New from me.

Alberta is exploring the idea of establishing a provincial police force. What are the motivations behind this move, how much is it going to cost, and do Albertans even want it?

#yeg #ableg

Alberta currently pays $262.4 million for its RCMP service, with the feds paying $112.4 million annually in a 70-30 split. This is the prime concern for Alberta’s small towns and cities.

“We could be saddled with some immense costs going forward without federal contributions.”
Dr. Laura Huey, a criminologist at the University of Western Ontario, estimates the cost is likely to be in the billions.

"I’m not convinced necessarily that people understand and appreciate how enormous those costs are, and that those costs are ongoing and forever.”
In the end, it all comes down to cost versus control, Dr. Huey argues. But with increased control comes the risk of politicization, an issue that concerns NDP Justice critic Irfan Sabir.

“I think the province shouldn’t be controlling directly how these police forces operate."
So why is Alberta pursuing this? Autonomy from Ottawa seems to be the largest driving factor.

Derek Fildebrandt, former MLA for Strathmore-Brooks and publisher of the Western Standard, suggests the UCP are in search of a “legacy project” to hang its hat on. #ableg
In October polling conducted on behalf of the National Police Federation (NPF), 81% saying they were satisfied with RCMP policing.

“The majority of respondents thought it wasn’t important at all and shouldn’t be a priority — it’s actually quite overwhelming."
50% of respondents said Alberta should stay the course when it comes to RCMP policing, 36% supported retaining the RCMP with significant improvements and 6% supported outright replacing the RCMP with an Alberta police service.
Paul McLauchlin, a county councillor and reeve for the central Alberta town of Ponoka, says at any given time he's 30 minutes from a police officer and the issue of rural crime is still very real, and ongoing.

https://t.co/e2hX4L2Jkj
However, he remains unconvinced that an APP — with all its added costs — is the right step.

"...all I’m hearing about is “screw Ottawa” and that makes no sense. This isn’t us versus them, or us versus Ottawa … We’re not solving anything by throwing mud at each other."
I could keep going with this thread, but I won't. It's a 2,500-word story and I can't highlight everything. Give it a read if you have time today.

https://t.co/wwQohkl739

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