With the provincial election looming ever closer, the debate to replace the RCMP in Alberta is heating up.
Members of the Legislative Assembly have been voicing their opinions ever since Premier Danielle Smith made the suggestion to bring in a provincial police force.
Shannon Phillips, Lethbridge-West MLA and New Democratic finance critic, has said this plan would create an unnecessary headache for taxpayers.
“Let’s not introduce all kinds of other layers of chaos, conflict and cost by indulging these wacky experiments,” said Phillips.
The Lethbridge MLA has also deemed the thought of an Alberta force to be a far-right idea, saying even Klein-era conservatives denounced the plan.
“This is one of those ideas that has been around for a long time in sort of fringy right-wing circles,” said Phillips.
However, not everyone views this issue as black and white.
A retired RCMP Corporal who has asked to remain anonymous says Alberta should not have the RCMP or a province-wide police force, but the province should adopt an American-style system of policing within rural Alberta.
“Dissect [the American] model, take the good and cut the bad and make it work for us… Have a county sheriff who is elected and have them hold responsibility over an entire county,” said the officer.
The retired RCMP officer also says small towns should bring in their own municipal police department.
“We have several examples of that in Alberta already, with Camrose, Lacombe, Taber, smaller communities that have their own police forces and have had for a very long time. It allows them to have more say in how their policing is conducted in their community,” said the officer.
Furthermore, he says many cities currently patrolled by the RCMP have previously investigated the idea of their own city police departments.
“We’re already going to see a lot of municipalities such as Grand Prairie, Fort McMurray, Red Deer, Strathcona County, if it comes to an Alberta police force, I think we’re going to see them create their own police force anyway,” said the officer.
Organizations such as the National Police Federation have been quick to point out the high cost to the taxpayer if a provincial police force is created.
Kevin Halwa, prairie regional director for the NPF, says taxpayers can expect to foot a bill north of $370 million to transition to an Alberta force, money he says could be spent more efficiently.
“We’re suggesting that $371 million, that [the provincial government is] looking to spend on the transition, can be spent much better in different areas by using the existing police service, the RCMP,” said Halwa.
The NPF has asked the provincial government to use some of the $371 million to help quell the current rural crime epidemic in Alberta.
Much of the budget requested by the NPF was asked to be used for the recruitment of over 600 new officers within the province.
Both Halwa and the anonymous officer agree Alberta needs more police officers, but they say nobody wants to be an officer anymore.
The retired RCMP officer says media representation of police officers has been instrumental in the plummeting numbers, especially in the wake of the American protests over the past few years, which has coincided with the rise of ambushes against officers.
“The danger level has multiplied exponentially,” said the retired officer.
He also says the drug problem within Canada has exploded to a point where officers see far more violent and erratic criminals.
“We don’t see marijuana anymore. Now it’s fentanyl or heroin on the streets,” said the officer.
Halwa, while sharing the concern over the attrition rates, was more concerned with the fact many RCMP officers would probably not swap to the provincial force.
He says the government of Alberta would struggle significantly to recruit the necessary numbers.
“In November of 2021, Minister Madu suggested that, at best, about 15 per cent of the current serving [RCMP] members were expected to switch over to a provincial police service,” said Halwa.
The NPF representative did agree with the anonymous officer that policing has become more dangerous throughout North America and recruiting isn’t as easy as it once was.
“The job is much more dangerous than it was when I joined [in 1997]. The defund the police movement that was very vocal south of the border. Things like that do not help the recruiting process,” said Halwa.
Now, there are some who are interested in bringing in a provincial police force.
In a self-published article on Alberta Views on June 1, 2022, Drew Barnes, independent MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat has said his electorate wants to see some change.
“My conversations with constituents and others who shared their thoughts with the Fair Deal Panel revealed an urban–rural divide on this issue. Many urban Albertans, served by municipal police, want to keep the RCMP. The RCMP is least popular among rural residents. This is because the RCMP, for all of its historical significance, remains the relic of a bygone era,” said Barnes.
As pointed out by Barnes, many rural Albertans want to see a new force, with many concerned over rural crime rates.
However, Phillips says smaller rural municipalities would prefer to keep the RCMP in Alberta.
This is primarily due to the expected tax hike that those communities would face, a tax hike they cannot afford, according to Phillips.
“In particular, a place like Nanton, their property taxes are pretty well double what ours are here in Lethbridge,” said Phillips.
Alberta is not alone in considering the idea of replacing the RCMP, with Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia all looking into the matter.
As well, the government of British Columbia released a report in April 2022 that recommends the province make the switch from the RCMP to a provincial service.
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