Policing officials in Alberta are criticizing the province's plan to replace the RCMP with a provincial police force, citing polls and public feedback that suggest the idea is extremely unpopular.--FILE PHOTO
zmason@medicinehatnews.com
Critics are calling the recommendation of the Alberta Next Panel report to establish a provincial police force before 2032 both unpopular and unnecessary.
The report from the province’s Alberta Next Panel released Dec. 19 included a recommendation to establish a provincial police force and transition away from RCMP community policing prior to the expiration of the RCMP agreement in 2032.
In a statement to the News on Tuesday, press secretary for the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Arthur Green says the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service will help fill gaps and reduce response times across the province.
“Alberta’s government is taking action to ensure our evolving public safety needs are met while also giving municipalities more options for local policing,” said Green.
The union representing the RCMP has been critical of the recommendation.
Kevin Halwa, Prairie region director of the National Police Federation, calls the recommendation “mind-boggling.”
“There’s very little interest in this idea from the folks that are actually footing the bill – Albertans,” he said in an interview with the News on Tuesday.
“Not just as a director for the National Police Federation, but as a taxpayer in Alberta, I find it incredibly frustrating that the Alberta Next Panel would make these sort of recommendations and appear to totally disregard any sort of facts or evidence that has already been brought forward.”
Polls conducted by the NPF in August showed that 76 per cent of Albertans in RCMP-served areas were satisfied with their policing. Seventy-one per cent reported they felt the public was not properly consulted, and another 81 per cent agreed that there are more important priorities for the province than changing who polices local communities.
Cypress County Mayor Dan Hamilton has expressed dissatisfaction with the level of service provided in the area. But in an interview with the News in November, he stressed that he didn’t blame the RCMP for the under-resourcing.
When asked whether he would support a provincial police force, Hamilton said he would favour whatever option would be most cost effective for the county.
The province has not released any current estimates regarding the costs associated with the transition.
Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Justin Wright has been a vocal proponent for the establishment of a provincial police force.
The Alberta Next report claims more than 80 per cent of Albertans are already served by municipal police services and the Alberta Sheriffs, but the RCMP contests that characterization.
In a statement released Monday, RCMP Deputy Commissioner Trevor Daroux wrote that the RCMP provides policing services to roughly 40 per cent of Alberta’s population across 95 per cent of its geography between municipal policing contracts and rural police services.
Halwa says the timeline suggested in the recommendation is also unrealistic. He points to Surrey, B.C. as an example. The city’s transition from RCMP to municipal police services was announced in 2018 and began in 2021, and the transition process is ongoing. The city expects the transition to be complete in 2027.
“Now extrapolate that to an entire province, replacing police service that polices approximately 40 per cent of the population of the province and 95 per cent of the geographic landmass. Much, much more complicated than a single municipal transition,” he said.
Former premier Jason Kenney’s 2019 Fair Deal Panel also polled Albertans about the possibility of creating a provincial police force. Public opinion polling included in that report showed only 35 per cent support for the proposal.
Of the 15 policies polled in that report, it ranked second-lowest in public opinion, behind only separation from Canada.
The province initially indicated that the question of establishing a provincial police force may be put to referendum, but the report described a referendum on a question affecting only one part of the population as “inappropriate.”
Daroux says he is aware of the gaps in the current policing system.
“We know staffing levels and police visibility are important concerns for rural Albertans. Recruiting and retention remain challenges for police agencies across North America, and Alberta is no exception,” he said. “What is important is that we are seeing meaningful progress.”
Since April 2024, Daroux says the RCMP has received more than 4,600 applications. Through additional funding obtained through the provincial Police Funding Model, the RCMP has hired an additional 279 police officers, including 136 directly in detachments and 242 civilian positions.
