The town of Blackfalds added its name to the list of communities opposed to the Alberta government’s proposal to create a provincial police force.
Blackfalds town council voted unanimously last week to support a letter from the National Police Federation, which represents Canada’s 20,000 RCMP officers, to reject replacing Mounties in Alberta communities.
In a letter to the premier, the federation has asked Alberta municipalities to support it is stated that a survey shows 84 per cent of Albertans want to keep and improve the RCMP rather than replace it.
The federation also says that the government has not released a detailed funding model explaining how the costs of going to a provincial force would be covered. A transition study commissioned by the province estimated it would cost $366 million over six years, as well as at least an additional $139 million per year, to transition to a provincial force, says the federation.
“Municipalities know that most of these costs will be downloaded directly to them, forcing them to significantly increse residents’ and businesses’ taxes,” says the letter.
The federation asks municipalities to endorse a letter urging the provincial government to stop any effort towards a provincial police force, but to instead improve current policing by reducing response times and addressing rural crime by adding more RCMP officers.
More effort should be made to address the root causes of crime and to provide more health, mental health, and social and economic suppports. More Crown prosecutors and judges should be hired to improve the justice system, including providing more timely trials.
Blackfalds Mayor Jamie Hoover said the issue was the subject of a local town hall that included MLA Ron Orr and generated much discussion at the last Alberta Municipalities conference in March.
Municipal representatives voted overwhelmingly to send a letter to the province rejecting the notion of a provincial police force.
By a 144-34 vote, municipal representatives voted in favour of a resolution opposing the province’s proposed provincial policing model and asked that the government invest in addressing the root causes of crime and ensuring the justice system is adequately supported.
Alberta Municipalities also called on the government to hold a referendum on a provincial police force before issuing any formal notice to terminate Alberta’s contract with the RCMP.