SUNDRE — As the government seems intent on further pursuing the possibility of replacing the RCMP with a provincial police force, Sundre's mayor is among many municipal leaders throughout Alberta who remains to be persuaded by the proposal.
“They seem to feel that they have the support of the citizens and it’s us as elected officials that are that are not in favour,” said Richard Warnock.
“If I had some comfort level that we as small municipalities weren’t going to be hit with the bill, I might be easier to convince. But I just don’t see where the RCMP have done such a bad job that they (the UCP government) want to make this change.”
Although the government is “still in that decision-making stage” and therefore regularly continues issuing press releases touting a provincial police force’s supposed benefits in the hopes of swaying hearts and minds, Warnock pointed out that the UCP leadership candidate hopefuls aren’t even all on the same page.
“There are some that are in favour of it and some that aren’t,” he said. “I know that the government that we have today believes it’s the right thing to do.”
Should a provincial police force come to pass, Warnock said the government must first outline in very specific detail how the service’s cost will be covered to avoid placing an even greater burden on smaller rural municipalities that have already been forced to absorb the increased costs introduced when the government revamped the police funding model.
Asked if the government was perhaps attempting to make the proposal more palatable to rural communities by sweetening the pot with promises of providing an additional 275 frontline officers in the 42 smallest detachments, he said, “That’s what I’m reading into it.”
And aside from the cost, the mayor also mused whether the sweeping change would even have a noticeable impact on crime trends. After all, the root of crime problems, Warnock argues, stems not from the service provided by the RCMP, but rather from systemic issues within the judiciary that has been described as a revolving door.
“We need to fight crime by dealing with the prosecutor's office and the legal system,” he said.
Sundre’s mayor – who previously told the Albertan he was not convinced the government had presented a particularly compelling case to justify pursuing a provincial police force – remains skeptical that swapping out logos on a police car will have a meaningful impact on the issues faced by rural municipalities.
“I wish I could say that I had a more positive view,” he said. “As I mentioned before, I don’t think we can fight crime by changing the name on the door. That’s just my thoughts, and they (the provincial government) haven’t convinced me different.”
But he also recognizes that regardless of affiliation, a political party holding office tends to be committed to pushing through its agenda.
“All governments – whether it’s the UCP or the NDP or whatever – if they’ve got something they really believe in, they’re going to want to get it done before an election,” he said. “That’s the part that I always think about.”
Regardless of whether the UCP insists on pushing ahead with its plans to replace the RCMP with a provincial police force, Warnock said any such decision should wait at the very least until this October after a new leader has been elected.
“I’m hoping that they will wait until the new premier is in place,” he said.
Warnock also said he believes the government is listening, but wasn’t sure the chorus of opposition will change their minds.
“Whether they’ll take that to the to the table when the time comes, I’m uncertain,” he said.
The mayor also expressed concerns about the government’s shifting narratives, such as when the provincial government previously stated Alberta would have more direct control over a provincial police force than the RCMP, a claim discredited by the fact Mounties work closely with the communities they serve on developing policing priorities.
“Since then, it’s been all over the map,” he said about the government's justifications for a provincial police force.
Last month, Alberta Municipalities issued a press release, which concluded by stating, “we believe the creation of an Alberta provincial police service should be driven by the real public safety needs of the communities it will serve rather than by political motivations.”
Premier Jason Kenney also remains under RCMP investigation over allegations of fraud in the 2017 leadership race.
