The move toward a provincial police force to serve Canadian towns that don’t have their very own police service got a harsh rebuke on Tuesday, as the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) formally opposed the move by submitting a report to the Ministry of Justice as well as Solicitor General. Given the recent friction between Albertans and their government following their authoritarian COVID lockdowns, this isn’t surprising.
“The proposed provincial policing model does not address the RMA’s core priorities about levels of service, how costs will be covered and local input into policing,” RMA president and Ponoka County reeve Paul McLauchlin said in a statement.
“Based on the arguments provided by the province so far, there’s simply no evidence that a switch to a provincial police service will be worth the cost and disruption.”
The statement from the association representing 69 community districts as well as different areas said the info shared by the rural government “has left significant questions unanswered regarding how an (Alberta provincial police service) will increase policing service levels in rural areas, decrease overall policing costs, or increase local input into policing.”
McLauchlin claimed there are some facets of the suggested design that are worth further expedition, adding there’s no reason that those can’t be used with the existing job the RCMP does.
The RMA kept in mind there would be boosted annual prices if the province ended its connection with the RCMP, it would certainly lose 30 per cent of policing funding from the federal government. And also the expense of shift listed in the provincial report would be $366 million, all birthed by Albertans. All without a recognizable boost in rural solution levels, the RMA said.
Albertans Say “No” to Provincial Police…
The RMA stated one rationale offered by the”Fair Deal Panel,” the premier, the minister of justice and lawyer basic, and also “other (government of Alberta) decision makers” was “because the RCMP is headquartered Ottawa and therefore not accountable to Albertans.
“However, this narrative is false.”
McLauchlin claimed the false information from the province is worrying.
“Inserting politics into important decisions about the cost and quality of policing and public safety in the province is quite alarming,” McLauchlin said. “Spending millions of dollars to shift to an unproven, poorly explained model just for the sake of distancing the province from the federal government would be a major mistake.”
The Ponoka County reeve additionally kept in mind the low ballot on an RCMP substitute police force and also the lack of public involvement it is disclosing.
“The fact that the government of Alberta has not conducted a public engagement on the proposed APPS model is a sign that they know it will not be supported by the public. The delivery of policing services matters to every Albertan, both urban and rural, and to not consult directly with the public is a major oversight on the part of the province and shows a willingness to put political goals above what Albertans believe is best for the safety of their communities.”
In a declaration from an acting representative for the Ministry of Justice and also Solicitor General, the district claimed it is still mulling over recently-collected feedback.
“Less than a week ago, Alberta Justice and Solicitor General finished an extensive stakeholder engagement that included more than 50 in-person and virtual meetings with invitees from the 371 municipalities, First Nations and Metis Settlements policed by the RCMP in Alberta. This included engagement with RMA and (Alberta Municipalities),” the statement from Diane Carter read.
“We’re now analyzing what we heard from stakeholders before deciding our next steps.”
H/T GlobalNews.ca
