Policing Message from the Reeve

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Municipalities across Alberta face many unique issues. As Council, it is our job to address these issues and advocate on behalf of our citizens. An issue that has gained substantial traction among rural municipalities over the last year is provincial policing. As you may be aware, the Government of Alberta is giving serious consideration to replacing the RCMP with an independent Alberta Provincial Police Service, with a potential transition starting in 2025.

It is Lethbridge County Council’s position that Alberta municipalities have not been adequately consulted on this matter. Lethbridge County Council and a majority of other rural municipalities do not support this proposed transition to an Alberta Provincial Police Service. We have regularly lobbied our MLAs and provincial ministers, but to this point, our concerns seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

The Government of Alberta has relied on the “Fair Deal Panel” to inform its policy direction, and from the Panel’s recommendations, PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PwC) LLP was contracted to prepare a Transition Study report to assess the operational requirements, processes and costs of transitioning from the RCMP to an Alberta Provincial Police Service.

The main concerns being raised pertaining to a potential policing transition revolve around costing, levels of service, and municipal input. Beginning in 2021, the Government of Alberta began shifting the cost of policing to municipalities, resulting in a $352 000.00 cost to Lethbridge County to cover RCMP policing in Lethbridge County. This cost rose to $469 000.00 in 2022, with estimated costs to Lethbridge County of $704 000.00 in 2023 and 2024.

The PwC report has indicated the estimated cost to implement a transition to an Alberta Provincial Police Service will cost $366 million. At a time when provincial downloading continues to impact municipal finances, Lethbridge County and a majority of rural municipalities continue to stress the dire consequences of further downloading from the Province. The PwC report fails to address many of the costing concerns held by municipalities, and any additional dollars that will be needed to be allocated towards policing. This potentially creates an unrealistic, unfair, and excessive tax burden on County citizens.

While we acknowledge that there are issues to be addressed regarding the current service being provided by the RCMP, we believe there are solutions to be found. Greater input on service from municipalities, stronger communication, and increased levels of service continue to be issues raised when we meet with RCMP representatives. We have had a long and beneficial relationship with the RCMP and look forward to building on that relationship in the future.

The Government of Alberta has established a number of engagement sessions taking place in early 2022, Lethbridge County Council will continue to advocate for cost effective policing solutions for all Albertans. To learn more about the PwC report, please go to : https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/a1bfad66-d301-4a8f-9865-ae6e7d25a31a/resource/5afc1580-f9c6-425e-b358-14dffb660da9/download/jsg-apps-transition-study-final-report-2021.pdf

Reeve Tory Campbell

Lethbridge County

Municipalities across Alberta face many unique issues. As Council, it is our job to address these issues and advocate on behalf of our citizens. An issue that has gained substantial traction among rural municipalities over the last year is provincial policing. As you may be aware, the Government of Alberta is giving serious consideration to replacing the RCMP with an independent Alberta Provincial Police Service, with a potential transition starting in 2025.

It is Lethbridge County Council’s position that Alberta municipalities have not been adequately consulted on this matter. Lethbridge County Council and a majority of other rural municipalities do not support this proposed transition to an Alberta Provincial Police Service. We have regularly lobbied our MLAs and provincial ministers, but to this point, our concerns seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

The Government of Alberta has relied on the “Fair Deal Panel” to inform its policy direction, and from the Panel’s recommendations, PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PwC) LLP was contracted to prepare a Transition Study report to assess the operational requirements, processes and costs of transitioning from the RCMP to an Alberta Provincial Police Service.

The main concerns being raised pertaining to a potential policing transition revolve around costing, levels of service, and municipal input. Beginning in 2021, the Government of Alberta began shifting the cost of policing to municipalities, resulting in a $352 000.00 cost to Lethbridge County to cover RCMP policing in Lethbridge County. This cost rose to $469 000.00 in 2022, with estimated costs to Lethbridge County of $704 000.00 in 2023 and 2024.

The PwC report has indicated the estimated cost to implement a transition to an Alberta Provincial Police Service will cost $366 million. At a time when provincial downloading continues to impact municipal finances, Lethbridge County and a majority of rural municipalities continue to stress the dire consequences of further downloading from the Province. The PwC report fails to address many of the costing concerns held by municipalities, and any additional dollars that will be needed to be allocated towards policing. This potentially creates an unrealistic, unfair, and excessive tax burden on County citizens.

While we acknowledge that there are issues to be addressed regarding the current service being provided by the RCMP, we believe there are solutions to be found. Greater input on service from municipalities, stronger communication, and increased levels of service continue to be issues raised when we meet with RCMP representatives. We have had a long and beneficial relationship with the RCMP and look forward to building on that relationship in the future.

The Government of Alberta has established a number of engagement sessions taking place in early 2022, Lethbridge County Council will continue to advocate for cost effective policing solutions for all Albertans. To learn more about the PwC report, please go to : https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/a1bfad66-d301-4a8f-9865-ae6e7d25a31a/resource/5afc1580-f9c6-425e-b358-14dffb660da9/download/jsg-apps-transition-study-final-report-2021.pdf

Reeve Tory Campbell

Lethbridge County

Page published: 18 Jan 2022, 09:04 AM