For those just tuning into Alberta news, a quick thread on what is up with the cops watching and photographing a former environment minister without permission because they didn't like her park plan. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/07/13/alberta-minister-surveilled-by-rogue-cops-calls-it-the-stuff-of-police-states.html

The Coles Notes version: in 2017 then-Environment Minister Shannon Phillips walked into a cafe in Lethbridge for a meeting. Two (uniformed, on duty) cops took her photo. One then set up to surveil the cafe and when one of the diners left, he followed them and ran their plate.

Why, you ask? According to the agreed on facts laid out in the disciplinary decision, the cops were mad about her plans for more protection for the Castle Wilderness area, and they say her meeting was about those plans. (For the record, she says she was talking about bison.)

To put this in context, Albertans get a bit riled about parkland, to put it mildly. After the Castle, debate turned to the Bighorn further north. At the time, park fans say they got bullied and a bunch of meetings got cancelled. (It was not protected.) https://www.thestar.com/calgary/2019/01/03/fans-of-bighorn-country-park-proposal-allege-bullying-as-province-begins-public-consultations.html

There's longstanding tension between those who want to use the land in Alberta without restriction (quadding or ATV/OHV use is usually a particular sticking point) and those who want the land to have more formal protections. Some more info on the Castle: https://www.albertaparks.ca/parks/south/castle-wpp/

Phillips, who is from Lethbridge, says this has not made her feel safe in her own home. She also argues that a cop following a politician for political reasons is "the stuff of police states." She's still an NDP MLA, and the party is asking for an out of province investigation.

Alberta's Justice Minister has tasked ASIRT, the province's police watchdog with looking into it, and even looking at whether or not there are grounds for a criminal investigation. https://twitter.com/doug_schweitzer/status/1282872099091042306

Meanwhile, the two cops involved, Sgt. Jason Carrier and Const. Keon Woronuk, have been demoted for 1 and 2 years respectively. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/07/13/alberta-inister-surveilled-by-rogue-cops-calls-it-the-stuff-of-police-states.html