Alberta Union of Provincial Employees is questioning the provincial government’s efforts to battle rural crime after changes were made to a new enforcement program.
The union representing fish and wildlife officers said 10 officers originally assigned to the Rural Alberta Provincial Integrated Defence Response Team (RAPID) will no longer be part of the rural crime force.
“It sends mixed messages not only to members who were trained, but also to rural communities as to whether they can trust this government to keep them safe,” said AUPE vice-president Sandra Azocar.
But Alberta Justice and Solicitor General said no fish and wildlife staff have been laid off, and there were no cuts.
“With the integration of Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services into Alberta Sheriffs, some specialized positions, such as investigators and training officers, have been reorganized into a different section of the organization,” said the ministry.
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About 400 AUPE members, including 115 fish and wildlife officers (10 from central Alberta), and about 300 Sheriff Highway Patrol officers, were to be trained for RAPID so they could respond in a timely manner to emergency calls traditionally handled by the RCMP.
Azocar said the 10 officers affected are based at offices in Edmonton, Spruce Grove and Grande Prairie, but also work between district offices and can be assigned to work wherever they are needed in the province.
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The AUPE said millions of dollars were spent on training and equipping these officers with new carbine rifles, ammunition, body armour and secure communications equipment.
Azocar said the public inquiry underway into the mass shooting tragedy that happened in rural Nova Scotia in April 2020, reminds all Albertans of the importance of maintaining trained and equipped law-enforcement officers available to be called upon to respond to such emergency situations.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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