News
Featured Image
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney cpac / YouTube

LifeSiteNews has been permanently banned on YouTube. Click HERE to sign up to receive emails when we add to our video library.

ALBERTA, May 21, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – A plan by a provincial government in Canada to use drones to spy on its citizens enjoying the outdoors was shelved before the dystopian project was able to take flight.  

On Tuesday the Alberta Institute, an independent political think tank group, put out a statement saying, “We've just learned that the Alberta government is planning to spy on Albertans using drones. Yes, seriously!”

The Alberta Institute statement included a petition one could sign to stop the drone program, along with screenshots which showed requests for proposals from the Alberta ministry of Environment & Parks (AEP) which put out a call for drone operators, or “long range remotely piloted aircraft systems.” 

“This program must be cancelled once and for all, and any government official or politician responsible for proposing such an anti-Albertan idea in the first place should be immediately fired. Please sign the petition and then spread the word to your friends, family, co-workers, and every Albertan, to help stop this dangerous government plan,” read the Alberta Institute statement. 

The AEP had said that the government was looking for “the contractor to provide airborne Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) services, including live electro optical and infrared video,” to be used to peer into the activities of campers from June to October 2021, mostly on long weekends. 

Drone operators were to provide daily reports complete with detailed imagery to highlight any campsites that had “10 or more individuals” with the claim being it was to be used to support “safety.”  

After news broke of the plan, which if implemented would have meant the Alberta government under its Premier Jason Kenney of the United Conservative Party (UCP) would be able to spy on campers without anyone’s consent, online backlash quickly spread. 

Independent MLA Drew Barnes who, along with MLA Todd Loewen, was recently just kicked out of the UCP, took to social media to blast the idea of the government planning to spy on its citizens with drones.

“THIS is alarming. Premier @jkenney, Albertans have a number of questions regarding this, number one is-what are/where are Albertans privacy rights? Looking fwd to hearing the answer. Certainty highlights the reason we should have our own Alberta Constitution. #ableg #medhat,” wrote Barnes on Twitter.

After a few hours, Alberta’s Environment Minister Jason Nixon put out a statement, claiming that he was not “aware” of the proposal and that it would shelved.  

“As soon as I became aware of this [sic] of the request for suppliers related to Long Range Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems [drones] I instructed my department to suspend it. I have been informed that the request for suppliers has now been taken down,” said Nixon

Nixon added that while drones are an “effective and cost-effective tool for wildfire monitoring and search-and-rescue assistance,” he added that they must “never be used to encroach on privacy.” 

After Barnes learned that the government was scrapping the plans, he said Alberta needs its own “constitution” to be able to ensure that Albertans rights are respected if a drone plan were ever to be implemented. 

Pro-life and family advocate Mattea Merta, who recently co-hosted the 2021 Canadian March for Life Youth Conference, took to social media to blast the Alberta government and to remind everyone not to “forget” what they tried to get away with. 

“Never forget the UCP wanted to spy on Albertans with drones. As someone who has worked in government, I want you to understand, a call for proposals today is a foretelling of implementation later. This form of spying will come into fruition, it's only a matter of time,” wrote Merta. 

Recently, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) successfully applied to amend a court ruling in the province of Alberta which gave police virtual impunity to jail COVID-19 lockdown protestors and those not following health rules. 

Alberta is the only provincial government in Canada which has jailed three Christian pastors because they defied COVID-19 health rules. 

The latest pastor to be jailed for defying COVID-19 rules, Tim Stephens, was released earlier this week. 

The JCCF have been active in many legal cases, both in Alberta and Canada-wide, notably serving as legal counsel for Alberta Pastor James Coates of Grace Life Church, who was jailed for 35 days for defying COVID rules. Coates’ trial will resume on June 7.

In addition to Coates and Stephens, Pastor Artur Pawlowski of the Cave of Adullam church in Calgary, was recently arrested and jailed for defying COVID-19 rules. He was released from jail after three-days.

Contact information

Premier of Alberta Jason Kenney

Office of the Premier

307 Legislature Building
10800 – 97 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2B6

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 780-427-2251

To contact your local MLA, visit the link below:

https://www.assembly.ab.ca/members/members-of-the-legislative-assembly