Alberta NDP critics Irfan Sabir and Kyle Kasawski present to press outside the northern Red Deer RCMP Detachment. (rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

ESTIMATED $1.386 BILLION COST

Alberta NDP shares concerns on provincial policing plan

Jun 13, 2024 | 4:32 PM

Members of the Alberta NDP held a press conference in Red Deer June 13, to express their concerns regarding the UCP’s passing of the Public Safety Statutes Amendment Act, 2024, formally known as Bill 11.

The act updates the Police Act and Police Amendment Act, 2022, to allow the provincial government to create a new policing agency independent of the RCMP. The language on the provincial government website says this agency will “support” the RCMP, municipal police services, and First Nations police services in Alberta, but The Opposition remains concerned that this doesn’t reflect their true intentions.

“I think we have seen this government say things that are not truthful over and over,” said Alberta NDP Critic for Justice and Public Safety, Irfan Sabir. “I understand that they will manipulate and spin their language, but what they are doing is exactly what they said they wouldn’t do, set up an Alberta provincial police force.”

The Opposition says that transitioning to an Alberta police force is estimated to cost $1.386 billion over six years and in addition to this cost, the province would lose $170 million annually in federal funding. Based on a PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ (PWC) report from 2021 and current residential property assessments, Alberta NDP officials say the project could result in nearly $2500 in additional annual property tax costs for a family of four in Red Deer.

In 2020, Red Deer conducted a study looking into the feasibility of a municipal police force and found that it would cost the City millions more per year, and opted to prioritize taxpayer dollars elsewhere.

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“This UCP government should be focusing on the social determinants of crime and priorities that matter to Albertans like affordable housing, supporting public health care, providing quality education, stopping drug poisoning deaths, and preparing for droughts and wildfires. Albertans do not want a provincial police force to replace the RCMP,” said Sabir.

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis said that the Alberta RCMP is understaffed by roughly 400 officers, resulting in a $16 million price tag for services the province isn’t receiving, and creating an environment conducive to crime.

“Despite what the NDP says, this is why Alberta’s government passed Bill 11, the Public Safety Statutes Amendment Act, which will enable the creation of an independent police agency to respond to the evolving public safety needs of communities in Alberta to help augment front line policing,” he said. “Bill 11 was passed to augment the RCMP because of the lack of action from the federal government in Ottawa.”

Kyle Kasawksi, NDP critic for municipal affairs, said this bill should be considered in the context of two other recently passed pieces of legislation, the Provincial Priorities Act, 2024 (Bill 18), and the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 (Bill 20). He proposed that together, these show that the provincial government intends to become a barrier between municipalities and federal funding.

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