Ellis addresses M.D. concerns over new victim services model

By Heather Cameron
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

During the M.D. of Taber Council meeting that occurred on Sept. 24, Council discussed correspondence from Mike Ellis, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, regarding victim service delivery for the M.D. of Taber.

“We had a motion to try to advocate for Victim Services to remain status quo, that M.D. residents would receive the same level of service and the delivery model from the Town of Taber Victim Services which has been more or less the model for the last 30 years,” said Tamara Miyanaga, Reeve of the M.D. of Taber. “Minister Ellis said that we could not continue with that, and MD of Taber residents will be served by the regional model.”

Minister Ellis’s letter established that the Government of Alberta is completing the final stages of implementation for a new regional governance model for RCMP-based Victim Services that has seen funding, and operations slowly transition from approximately 60 society-governed victim service units (VSUs), all operating independently of one another, to four integrated regional victim-serving societies (RVSSs) all operating collaboratively.

“Each of the RVSS’s employs a centralized professional support staff to perform core administrative functions and provide strategic, supervisory, and logistical support to front-line personnel,” said Minister Ellis’s letter. 

Minister Ellis’s letter also explained that within the new regional model, all front-line services will remain decentralized, and victim and court support navigators will continue to be collocated with police officers in local RCMP detachments to ensure direct supports to victims in the immediate aftermath of a crime or tragedy.

“Navigators will also provide support through the ensuing criminal justice system processes, manage a team of local volunteer advocates, and engage with the community and community partners,” said Minister Ellis’s letter.

Ellis states that the new delivery model for Victim Services in Alberta also includes direct funding for Victim Services to municipalities and Indigenous nations that operate their own police services and choose to offer services to victims of crime and tragedy under the governance of their parent municipal or Indigenous police agency. 

Previously, Ellis stated, nine of Alberta’s municipal and First Nations police agencies operated their own Victims Services Unit, whereas the municipal police agencies in Taber, Camrose, and Lacombe received services from a local society-governed Victims Services Unit. 

“All three have since chosen to receive direct funding and are now in line with other municipal and Indigenous run police agencies,” stated Minister Ellis’s letter.

The Southern Alberta Regional Victim Serving Society (SARVSS) assumed full operations across the region on October 1 and the new Taber Police Service (TPS) Victims Services Unit agreed to provide services for the RCMP detachment area of Taber-Vauxhall until the Southern Alberta Regional Victim Serving Society (SARVSS) assumed full operations across the region, something that the new Taber Police Service (TPS) VSU began doing in July 2023.

Provincial funding to Taber, and the operational capacity to provide victim services to the Taber area, increased substantially in the new model, facilitating a total of six part-time positions, Ellis explained.

“The new provincial model for victim services requires that all funded partners enter into partnership agreements with each other,” explained Minister Ellis’s letter. “This will ensure a cooperative relationship between Southern Alberta Regional Victim Serving Society (SARVSS) and Taber Police Service (TPS) to further enhance capacity and ensure victims receive services whether they are in the Town of Taber or in the Municipal District of Taber.”

A motion was made to accept the consent agenda, which the letter from Minister Ellis was included in, and the motion was carried.