No doubt, with all of the political noise around policing in our province, it’s hard to tell what Albertans actually believe. According to the National Police Federation, 78 per cent of Albertans see no reason to change policing models. Ultimately, Albertans care about strong public safety outcomes, efficiently delivered, and most municipalities seem very keen to build on what is already working well with the RCMP.
It’s crucial that our elected leaders have a candid conversation, not play politics, with Albertans about how to strengthen the police forces we already have, including the RCMP, which has had a major foothold in Alberta for over 100 years.
While Calgary and Edmonton do have their own police forces, outside of these cities, overwhelmingly, it is the RCMP that responds to emergencies, lays charges for major crimes, including in highly sensitive areas such as sex trafficking, child pornography, and the illicit drug trade.
The nationally based Union of Safety and Justice Employees (USJE)—which represents over 17,000 federal public safety employees, including several thousand that work for the RCMP throughout the country—has launched a campaign in Alberta to oppose the provincial government’s potential plans to sever ties with the RCMP in favour of a proposed provincial police force.
Union of Safety and Justice Employees
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