MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - Area municipal leaders have weighed in as the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) officially announces that it is not in support of the proposed creation of a provincial police service.
“Our council continues to support the RCMP,” said Mountain View County reeve Angela Aalbers. “This will continue to be the case until such time as the province is able to provide information that a provincial police force would offer a better service to our taxpayers that also makes financial sense. As of yet we have not been provided with such information.”
The RMA represents 69 rural municipalities, including Mountain View and Red Deer counties.
Last week the RMA came out with its official stance on the proposed APPS, saying it is opposed to the proposal and that consultations with the general public must be undertaken before any move to replace the RCMP is made.
“The proposed provincial policing model does not address the RMA’s core priorities about levels of service, how costs will be covered, and local input into policing,” said RMA president Paul McLauchlin.
“While certain elements of the model are worth exploring, there is no evidence provided as to why these cannot be implemented within the existing RCMP arrangement.
“Based on the arguments provided by the province so far, there’s simply no evidence that a switch to a provincial police service will be worth the cost and disruption.”
The Town of Carstairs' mayor, Lance Colby, said it is “not a surprise” that the RMA has come out against the provincial police proposal since “most communities are against the idea of an Alberta police service.”
Didsbury mayor Rhonda Hunter said while RMA does not represent her municipality, “decisions and directives of the provincial government very often affect and impact our municipalities in the same way, and this policing issue is one of the directives that is having an impact on all municipalities.
“I hope the resolution will have the impact that is intended by RMA and that the provincial government does truly begin to consult in the true sense of the word that will include all Albertans in the conversation and consultation, and that they provide the information that is being sought.”
The RMA resolution comes as Premier Jason Kenney continues to defend the possibility of creating a provincial police service, saying such a force would be more responsible to the need of Alberta communities than the RCMP.
Kenney was asked by the Albertan during a recent press conference if his government is planning to hold a province-wide referendum on the issue.
“We have not decided,” Kenney said. “At this stage we are doing this deep consultation and we will see what we hear back. It is very important for us to hear from regular Albertans as well as municipal government and First Nations as we determine the next steps.
“But let me just say this, I’m disappointed that this has become a point of controversy when I think it could become a point of unity in our province. Why do we have to have our provincial police service run out of Ottawa? Why can’t we have a provincial police commission on behalf of civilians overseeing the operations and the governance? Why can’t we have provincial laws for police complaints apply to a provincial police service? These are the questions we are asking.”
The Kenney government has failed to convincingly demonstrate why a provincial police service is necessary or how it would be a marked improvement over RCMP service, said RMA's McLauchlin.
“Spending millions of dollars to shift to an unproven, poorly explained model just for the sake of distancing the province from the federal government would be a major mistake,” he said.
“The fact that the government of Alberta has not conducted a public engagement on the proposed (provincial police service) model is a sign that they know it will not be supported by the public.”
The 275-member Alberta Municipalities, representing towns, villages and cities across the province, recently passed a motion calling for a province-wide referendum on the APPS proposal.
Specifically, the motion states: “Prior to issuing formal notice to terminate Alberta contact with the RCMP, the Government of Alberta will put this question to all Albertans in the form of a clear referendum.”
The official Opposition NDP said the resolutions from the RMA and Alberta Municipalities should prompt the Kenney government to scrap the idea of creating the provincial service.
“Municipal leaders from across the province have made it abundantly clear that they also oppose this idea,” said NDP municipal affairs critic Joe Ceci and NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir.
Alberta Justice has conducted information sessions for municipal elected officials regarding the proposal. Those meetings have not been open to the general public or media.
