MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY — With many Alberta municipal councils having already told the minister of Justice and Solicitor General that they support keeping the RCMP as the province’s police force of choice, there is now a call for the Kenney government to release the results of a taxpayer-funded study into the possible transition.
The Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA), whose membership includes Mountain View and Red Deer counties, says the $2 million Provincial Police Service Transition Report should be made public now that the April 30 deadline for the study’s completion has long passed.
Alberta Urban Municipalities Association president Barry Morishita said: "Albertans have waited long enough to see what the feasibility report has to say. We call on the government of Alberta to do the right thing and publicly release it as soon as possible. When it comes to how our hard-earned tax dollars are spent on policing, Albertans deserve a fair deal from their provincial government."
Releasing the study’s results now is necessary and in the public interest, added RMA manager of policy and advocacy Wyatt Skovron.
“RMA, its members, and other stakeholders have requested that the study be shared and considerations related to costs, service levels, governance, and other important factors prior to making any decisions,” said Skovron.
“The government has not provided any detailed information to stakeholders on when and how the report will be released publicly, or how engagement on the issue will proceed.”
Bruce Beattie is Mountain View County’s reeve.
“It’s a far cry from the ‘open and transparent’ government that was promised,” said Beattie. “There is basically no support for this proposed Alberta police in Alberta, given the numerous letters that have been written in opposition, including Mountain View County.”
RMA officials also say they are concerned with the “inconsistent messaging being shared by the government of Alberta on this issue."
“Government of Alberta documents shared during the minister of Justice and Solicitor General’s ongoing summer speaking tour make strong claims as to the benefits of a transition to a provincial police service, describing it as ‘an opportunity of our lifetime’ and stating that a transition will provide ‘better value for money’, and lead to ‘equal service regardless of postal code’," Morishita said.
The minister's tour has "little to do with crime prevention (and) instead "appears to be selling the idea of a provincial police force," he said.
In a letter sent to the Justice minister this month, Mountain View County expressed "unequivocal support of the RCMP in Alberta."
“The least costly and most effective way to improve policing in Alberta would be to work at improving what we already have, not throwing it away and starting over with a strong likelihood of achieving the status quo at a vastly increased cost,” Beattie said in the letter.
“The money saved could then be directed to the justice (legal) system and the courts where, quite honestly, most of the problem lies.”
Dozens of other municipalities have sent similar letters to the Justice minister.
A request for comment from Alberta Justice and Solicitor General was not immediately returned.
