73 towns, villages, counties, unions call on UCP to stop provincial police effort
73 towns, villages, counties, unions call on UCP to stop provincial police effort
73 towns, villages, counties, unions call on UCP to stop provincial police effort
A public demand that Alberta stick with the RCMP has been signed by 32 towns, 22 villages, seven organizations, six counties, three summer villages, two other municipalities and The City of Wetaskiwin.
It comes just days after a United Conservative Party leadership debate, where not one of the candidates running for the premier's job said they'd stop the provincial police effort.
The letter, spearheaded by the National Police Federation, states that an Alberta force will cost taxpayers $366 million to transition and at least an additional $139 million each year.
"The dialogue around having a Provincial Police force needs to be dialled back as the people have spoken," High Level Mayor Crystal McAteer said.
"High Level does not want a municipal police force…we want the RCMP to remain," she stated, adding a call for improvements to the Mounties.
"Transitioning to a provincial police force would impose unnecessary costs and uncertainty on Albertans," Edson Mayor Kevin Zahara said.
The signatories instead are calling on Alberta to fund more RCMP officers, improve social services in an effort to prevent crime and increase the capacity of the justice system by hiring more prosecutors and judges.
Alberta Municipalities and Rural Municipalities of Alberta have both previously passed resolutions critical of the UCP's provincial police efforts.
"The Government of Alberta has lost the trust of its constituents in its pursuit of an Alberta Provincial Police Service (APPS) by not undertaking fulsome, open, and transparent consultations with all those affected," the Monday letter states.
'IT WILL COST ALBERTANS A LITTLE BIT MORE'
Former finance minister and UCP leadership candidate Travis Toews said in a debate last Friday that despite a bigger price tag, he still supports the idea.
"I believe we could improve the culture, we could see enforcement with less bureaucracy, even though it will cost Albertans a little bit more," Toews said.
Other leadership candidates Leela Aheer, Brian Jean, Todd Loewen, Rajan Sawhney and Danielle Smith also spoke favourably about provincial police, although some said the UCP needs to do a better job of selling the idea to Albertans.
"I would work to bring (critics) along, cause I believe it's a successful proposition," Sawhney said.
A spokesperson for candidate Rebecca Schulz clarified Monday that she hasn't made up her mind one way or the other.
"We haven't communicated the benefits and I think we have to have that discussion," Schulz said on Friday.
Last November, Premier Jason Kenney implored rural leaders to get on board with a provincial police force, promising that any added costs would not be downloaded directly onto municipalities.
“A UCP provincial police force is really just a sneaky plan to raise Albertans’ taxes again,” NDP Municipal Affairs Critic Joe Ceci said Monday referring to a funding model unveiled in 2019 that makes municipalities pay more for police.
“There is an election coming and should Alberta’s NDP form the next government, Albertans can trust our commitment to listen to local leaders and scrap this expensive and unnecessary plan,” NDP Justice Critic Irfan Sabir added.
A survey released by the "Fair Deal Panel" in 2020 suggested two-thirds of Albertans do not wish to abandon the RCMP.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Adam Lachacz and The Canadian Press
The Justice Department has asked a court to unseal the search warrant the FBI received before searching the Florida estate of former President Donald Trump, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday.
A widespread power outage is currently affecting the downtown core in Toronto and officials say it may have been caused by a large crane that struck a high-voltage transmission line.
A national tracking system for health-care workers, with information on what training they have, where they're located and what their career plans are, would make a 'significant difference' in addressing future staffing challenges, the president of the Canadian Medical Association says.
A Brampton, Ont. media personality who was attacked with a machete and axe in his driveway will need months of physical rehabilitation to recover, a close friend says.
A Canadian Armed Forces veteran has been charged with murder in connection to a mass shooting in Belize that left two people dead and eight others injured.
Saskatchewan's education ministry is appointing an administrator to oversee a Saskatoon Christian school at the centre of a criminal investigation of a proposed class action lawsuit.
The suspect at the centre of Saskatchewan's recent Amber Alert was working campground security for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally when police arrested him, according to campers.
Saskatchewan's education ministry is appointing an administrator to oversee a Saskatoon Christian school at the centre of a criminal investigation of a proposed class action lawsuit.
A climatologist says the wildfires that have been burning for more than two weeks in central Newfoundland could be a sign of what's to come as the province feels the impacts of climate change.
A widespread power outage is currently affecting the downtown core in Toronto and officials say it may have been caused by a large crane that struck a high-voltage transmission line.
A Brampton, Ont. media personality who was attacked with a machete and axe in his driveway will need months of physical rehabilitation to recover, a close friend says.
An American teenager who was seriously injured in a drive-by shooting in Laval, Que. during a family vacation three months ago was finally released from hospital, but still isn't able to walk on his own.
A new study shows that religious minorities in Quebec, particularly women, feel less safe and less welcome in the social fabric of society since the adoption of the province's secularism law, commonly known as Bill 21.
Canadians for Affordable Energy President Dan McTeague says gas prices will increase eight cents a litre in Ottawa on Friday, bringing gas prices to $1.749 a litre.
A Mississippi Mills, Ont. councillor has had her pay suspended for 90 days after breaching the municipality's COVID-19 vaccination policy by attending council meetings while refusing to disclose her vaccination status.
Animal services officers at the Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo & Stratford Perth (HSKWSP) say they have witnessed an increasing trend of traps being set to capture or harm local wildlife.
The suspect at the centre of Saskatchewan's recent Amber Alert was working campground security for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally when police arrested him, according to campers.
