The Alberta NDP has demanded the provincial government stop its plan to scrap the RCMP to what it says would see millions in costs downloaded onto municipal budgets and local property taxpayers. Based on analysis of the Alberta government’s cost estimates, the assessed value of communities served by the RCMP, and population data, the NDP predicted families will have to cough up hundreds to thousands of dollars in property taxes to pay for a provincial police force. It said the total cost is more than $366 million, which would not include the loss of $1 billion from the Canadian government for the RCMP. “During the 2023 election campaign, Danielle Smith promised she would not bring in a provincial police force because it was so unpopular with Albertans but, in March, her UCP government laid the groundwork to create this new agency by amending the public safety statutes,” said Alberta NDP MLA Irfan Sabir (Calgary-Bhullar-McCall) in a Thursday press release. “This is not about addressing public safety.”.Rather, Sabir said it “is the UCP (United Conservative Party) pandering to their base, who only care about picking fights with Ottawa and adding more costs onto municipalities and onto Albertans.”Sabir said the Alberta government “should be focusing on the social determinants of crime and priorities that matter to Albertans like affordable housing, supporting public healthcare, providing quality education, stopping drug poisoning deaths, and preparing for droughts and wildfires.” He added Albertans do not want a provincial police force to replace the RCMP. Red Deer conducted a study on a municipal police force in 2020. It found it would cost millions of dollars more per year and decided against developing it. Alberta NDP MLA Kyle Kasawski (Sherwood Park) said under the UCP’s plan, a Red Deer resident would see an increase in property taxes from $600 to $2,500 per year. “In other parts of the province, this move would see costs go up over $3,500 for a family of four in Airdrie, over $4,000 for a family of four in Strathcona County and in Cochrane, and upwards of $12,000 for a family of four in Canmore,” said Kasawski. “When Albertans are facing an affordability crisis, what kind of government wants to burden them even more to pay for the UCP government’s vanity project to appease their base?”Alberta Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis responded by saying Albertans deserve to feel safe and protected in their communities and the Canadian government must act on reducing RCMP vacancies. “It doesn’t matter if you live in a remote community in rural Alberta or in downtown Edmonton — when you call 911, the expectation is that a police officer will arrive to help you,” said Ellis.“Despite what the NDP says, this is why Alberta’s government passed Bill 11, the Public Safety Statutes Amendment Act (PSSAA), which will enable the creation of an independent police agency to respond to the evolving public safety needs of communities in Alberta to help augment frontline policing.”Ellis said the PSSAA was passed to augment the RCMP because of a lack of action from the Canadian government. As the minister responsible for public safety, he said he will work with the Canadian government, RCMP, and local municipalities to address concerns about the future of contract policing.This ordeal comes after the Alberta RCMP’s commanding officer said in 2022 it has always been willing to work with the government to ensure transparency and accountability in its service delivery and agrees it will work with a provincial police force if it is created.READ MORE: Alberta RCMP said it is willing to work alongside of a government provincial police force“The proposed framework appears to be very similar to the current model of the Alberta RCMP,” said Alberta RCMP Commanding Officer and Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki.“The Alberta RCMP is future focused and flexible, changing as the safety and security needs of Albertans change.”
