Keep Alberta RCMP Campaign support grows
Twenty more Alberta municipalities and organizations are showing support for keeping the RCMP in Alberta.
On Tuesday, the National Police Federation released an updated list of the 92 stakeholders that have signed a call to action, originally sent to the Government of Alberta in late June. The stakeholders expressed concern over continued efforts to advance the creation of a new provincial police service.
A month after the original list was released, the Government of Alberta launched a website aiming to display what the future of provincial policing may look like under their proposed Alberta Provincial Police Service.
“Through our extensive and province-wide consultations and discussions, Albertans have been clear that they support the RCMP in Alberta, who are working tirelessly to keep their communities safe. Making a decision of this kind – rooted in political grandstanding and without speaking to the people and groups that would be most impacted – is careless, disrespectful, and myopic,” said Kevin Halwa, National Police Federation’s prairie region director.
The original list featured 72 communities, including Blackfalds, Bowden, Innisfail, Penhold, Ponoka, Sylvan Lake, Trochu, Wetaskiwin and Wetaskiwin County.
The new list features two more communities in central Alberta: Caroline and Clearwater County.
“Clearwater County, through its fire services and peace officer program, work closely in partnership with the RCMP for day to day first response and through many joint initiatives like the long weekend task force,” said Clearwater County Reeve Daryl Lougheed.
“They provide coordinated multi-agency enforcement to educate users on traffic safety, the safe use of OHVs, respect for the land, responsible camping, fire safety, and garbage disposal. Initiatives like this help to keep our community viable and safe.”
Clearwater County council supports keeping Alberta RCMP members because of the “personal connection and accountability to the local community,” Lougheed added.
“The RCMP have a long-trusted history of providing quality law enforcement that is consistently applied across Canada, their presence reinforces the community connection piece throughout the country,” he said.
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