NDP candidate for Red Deer-South and current Red Deer City Solicitor Michelle Baer (left) with NDP Justice Critic Irfan Sabir voiced opposition to the UCP's Alberta Provincial Police Service proposal in front of the north Red Deer RCMP detachment on Aug. 24, 2022. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

By Alessia Proietti

Alberta Provincial Police Service

Alberta NDP liken proposed provincial police force to Red Deer’s past policing review

Aug 24, 2022 | 4:18 PM

Members of the Alberta NDP held a news conference in Red Deer on Wednesday to voice further opposition to the United Conservative Party’s (UCP) plans for an Alberta Provincial Police System (APPS).

In front of the north Red Deer RCMP detachment, NDP Justice Critic Irfan Sabir and NDP candidate for Red Deer-South Michelle Baer, currently also Red Deer’s City Solicitor, said the provincial police plan is unnecessary and expensive.

“My concern centres around the same objection that many municipalities have with this proposal, and that’s the cost to residents,” said Baer. “The UCP plan will stick Alberta families and businesses with a huge policing cost increase, right in the middle of the worst affordability crisis in 40 years.”

She referred to a Policing Review conducted in 2020 by the City looking into the viability of transitioning to a municipal police force. The study showed that it would cost an additional $13.5 million per year to taxpayers, not including start-up costs. Red Deer city council decided against developing a Red Deer police force because they deemed it would be, “a waste of taxpayers’ money,” Baer noted.

“We see the Red Deer report indicating the two to four years for implementation; that’s an extremely long transition period where we are working within two systems and trying to plan for a new one,” she said.

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“There’s also the enormous focus on start-up costs which are really duplications. We are losing the efficiencies that we already have, that are already in place because of the RCMP infrastructure. Everything from IT [information technology], to HR [human resource], to cars to equipment is already there. So it’s important not to underestimate the amount of money and time that it would take to implement an Alberta Police Force.”

Joseph Dow, Press Secretary for the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General, says however that with a provincial police force, municipalities would have input into policing costs which they cannot do with the current RCMP.

“The provincial government and Alberta municipalities that have contracts for RCMP policing had absolutely no input when the federal government and the RCMP’s union negotiated a new collective agreement that increased Alberta’s policing costs over the life of the contract by approximately 20 per cent. It’s also important to note that these higher RCMP costs that the province and municipalities now face as a result of unilateral federal decisions weren’t fully factored into Red Deer’s study of policing models,” he said.

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At an Alberta Municipalities (formerly AUMA) conference in March, 144 members voted in favour of a motion to oppose the APPS proposal made in October 2021, while 34 members voted against.

In June, 72 municipalities and other organizations signed a Call to Action with the National Police Federation to keep the Alberta RCMP. Concerned about start-up costs reaching $366 million over a six-year period, the list now includes 90 signatories.

The Commanding Officer for Alberta RCMP also released a statement last week that the proposed provincial police force plan was similar to the current RCMP model.

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According to their new website “Future of Alberta Policing”, the Government of Alberta says no added costs will be added to municipalities compared to what they currently pay for RCMP.

Dow confirmed the statement, expressing it is realistic for the province to operate a police force with the provincial budget currently sitting at $62 billion.

He also says the future of RCMP contract policing is uncertain across Canada, with the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security releasing a report in June 2021 recommending that the federal government explore the possibility of ending contract policing and work with the provinces and municipalities to help those interested establish their own police services.

He adds that other provinces like British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are also studying the feasibility of replacing the RCMP, with some municipalities like Surrey, B.C., already having established a municipal police force.

Last week, Justice Minister Tyler Shandro outlined a blueprint for improving policing in rural Alberta under the provincial police system.

Sabir says action should be taken towards the root causes and social determinants of crime such as addictions, affordable housing for the homeless, and mental health.

“Those who are on the frontlines; they know their communities better. Those are RCMP officers, those are municipalities, those are people who live in these communities. Our approach will be to work collaboratively with them on all issues that they think matter to them; that matter to their community safety,” he said.

“At a time when the cost of everything from food and groceries to utilities is skyrocketing, the UCP should not be downloading more taxes onto Albertans,” added Baer.