Edmonton man latest victim in string of violent events on Edmonton public transit
Edmonton man latest victim in string of violent events on Edmonton public transit
An Edmonton commuter said he's scared to use public transit after an LRT assault that sent him to hospital a few weeks ago.
Alex Baril-Blouin, a regular transit rider, was attacked at the Corona LRT Station on the evening of March 22. He said a man he didn't know hit him from behind with a squeegee, striking the side of his head and fracturing the bone around his right eye.
"[I was] getting off the LRT, when this man followed me and decided to attack completely unprovoked. We hadn't spoken at all prior to that," Baril-Blouin said. "I saw him out of the corner of my eye behind me, and before I could react or try to protect myself is when he struck me."
A couple nearby stayed with him and called for help. It took between five and 10 minutes for LRT security to attend to him, he added, and then another 15 to 20 minutes until EPS and paramedics arrived.
STRING OF VIOLENT EVENTS
The attack on Baril-Blouin is one of dozens of acts of violence that have taken place on ETS property in the past year, including a stabbing at a bus stop in west Edmonton and the robbery and assault of a woman at the Southgate LRT station - both of which included the use of bear mace.
Recently, a 22-year-old man was stabbed at Clareview LRT Station in the middle of the day, and Friday, Edmonton police officers and tactical officers were called to the LRT near the University of Alberta Hospital after reports of a man carrying a gun. It's the same area where an Edmonton senior was pushed onto the tracks in 2022.
Baril-Blouin is still recovering from the assault, but while the swelling has gone, he said the emotional impact of the attack will remain long after the stitches have come out and the bruises have faded.
"How have I been ever since? Generally just a bundle of nerves," he said. "Even standing here right now kind of just gives me a feeling of apprehension and just overall dread."
"It's disheartening to know that grown adults all the way down to small children just aren't able to do their daily commute without being like, 'Is today the day that it happens to me. Is today the day that I suffer injuries and long-term trauma?'"
IMPROVING TRANSIT SAFETY
Coun. Tim Cartmell said he has received "a litany of complaints" about transit safety from Edmontonians.
"They've been threatened, they've been shoved, they've been injured, they've been yelled at. And quite frankly they're sick and tired of not feeling safe on their transit system," he added.
Cartmell said city council is trying to address those concerns and has recently allowed for more transit officers and expanded the community outreach transit team, which pairs transit peace officers with outreach workers to help vulnerable people connect with support resources.
While a three-year extension for the mandate was approved last week, Cartmell said it doesn't address the needs of transit riders now, as more teams take time to train and deploy.
"Those are long-term plays and long-term solutions," he added. "We need step-function solutions and we need them now. We need to restore confidence in our system.
"And I think we, the mayor and council, need to contemplate that."
Edmonton’s Community Outreach Transit Team pairs Transit Peace Officers & outreach workers from @BentArrowYEG to provide compassionate support for individuals within the transit system on mental health, substance use, financial needs, and more. Details: https://t.co/IKFOt106Rr. pic.twitter.com/KuunBtgLGI
Murtaza Haider, a director of urban analytics in Toronto (a city with its own transit safety woes), says crimes including violence in transit systems hurt ridership, which can in turn reduce the safety of the system.
Without any kind of standardized data collection, he said it's difficult to improve transit safety - whether perceived or real.
"The reality is that transit systems are safe," Haider said. "But the reality is that the reality gets compromised if the perception differs. And the perception gets influenced by one or [few] incidents of violent crime. . . that alone will do much more damage than a large number of smaller incidents."
Haider said standardized data about violent crimes on transit would benefit the public by giving them the information to make informed decisions about how they travel.
"[They could] avoid the place if they can, take a different route," he added. "Or travel in groups so that they can have security of strength in numbers."
That data can also be presented to municipal and provincial bodies, he added, to secure extra resources to improve safety of the transit system.
"Someone has to authorize the transit agency to deploy more police officers or security personnel, and that costs money," Haider said. "That would only happen if we have this data to demonstrate that there has been an increase in violent crimes on transit property."
Edmonton Police Service (EPS) statistics show a nearly 53 per cent rise in calls for violent crime within the Edmonton Transit System (ETS) between 2021 and 2022.
According to the EPS transit dashboard, so far in 2023, the MacEwan and Stadium transit centres have had the most occurrences involving violence, which make up around 38 per cent of calls to those stations.
The most reports of weapons have been at the Coliseum centre, with more than 13 per cent of 82 occurrences having a weapons violation.
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – have been taken to hospital after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar.
Although bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Canada, experts say there’s a significant lack of awareness surrounding whom it affects the most — statistically, men — and that the most common risk factor is smoking.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has confidence in David Johnston, even as the House of Commons is about to vote in favour of a motion to push him out of his job.
Canada will soon require health warnings to be printed directly on individual cigarettes, making it the first country to implement this kind of measure aimed at reducing tobacco usage.
More than three years after Covid was declared a global pandemic, a new study is looking at how the international health crisis has changed the lifestyle habits of Canadians.
The Canadian economy grew faster than expected in the first three months of the year and likely expanded again in April, fuelling speculation that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates again.
A former staffer who accused Joe Biden of sexual assault has defected to Moscow and spoken to Russian state media in a news conference that lasted several hours.
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – have been taken to hospital after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have hired Brad Treliving to be the team's new general manager. The team made the announcement Wednesday, less than two weeks after firing Kyle Dubas.
A Toronto woman says she was shamed for the size of her order at a sushi restaurant north of the city in a scathing review posted to social media that’s been viewed more than 1.4 million times.
Last year, Quebec’s Bill 96 became law, which brought sweeping changes to the Charter of the French language. Sections of the new law will come into effect on June 1, the one-year anniversary of the bill receiving royal assent.
High heat is pushing into parts of Quebec this week, and many communities could see record-breaking temperatures this week. Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued special weather statements, advising people of the above-average temperatures.
A new team working out of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada (SHC-Canada) wants to get young people like Horn, who injured themselves, back on their feet and running as fast and efficiently as possible.
Canadian Heritage unveiled the programming for July 1 celebrations, inviting Canadians to come to the capital region to "join the biggest party in the country!"
A heat warning is in effect for Ottawa. Environment Canada's forecast calls for sunny and hot weather to continue for the final day of May and the start of June.
People who live on Ralgreen Crescent in Kitchener say it could have been a lot worse after a car careened off the road and smashed through their backyards on Tuesday afternoon.
A Toronto woman says she was shamed for the size of her order at a sushi restaurant north of the city in a scathing review posted to social media that’s been viewed more than 1.4 million times.
Forest fires in northern Ontario are on the rise, with the largest in the region shutting down a critical highway for the people of Hornepayne for a bit and bringing the community to the brink of evacuation.
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – have been taken to hospital after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar.
Manitoba RCMP have arrested a priest from a First Nation community who is accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl, and believe there may be more victims.
Hundreds of nurses from across B.C. are gathering in Vancouver Wednesday to demand better working conditions, adding to multiple calls by medical professionals this week for urgent action to staff under-resourced hospitals.
A man who worked at an addiction recovery organization has been charged with three counts of sexual assault, according to the New Westminster Police Department.
The northern Vancouver Island village of Sayward remains on edge Wednesday as a wildfire continues to burn out of control just five kilometres west of the community.
The northern Vancouver Island village of Sayward remains on edge Wednesday as a wildfire continues to burn out of control just five kilometres west of the community.
The B.C. government will set housing targets for 10 major communities on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland in an effort to combat the province's housing shortage.
