Two Edmonton Police Service officers and Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) have been charged by the RCMP for contracts which ACS allegedly influenced by "giving, offering, or agreeing to give or offer" rewards or other benefits, according to an ACS filing with the United States Securities Exchange Commission.

The investigated photo-radar contracts signed with the EPS, and approved by city council span from 1998 to 2004 and, according to the SEC filing, were worth approximately $2,000,000 US each year. A $90 million, 20-year untendered contract with ACS was revoked by the city last spring when competing photo radar companies disputed the EPS’s assertion that ACS was the only company able to fulfill Edmonton’s red-light camera and radar service needs.

The Edmonton Journal has reported EPS Det. Tom Bell, and Staff Sgt. Kerry Nisbett have both been charged for allegedly accepting rewards related to the contracts from ACS representatives.

In addition to allegations of numerous "perks" awarded to the officers, the police commission has learned the deal with ACS also put 50 cents of every photo radar ticket into a separate fund that grew to $400,000 and was not included in the police budget.

A summons served on ACS has set a March 27 hearing date for the case.

Leg. line-up lambasted

Opposition leaders lambasted Alberta government house leader Dave Hancock’s announcement of the spring 2006 legislative line-up, citing failures to deal with an identified crisis in long-term-care, and a stated government mission to implement more private health care as key short-comings.

"It’s going to be a dogfight. We all saw the way the public united in defense of public health care during the Bill 11 debates, and we need that support from Albertans again," Liberal leader Kevin Taft said of the government’s planned Health Care Assurance Act, which is expected to offer Albertans the option of purchasing private health insurance, and expand the role of for-profit medical services in the province.

"The government has failed to modernize and innovate the public health care system–I’d go so far as to say they’ve run it down in order to privatize it," NDP Leader Brian Mason said. "Their inability to plan for the system and its needs for a long period of time has been a big part of the problem. There’s nothing wrong with the health care system that innovation can’t fix, in my view."

Mason said the Tories have continually rejected NDP proposals to bulk-buy pharmaceuticals for Alberta, which he says would reduce costs for one of the most rapidly growing kinds of medical treatment.

Taft expressed disappointment that the government failed to introduce legislation to address failures in long-term care identified last year by Auditor General Fred Dunn. Nearly one-third of long-term care centres examined by Dunn did not meet basic standards of care and less than half met basic standards for administration.

Taft said the Liberals will introduce legislation proposing fixed election dates, first contract arbitration under the labour code, the end of patronage appointments, and funding for K-12 hot lunch programs.

Tories bury education investment

The Alberta Tory last caucus meeting before the throne speech ended with MLAs ripping band-aid tuition relief proposals off Alberta’s student body.

Advanced Education Minister Dave Hancock promised last year to create three new post-secondary endowments to assist students with the cost of education. The endowments would have assisted students working on environmental issues, rural development, and the arts and humanities.

The caucus turned down all three proposals.

Premier Klein gave Albertan post-secondary students a "centennial rebate" for the 2005-2006 school year in order to avoid another tuition hike. Even accounting for inflation, Alberta tuitions have approximately tripled since 1990. The 2005-2006 rebate was seen as a government acknowledgement that post-secondary education was becoming unaffordable, even though both Klein and Hancock stressed the rebate was a one-time event.

"One of the issues Albertans, especially young Albertans, have championed is the need to diversify our economy," said Graham Lettner, president of the University of Alberta Student’s Union. "By failing to support these investments we are failing to ensure Alberta’s ability to lead in both the emerging knowledge economy and as innovators in the energy sector."