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Preamble:
WHEREAS the Police Act and Police Amendment Act provide that small and rural communities served by the RCMP under the Provincial Police Service Agreement will be represented on a provincial board that will make recommendations on province-wide policing priorities; and
WHEREAS the Alberta Interim Police Advisory Board (AIPAB) was created in 2020 to provide recommendations towards the implementation of an operational board to replace the interim board; and
WHEREAS on January 29, 2021, the AIPAB provided the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General with recommendations for the new Provincial Police Advisory Board’s recruitment, governance structure and term; and
WHEREAS on December 22, 2021, the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General acknowledged the intent to collaborate with AIPAB to establish the board, proposing a governance structure that aligns with a four-year term, consistent with the Police Funding Regulation expiring on March 31, 2025; and
WHEREAS to date, the Government of Alberta has not implemented the operational Provincial Police Advisory Board;
Operative Clause:
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Rural Municipalities of Alberta advocate to the Government of Alberta to implement the operational Provincial Police Advisory Board to ensure small and rural communities served by the RCMP under the Provincial Police Service Agreement are equally and fairly represented.
Member Background:
The Police Funding Regulation (PFR) under the Police Act (PA) requires that every municipality be invoiced for RCMP policing services as per a cost formula described in the Regulation. More recently, changes to the PA came with a commitment from the Government of Alberta to establish measures to enhance police transparency, accountability and civilian involvement and to establish a provincial police advisory board to represent small and rural communities served under the Provincial Police Service Agreement (PPSA).
Subsequently, the PA was amended by the Police Amendment Act, 2022 (PAA). A key reform under this legislation is for greater collaboration with communities by mandating police to develop community safety plans and report annually on their progress (PAA Section 31(1)).
Another key reform in the legislation is enhanced civilian governance capabilities with the creation of formal governance bodies for all communities. Large communities served by the RCMP under a Municipal Police Service Agreement are represented by committees or commissions. Small and rural communities served under PPSA are represented by a new operational board, the Provincial Police Advisory Board (PAA Section 28.01).
To prepare for these legislative changes, the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General established an interim board in 2020, called the Alberta Police Interim Advisory Board (APIAB) which was made up of members from the Alberta Association of Police Governance, Alberta Municipalities (formerly Alberta Urban Municipalities Association) and Rural Municipalities of Alberta, to represent municipalities served under the PPSA. The APIAB’s mandate was to provide a report with recommendations on provincial policing priorities, RCMP ‘K’ Division multi-year financial plan, and a governance structure and scope for the new operational board by January 31, 2021.
Upon receipt of the completed report, the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General indicated the intent for the ministry to work with the AIPAB to implement the operational board within the context of the Minister’s governance decisions. As noted in the Minister’s correspondence, AR48941, “…the operational board would be in place for a four-year term to align with the five-year period of the Police Funding Regulation (PFR). The interim and operational board were intended to be in place during the same five-year period as the PFR, and to have the board’s purpose and existence reviewed along with the police funding model and other PFR provisions prior to the end of the PFR five- year term.”
The PFR is set to expire March 31, 2025, and yet, to date, this intent has not been filled.
While Clearwater County certainly applauds the province’s efforts to date, we strongly encourage the Government of Alberta to move forward with establishing the Provincial Police Advisory Board without delay.
Click here to view the APIAB report and the Minister’s associated correspondence.
RMA Background:
RMA has no active resolutions directly related to this issue.
Alberta Public Safety and Emergency Services
As you are aware, the Police Amendment Act, 2022 (PAA), which is intended to improve police accountability and enhance public confidence by reforming policing practices and strengthening ties to the community, received Royal Assent in December 2022. These changes include the creation of a permanent PPAB that will enable small and rural communities served by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) under the Provincial Police Service Agreement to make recommendations on provincewide policing priorities. Additional work is required to implement these changes to police governance and oversight, including regulations related to the establishment of the PPAB.
My department is taking careful steps to ensure the needs of communities that will be represented by the PPAB are considered in developing regulations and implementing changes to RCMP governance. Earlier this fall, we engaged the Rural Municipalities of Alberta, along with other police governance stakeholders, to gather insights on effective community engagement as we move forward with regulatory development. We plan to engage in early 2024 with communities and stakeholders impacted by these changes to help us define the regulations necessary for establishing these civilian governance bodies.
We acknowledge the conclusion of the interim board’s term and are actively working to ensure the timely establishment of the permanent PPAB, along with a well-planned transition.
Development:
The response from Alberta Public Safety and Emergency Services (PSES) emphasized the need for a Provincial Police Advisory Board (PPAB) that adequately represents the needs of communities across the province. The Government of Alberta informed RMA in December 2024 that that the PPAB will begin in March 2025. It will include representatives from RMA, ABmunis, the Alberta Association of Police Governance, five community representatives, and several Indigenous representatives.
RMA has been part of the Interim Police Advisory Board (IPAB) since it was formed several years ago. One of the primary purposes of the IPAB was to develop a governance and recruitment structure for a permanent board; work which the IPAB completed but which was subsequently rejected by the former Minister. Since then, there has been very little ministry engagement and no recognition of the recommendations that the IPAB has put forward. IPAB will hold its last meeting in early 2025, prior to PPAB’s commencement.
In March 2024, RMA prepared a submission for the Government of Alberta’s engagement related to developing Police Act regulations to allow for the implementation of the PPAB. Specific input included:
RMA’s key concern about the PPAB is that a single board may be unable to effectively represent the concerns and priorities of the approximately 300 municipalities that receive policing through Provincial Police Services Agreement. Additionally, PPAB has not provided effective answers about the groups purpose. Given RMA’s continued concerns around representation, RMA assigns this resolution a status of Intent Not Met and will re-evaluate the resolution status when the PPAB is officially operational.
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