By Sheldon Spackman

25 recommendations made

City taking closer look at Fair Deal Panel report: Veer

Jun 18, 2020 | 5:06 PM

Red Deer’s mayor says the City has launched a review of the list of 25 recommendations contained in the provincial government’s newly released Fair Deal Panel report.

Tara Veer says the review of the report will help identify what specific areas or recommendations The City of Red Deer would need to watch closely on behalf of its citizens.

At first glance Veer says one of the recommendations that stands out is cutting ties with the RCMP in favour of a new provincial police service.

“As we went through our local policing review, we were acutely aware of the fact that we could make a local decision with respect to policing, but then if the provincial government goes down a road of pursuing a provincial police force, then obviously that would have a significant effect on how we govern our policing. So we will be looking into that very specifically,” Veer explained Thursday.

Veer says the justice minister’s office has also indicated they will be reviewing that matter very thoroughly and consulting with municipalities should they decide to pursue a provincial police force as recommended in the report.

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Mayor Veer also says the vigorous pursuit of access to markets for Alberta’s products, as recommended in the report, is another aspect of obvious interest for the City.

“Over the past few years, we’ve been very intentional in our efforts to support the calls for energy access to tide water for full market access, and to support the oil and gas sector of our economy and the value-added sectors related to the oil and gas sector,” she explains. “We’ve also been very intentional to in-so-far as much as possible, to diversify our local economy. But I ultimately think that for us to see a return to the positive economic state that we would hope for, that we will need to see new market access for Alberta’s energy products.”

According to government officials, more than 40,000 Albertans participated in the Fair Deal Panel engagement, providing input on ideas that could potentially give the province a stronger role within Canada, increase control in areas of provincial jurisdiction, and advance the province’s vital economic interests.