A third-party report on a potential provincial police force in Alberta was released Oct. 28, claiming a provincial policing service would cost millions of dollars more but could see better and more cost-effective policing services overall.
The report, which was completed by law firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers, lays out a proposed six-year transition period from RCMP services to a provincial police force.
According to the report, Alberta taxpayers pay about $500 million a year for the RCMP – a cost-sharing agreement between federal and provincial governments.
The report claimed if Alberta decided to implement its own police force, it would cost about $735 million a year, in addition to $366 million to set up the force.
But during a recent press conference, Justice Minister and Solicitor General Minister Kaycee Madu called the report innovative and said it shows Alberta can have more “boots on the ground” for the same or a lower cost than what municipalities currently pay for RCMP services.
“At the end of the day, I am confident the cost we incur will be less for a provincial police force,” Madu said.
The next step will be for the Province to tour the province to consult with municipalities, crime watch groups, Indigenous and Métis groups and law enforcement agencies over the next year, Madu added.
In a press release, the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) said it didn’t have an official position on the report and needed more time to analyze the 100-page document. However, the association expressed some preliminary concerns over losing federal funding for policing.
“Albertans deserve a fair deal from their provincial government when it comes to how our hard-earned tax dollars are spent on policing,” the release reads. “We are concerned that Alberta would forfeit about $160 million a year in federal funding for police services if it were to form a provincial police service.”
The RCMP is the policing agency for the geographical area of Rocky View County, as well as the municipalities within the region, including Airdrie, Cochrane, Chestermere, Crossfield, Beiseker, and Irricana.
In an emailed statement, Rocky View County officials said the municipality is keeping an eye on developments pertaining to the idea of a provincial police force, but does not currently have a position on whether or not the County is in support of it.
“This will certainly be a topic of interest in the coming weeks and months with a variety of viewpoints to consider,” the statement read. “Rocky View County currently does not have an official stance regarding the recent provincial police force report, as we are eagerly awaiting more information to determine what, if any, implications will exist for the County.
“In the interim, we continue to encourage all Rocky View residents to become involved in the process and provide their voice to the province.”
Crossfield Mayor Kim Harris similarly said the Town of Crossfield is also still not certain of the implications of a provincial police force replacing the local RCMP.
“We have not had adequate time to consider all the implications, however, we look forward to reading the provincial report and having conversations with our Crossfield council to consider what would be the best option to provide the best service to Crossfield,” she said in an email.
Ontario and Quebec have provincial police forces and Newfoundland and Labrador have a partial provincial police force.
—With files from Scott Strasser/Rocky View Weekly
