Village of Empress – $3m stolen

Located between two rivers northeast of Medicine Hat, the prairie community of Empress contains about 135 souls. It serves as a central hub to the surrounding ranches and farms.

The village lost its chief administrative officer, Debbie Ross, in 2022 after she had served in that role for nearly a decade. She said she could no longer deal with village council.

She fired the village’s incompetent public works foreman, Martin Jarvis. He ran for election as mayor on a platform of replacing her. In late 2021 Jarvis, aided by his church connections, became mayor garnering 64 votes, running with Dan Moslamani, who became deputy mayor. Clinton Steinley rounded out the 3 person council.

Martin Jarvis
Two months later, Coun. Clint Steinley resigned. On April 28, Moslamani said he had no choice but to resign. “I’m not going to live forever. I’m going to face God one day. And I have to answer to him,” he said. Jarvis then resigned.

The village was given a gravel pit license by the government of Alberta in July 2017 when Jarvis was public works foreman. In the second half of 2021, private companies began extraction, but the money didn’t appear in the village’s audited financial statements. This discrepancy prompted residents to question where the money had gone. At least $3,292,339 is missing. Martin Jarvis repeatedly blamed Debbie Ross for the missing money.

Jarvis 180 Enterprises was incorporated September 9, 2020 with 3 directors. Martin Anderson Jarvis, Diane Catherine Jarvis, and Philip Martin Jarvis. It’s located at 526 2nd Street West Empress AB T0J 1E0. It’s registered Active – Intent to Dissolve Filed.

Arlen Johnston
A by-election took place on August 8, 2022. The highly religious Arlen Johnston led the polls with 53 and became the new mayor. Dawna Martin and Kelly Burgess joined him. His administration hired a CAO named Christian Liebenberg in December 2022. One of his duties as CAO was to sign off on the village’s audited financial statements. However, Liebenberg didn’t prepare nor sign the financials. He was terminated October 4th, 2023, by Mayor Arlen Johnston. Internet sluth Mocha Bezirgan smelled a rat, with the trouble obvious in the 2020 audited financials. Arlen Johnston resigned July 24, 2025 the day after Bezirgan exposed the $3m steal.