More details to come for Alberta Provincial Police Force

By Cole Parkinson

Taber Times

As talks continue to swirl around adopting a provincial police force, Taber-Warner MLA Grant Hunter says more details still need to be finalized before bringing the plan to Albertans.
The government has done numerous studies about potentially transitioning to a provincial police force, but Hunter feels there needs to be a solid plan in place before anything is decided. In speaking with constituents across Taber-Warner, Hunter explains not everyone is in favour of replacing the RCMP.
“Certainly, I’m hearing they aren’t in favour of it. I don’t know if that is fully what all of the people in my riding are feeling, but again, we haven’t done our value proposition. We haven’t come to Albertans and said ‘this is why we should do it. This is the cost and the benefit.’ Until we actually present that properly, I think we need to continue to consult,” he said.
According to the provincial government’s website, talks around a new provincial police force came up due to Albertans’ concerns around policing back in 2019 and 2020. “Replacing the RCMP with an Alberta provincial police service was a recommendation of the Fair Deal Panel to address Albertans’ concerns heard during public consultations in 2019 and 2020,” reads the website.
PwC Canada was then hired in October 2020 to conduct a study and develop a proposed policing model. The final study presented by PwC is 100 pages. PwC’s transition study was completed in a five-phase approach from October 2020 to April 30, 2021, and the five phases were ‘Envision a fit for Alberta Police Service’, ‘Define the current state capabilities, operations, and cost’, ‘Define the future model and operations’, ‘Build the roadmap to an “Event Free Day One”, and ‘Set the Foundation’.
All studies can be found at https://www.alberta.ca/provincial-police-service-engagement.aspx
“There’s been three studies done so far by a third party. I think they will do another study as well, so stay tuned on that. Those three studies can be pulled off the Internet and they’re readily available on the Solicitor General website. You can get that information and if you can’t find that, you can call my office and Angela can all that information up for them,” added Hunter.
If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on the provincial police, you can email jsg.appstransitionstudy@gov.ab.ca