(Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge County opposed to creation of Alberta Provincial Police Force

Jan 18, 2022 | 10:34 AM

LETHBRIDGE COUNTY, AB – A rural community in Southern Alberta is voicing its opposition to a proposed profound change in policing services for the province.

The Alberta Government is working towards potentially replacing the RCMP in the province with a new Alberta Provincial Police Service (APPS), which it claims would provide better service levels to rural areas.

A report from PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PwC) LLP released in October 2021 claims that it might accomplish that, but could cost more money.

READ MORE: Alberta police force would cost millions more but could see better service; report

Lethbridge County Reeve Tory Campbell told LNN that this is something he simply cannot support.

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“I think the biggest concern is just that there’s so much more going on, so many bigger issues that need our attention, and quite frankly, we need our financial attention that this just really isn’t on the radar for most municipalities in Alberta.”

Another major concern of his is that Lethbridge County has not been properly consulted.

“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.”

“When we have brought it forward to our MLAs, you know, it’s usually been deflected and it’s been – the argument has [been] made that this is the right decision for the province, this is the right decision for Alberta and this is the right decision for municipalities, and that usually brings an end to that conversation.”

Cambell says the main concerns being raised pertain to cost, levels of service, and municipal input.

Starting in 2021, the province started to shift the cost of policing to municipalities, resulting in Lethbridge County paying $352,000 for RCMP.

In 2022, this is increasing to $469,000. By 2023 and 2024, it will further rise to $704,000.

The PwC report also shows that transitioning from RCMP to APPS would cost $336-million.

Campbell notes that a “glaring omission” in the PwC report is that it does not detail what the cost to municipalities would be for the APPS.

“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,” says Campbell. “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.”

Campbell says he knows there are issues that need to be addressed regarding the RCMP, but he would prefer to work on those issues rather than dissolving the organization entirely in Alberta.

The County will continue to push for greater levels of input from municipalities, stronger communications, and better levels of service.

The National Police Federation is hosting a KeepAlbertaRCMP Community Engagement Tour in Southern Alberta this week with several stops in the region. More details here.