OLDS — The town has applied for a $30,000 provincial grant to study the pros and cons of setting up a stand-alone or regional police force.
The matter came up for discussion during council’s policies and priorities meeting earlier this month.
“The discussion was generally supportive, so the grant is being applied for right now,” chief administrative officer Brent Williams wrote in an email.
He said if the provincial government approves the town’s application, the matter would come back to council for a final decision on whether to go ahead with the study, and whether it would just look at a stand-alone police force or a regional one.
“While it is not the town’s intention to take over policing, it could be out of our control, should the province dictate such,” a request for decision in council’s agenda package said.
During discussion in council, Williams said town staff had been in touch with Mountain View County representatives regarding the idea, but he said the county preferred to wait until the town had made its decision before making a commitment to be involved.
He said discussions with other nearby communities hadn’t been held yet either.
Alberta used to have a provincial police service but it was disbanded in 1932 and replaced by RCMP.
In 2019, then-premier Jason Kenney resurrected the idea of a provincial police service.
However, Alberta Municipalities, which represents urban communities, and Rural Municipalities of Alberta both oppose the move, fearing the potential cost.
They say changes should be made utilizing the existing RCMP service to tackle crime.
In an email to the Albertan, Williams said $30,000 will cover a “high-level study on the stand-alone option,” however it won’t be enough to cover costs for a regional study.
“That is where the grant conditions may have a factor,” he wrote.
“If the province requests a regional study as opposed to a stand-alone study, it has been communicated they would consider increased funding. But the town will not contribute any funds to this study.”
Williams said there’s no guarantee the town will obtain the provincial money but indicated it’s worth trying.
“It could be an opportunity to demonstrate to ourselves and to residents what such an endeavour might look like, if it’s even feasible, and if there’s any opportunity to work more closely with our regional neighbours, should a provincial police force come to fruition or the RCMP be restructured,” he told council.
"While I am a supporter of the RCMP, I do believe it’s prudent to pursue this further,” Coun. Heather Ryan said.
“It doesn’t hurt for us to take a look at what the costs involved or the structure would be for either a local or a regional force.”
Ryan said her only concern was whether town staff would be involved in the study.
“This would be 100 per cent led by a consultant. We would probably have to provide some information, but no direct participation I would consider (to be) taxing our resources,” Williams said.
Council voted to accept the information on the policing grant as presented.
