Tell Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis and the Alberta Government that keeping the RCMP is the right way to go
On April 7, 2025, Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis tabled Bill 49, Public Safety and Emergency Services Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, which would create a new provincial police force to replace the role that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) plays in many communities.
If Minister Ellis and Premier Smith choose to go down this path, this could result in a major disruption to policing services in Alberta in the short term and potential job losses for nearly 900 members of USJE who provide crucial operational support as public service employees with the RCMP throughout the province.
The government’s main argument is that a newly established provincial police force would be most efficient and cost effective. However, an independent report completed by PricewaterhouseCoopers doesn’t share the same conclusion on costing. In addition, it is very unlikely that the federal government would continue providing the current $170 million in funding to the Government of Alberta to offset policing costs if it severed its relationship with the RCMP.
Further, according to past polls, most Albertans do not want to sever their ties with the RCMP. A recent survey from National Police Federation, the labour union representing uniformed RCMP members, highlighted that 80 per cent of respondents living in areas policed by the RCMP were very or somewhat satisfied with the service they received.
Notably, the president of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta has recently said that their primary concern is “not the colour of the badge” but immediately responding to the lack of EMS coverage in more remote areas of the province.
USJE recognizes that there are always ways to improve policing. We encourage you to take a moment to send a letter to your local Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta to tell them that the RCMP in Alberta provided an essential service, and we would like to see service improvements, not the abandonment of the force.
Send a letter now!
