WHEREAS the Alberta-Canada Provincial Police Service Agreement (PPSA) establishes a federal financial contribution to policing in Alberta constituting 30% of total provincial policing costs; and

WHEREAS, if the PPSA were to be cancelled, the Government of Alberta and municipalities would have to absorb the 30% of costs paid by the Government of Canada; and

WHEREAS the new provincial police funding model increases front line policing costs for urban municipalities with populations less than 5,000 and all rural municipalities; and

WHEREAS direct consultation with municipalities regarding the creation of an Alberta provincial police service (APPS) has been limited; and

WHEREAS it is not apparent that the benefits of an APPS will outweigh the possible financial strain it will place on municipalities and the province;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Rural Municipalities of Alberta advocate to the Government of Alberta in opposition of the creation of an Alberta provincial police service to replace the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The formation of an Alberta provincial police service (APPS) would affect every municipality in the province, and especially those in rural areas. The County of Warner’s positive working relationship with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) detachments within our County prompts us to advocate for the continued support of an RCMP presence in Alberta, and for each municipality to work with their local detachments to improve communication and to ensure community input in priority setting and crime reporting.

The investigation into creating an APPS is based on Recommendation 14 of Alberta’s Fair Deal Panel (FDP) Final Report presented in May 2020. Cancelling the current Alberta-Canada Provincial Police Service Agreement would result in the loss of the federal cost sharing portion of 30% of current RCMP funding, which is $112.4 million annually according to the FDP Final Report. This contribution would have to be fully or partially absorbed by the province and municipalities. To urban municipalities with populations less than 5,000 and all rural municipalities this cost would come in addition to current increases in contributions to policing costs under the new police funding model. There will likely also be extra costs to the transfer of administrative and oversight responsibilities, training facilities, an IT system, and other unforeseen costs.

The transition study report by PriceWaterhouseCooper is expected to be completed by April 30th, 2021, and in June 2021 cabinet is expected to make the decision whether to proceed or not with additional studies, analyses, and stakeholder engagement. Considering the current timeline, now is the time to proactively take a stronger stance on the issue of creating an APPS, before the next steps are set in motion. Further studies and analyses would only cost more money.

RMA has no active resolutions directly related to this issue.