Tran to an unwelcome house guest in the manor that is Canada.

In Ahmed’s opinion, Canada should be strictly enforcing more laws to properly punish criminals, particularly gang members, for their violent activity. He states that he immigrated to Canada because it seemed a safe place to live, and faced issues in the process of getting legitimate papers. The idea of Jackie Tran going unpunished upsets him for this reason; why is it difficult to be welcomed into a country where gangsters run free?

Ahmed also addresses the human rights issues that were brought up surrounding Jackie Tran’s case, and states that he has “no sympathy” for Tran’s treatment. The article he is responding to speaks of Tran’s family, also living in Canada being dependent on Tran. Ahmed’s questioning of the legal system of Canada is very evident particularly on this front.

Masroor, Ahmed, (2009, September 2). Jackie Tran has worn out his welcome. Calgary Herald. Retrieved October 1, 2009 from http://www.globaltvcalgary.com/money/Jackie+Tran+worn+welcome/1952766/story.html

Gang Violence Paused... For Now.

Analysis by James Wilt

Following the Calgary Police Service’s release of gang violence statistics on September 16^th, 2009, reporter Nadia Moharib summarized the report in a concise article which was published the next day in the Calgary Sun. Within it, she utilized 4 disturbing statistics as well as accompanying quotes contributed by Chief Rick Hanson and Deputy Chief Murray Stooke.

One of the major conclusions drawn from reading Moharib’s piece is that although gang violence over the past years has become notably high, increased police presence as well as the recent arrests of ‘key players’ have contributed to a current hiatus in organized crime. However, both the statistics and the quotes directly imply that despite the fact that gang violence is paused for now, the issue is not completely solved.

From an objective perspective the article was well constructed with a non-biased, fact-based approach which was employed very effectively. Although the flow of the article wasn’t excellent, Moharib managed to sustain a neutral perspective which gave the article much more the feeling of an accurate news story than an opinion piece.

Following the conclusion of the writing, a graph of the Calgary Police Service’s statistics was presented which allowed the reader to cross-reference the writer’s commentary with fact. In conclusion, Moharib’s article analysing gang violence in Calgary was fact-based and neutral, which allowed the communication of the statistics and quotes to occur honestly and effectively.


Moharib, N. (September 17th, 2009). Calgary Sun. In Gang warfare claims 50 lives. Retrieved September 28, 2009, from http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2009/09/17/10951246-sun.html#/news/alberta/2009/09/17/pf-10951246.html.