Sad Day

This story broke the day I started the series on the Bay building, and I have been siting on it longer than I wanted to. This poor toddler was the innocent victim of Alberta's growth. As the province has boomed so has the drug trade. A huge transient workforce with no family attachment, nor support system, has fueled gang activity in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton to levels that has never been seen. Add to this the fact that, like most of our consumer goods, most of Canada's Contraband comes through Western ports. This makes Edmonton a prime distribution hub. Magnifying the whole situation is pop culture's trend to glorify gang culture. I am happy to report the toddler survived the ordeal, but will forever live with a bullet between her liver and spleen. A interview with the Toddler's mother reviled the victim's first words when she awoke. They were "Mommy OWE" I hope this story remains visible for a long time, as it has started a dialog in many communities. The incident did not actually happen in Edmonton but on a First Nation's Reserve called Hobbema, which has always had some sort of social problem as the young people on this reserve receive a large sum of money when they turn 18. This money exists because the reserve has or had a healthy oil revenue.