Alberta continues its march toward forming a provincial police service with the release of a blueprint that would see more boots on the ground without charging municipalities more than they already pay, according to the province’s justice minister.
But the latest plan leaves a lot of questions unanswered, according to Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA).
Rural municipal leaders have vigorously expressed concerns about the cost that could be shifted onto their residents if an Alberta Provincial Police Service (APPS) is created.
In March, RMA formalized those concerns in a resolution.
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“Dozens of municipalities have opposed the creation of an APPS, as evidenced by letters sent to the minister of justice and solicitor general expressing their concerns over having to bear the cost of the APPS with no assurance of it being a more beneficial police service,” according to the resolution.
Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro said during a media availability earlier this month that municipalities will not pay more than they already are.
“That’s, quite frankly, the biggest concern when I’ve met with municipalities and they’ve been wanting to discuss this,” said Shandro. “They are worried about, ‘are you just going to download costs on to us.’”
The minister said that won’t be the case.
The latest proposal also promises that current detachments will remain operational and they will be staffed with no fewer than 10 APPS members.
RMA questioned the rationale of such a move in a media release.
Bassano Mayor Irvin Morey also questioned the proposal for the community, which is home to a four-Mountie detachment.
“We’re happy to maintain the status quo,” said Morey regarding the number of police in his community. “Do we want 10 police officers in Bassano? No, we don’t need 10 police officers in Bassano.”
But Morey said if the detachment included community support services, fish and wildlife or dedicated highway patrol officers for the village located on the Trans-Canada between Brooks and Calgary, that might change things.
“Bassano is coping very well with our current model,” Morey said. “Our crime rate is practically zero on all fronts.”
Other concerns RMA has regarding the APPS include recruitment and retention of police officers as well as costs associated with the need to upgrade some detachments to accommodate specialized services.
