(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

better value, "not apparent," says mayor

Red Deer mayor in favour of referendum on provincial police force

Mar 11, 2022 | 9:35 AM

Delegates at this week’s Alberta Municipalities (AM — formerly AUMA) conference have voted overwhelmingly in opposition to the UCP’s currently proposed model for a provincial police force.

More than 300 representatives from Alberta municipalities are in Edmonton for the conference, including four Red Deer city councillors.

AM executive members led municipal reps through a detailed presentation on the government’s $2 million PriceWaterhouseCoopers feasibility report, after which many questions were asked, particularly in relation to federal funding of provincial police forces in Ontario and Quebec, options for preventing crime, and comparator police services.

In all, 144 members voted in favour of the following motion, with 34 against:

THAT Alberta Municipalities oppose the APPS models proposed in the PwC study and develop an advocacy and communications strategy to advance our position.

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Further, THAT Alberta Municipalities urge the Government of Alberta to invest in the resources needed to:

— Address the root causes of crime (i.e., health, mental health, social and economic supports); and

— Ensure the justice system is adequately resourced to enable timely access to justice for all Albertans.

Further, THAT prior to issuing formal notice to terminate Alberta’s contract with the RCMP, the Government of Alberta will put this question to all Albertans in the form of a clear referendum.

Red Deer Mayor Ken Johnston, who is not at the conference, but is speaking on behalf of city council, noted all of the city’s delegates were in agreement with the motion.

“I think a referendum would be very fair. This is an essential service. Just look at policing from the perspective of cost and effectiveness, and we also have at least five municipal forces in Alberta already, so how would it work for them? Of course there should be a referendum on it,” he says. “Every person should be able to say that this what they see as the best and most effective model, so I totally support a vote.”

In 2019, the City of Red Deer undertook a policing review, and found the RCMP model still provided the best value for public dollars and public protection, Johnston notes. He adds that many questions remain unanswered by the UCP.

“The issue here really is ‘What is the problem we’re trying to solve?’ Some of the questions Alberta municipalities, each one of them, are struggling with, range from cost to support staff, shared accountability for human resources to management of a force, plus overlap on different divisions,” he says.

“I’m not surprised delegates voted this way because these are questions that have been asked for quite a while, and they remain. They need to be answered in a way municipalities, which have contractual relations with RCMP, can be satisfied there’s greater value in a new model. So far, that isn’t apparent.”

Alberta RCMP were not able to provide a comment at this time.