Kenney promises no direct cost download to municipalities on Alberta police plan
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is imploring rural leaders to consider the merits of a provincial police force, promising that any added costs - projected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars - would not be downloaded directly onto municipalities.
“We won't make any changes without careful consultation with municipalities because it affects you so much, and more broadly with Albertans,” Kenney said Friday in a keynote speech to the Rural Municipalities of Alberta fall convention.
“And if we propose any model, any incremental costs would be adopted exclusively by the province and not by municipalities.”
Kenney's United Conservative government is currently deciding next steps following the release of a third-party analysis of a proposal for an Alberta-run provincial police force instead of using the RCMP in rural areas and some smaller cities.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers report, released by the government almost a month ago, says it currently costs Alberta about $500 million a year for the RCMP.
The federal government chips in $170 million under a cost-sharing agreement.
The report says if Alberta decides to go it alone, it would cost about $735 million each year, on top of $366 million in startup costs.
But it says there is potential for more cost-effective law enforcement by using existing human resources and the government's financial services to save money, and by drafting agreements with municipal forces to share specialized police services, including canine units, air support and tactical squads.
The National Police Federation, representing 20,000 RCMP officers across Canada, has said there is no public appetite for such a transition.
This week, the federation released a survey that suggests 26 per cent of Albertans support the idea of replacing the RCMP while 60 per cent do not, with 14 per cent undecided.
The federation said the results echo other surveys on the topic over the past year.
“Albertans couldn't be less interested in this proposal, despite repeated attempts by Premier Kenney and others to make a case for a smaller, prohibitively costly and untested provincial police service,” said federation president Brian Sauve.
A spokesman for Alberta Justice Minister Kaycee Madu questioned the survey, which was conducted before and after the release of the PricewaterhouseCoopers report. It was conducted online and surveyed more than 1,200 Albertans. A margin of error could not be assigned.
“The findings of this poll should be viewed through a critical lens, considering the source is the RCMP's union,” said spokesman Alex Puddifant.
“An unspecified portion of respondents were surveyed before the provincial government released hundreds of pages of independent research that lay out a vision for an Alberta provincial police service that's cost-effective, responsive to the needs of Albertans and could better address the root causes of crime in our communities.”
The Opposition NDP has dismissed the proposal as unwanted and unnecessary and has promised to scrap it should it win government in the spring 2023 election.
NDP critic Heather Sweet said Kenney's speech Friday focused on the wrong targets by not addressing more important issues such as physician shortages.
“He glossed over the crisis in health care faced by rural communities, where Albertans are losing their family doctor, and instead went on a prolonged and tiresome sales pitch around upending the RCMP,” said Sweet.
“Our party is going to keep listening to rural leaders, instead of talking down to them.”
The provincial police proposal springs from the final report from Kenney's “fair deal” panel. It was delivered in June 2020 after consultations with Albertans on how the province fares in relation to the rest of the country.
A survey done for that report suggested that two-thirds of Albertans do not wish to abandon the RCMP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Flights divert around western Iran as one report claims explosions heard near Isfahan
Commercial flights began diverting their routes early Friday morning over western Iran without explanation as one semiofficial news agency in the Islamic Republic claimed there had been 'explosions' heard over the city of Isfahan.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking, researchers say
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Judge says 'no evidence fully supports' murder case against Umar Zameer as jury starts deliberations
The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn't over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball's highest scorer Caitlin Clark's first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
'Shopaholic' author Sophie Kinsella reveals brain cancer diagnosis
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.