ILLEGAL MINING: Amid Missing Taxpayer Revenue and Tax Hikes, Empress Now Considers Dissolution
- Mocha Bezirgan
- 12 hours ago
- 2 min read
Alberta Environment and Protected Areas inspection confirms that “the pit was operating outside the approved boundary,” contradicting the earlier “cover-up” by former Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver, who essentially accepted the village’s explanation for the missing taxpayer funds as a miscalculation, despite the giant hole in the ground and aggregate estimated to be worth millions of dollars leaving the pit without a dime in royalties reflected in the village’s financial statements.
Now, amid significant tax hikes, the village gathered with Municipal Affairs officials to weigh whether it can afford to continue existing in the years ahead or should dissolve into Alberta’s Special Areas.
“Alberta Environment and Parks conducted an inspection of the Pit area on September 16, 2025 and confirmed that the Pit was operating outside the approved boundary.” — Alberta Environment and Protected Areas
“I don’t see any big money coming in, but I see a lot of gravel leaving,” said concerned resident Richard Russell in a previous interview, describing what he and other residents say they continue to observe.
The village's website has been advertising the illegal mine for years, despite the contractor of the legal mine having exclusive rights to mine in the village.
Allegedly, former CAO Debbie Ross illegally allowed other firms to remove large volumes of aggregate without ever collecting royalties for the Village of Empress.
The village even has rates for the “out of boundary” mine, which has had trucks going in and out carrying tens of millions of dollars’ worth of aggregate to projects in Saskatchewan and Alberta, and yet the village has still been unable to explain why the money it should have collected on behalf of taxpayers has not been reflected in the village’s audited financial statements.
It is alleged that each year the village CAO or assistant CAO provides inaccurate information and data concerning the gravel pit to the independent auditor, making them unable to prepare factually correct financial statements. The independent auditor denies liability and places the burden of any inaccuracies on the village.
The village administration has been hostile toward me, trying to illegally exclude me from a public meeting, intimidate me with violence, and issue public cease-and-desist letters, even though I gave the village an opportunity to explain itself.
The facts remain the same: an illegal mining operation took place in the village, and the numbers do not add up. That is why I did not comply with their cease-and-desist letter.
Perhaps if the village had not turned a blind eye to this corruption, the village might not be facing such tax hikes today or sitting around with crayons like elementary school children considering dissolution.
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