Alberta halting pursuit of provincial police force

The Alberta government is no longer formally pursuing its plan to dump the RCMP in favour of a new provincial police force.

However, Justice Minister Mickey Amery said Tuesday the idea is not dead and his department will continue to consult with Albertans on where they want to go with policing.

Earlier Tuesday, Premier Danielle Smith delivered her mandate letter to Amery, outlining his goals and priorities as the new justice minister.

A day earlier, she sent a mandate letter to the other minister in charge of law-and-order issues, Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis.

Neither letter directed them to create a provincial police force, a move that would replace the Mounties in communities that don't already have their own officers.

The Alberta police force option has been studied and touted by the United Conservative Party government for years, but it has faced opposition — including from municipalities — over concerns on cost, implementation and staffing. Public opinion polls have consistently suggested a majority of Albertans do not support a new province-wide force.

Curtis Zablocki, the RCMP's commanding officer in Alberta, also said last year that the looming possibility of a new provincial police force had been "disruptive and distracting" for Alberta RCMP members, and it was hurting morale and community trust in police.

As recently as last November, the provincial police plan was a priority when Smith sent mandate letters to her first cabinet.

But in May, Smith declined to campaign on the provincial police plan during the provincial election, saying the issue would be revisited after polling day while adding, "Our sheriffs, for instance, are doing a great job."

Amery was asked twice Tuesday in an interview to clarify the status of the provincial police force, explain why it was no longer in the mandate letters and state if it was reasonable to conclude the plan was shelved.

"I would simply say to you that we are going to continue to listen to Albertans, to learn about their needs and their challenges and their concerns, and then bring that back to [cabinet] and to caucus for further contemplation," he responded.

Rural municipalities respond

Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) president Paul McLauchlin said Tuesday that he sees Amery's mandate letter as a step in the right direction.

"I represent a pretty frugal bunch of folks that are pretty fiscally conservative. They want to see something that would cause results. And would changing the police force really change crime? Changing patches and changing car colours — we know that that's not the issue," he said.

The RMA officially declared their opposition to the idea last year. McLauchlin said a lot of energy has gone toward advocating against a provincial police force when he'd rather talk about bail reform, or the need for integrated mental health and addictions supports.

He's also the reeve of Ponoka County, an area roughly 80 kilometres south of Edmonton, where he said people look at the idea of replacing the RCMP and think, "What a waste of time."

"I expect that at the doorsteps, a lot of those rural MLAs were told, based on especially from the polling we've done ... that this is just not something that resonates."

New mandate letters for the ministers of justice and public safety place a renewed emphasis on more front-line resources to interdict gang activity, battle border smuggling and reduce crime rates.

Amery's letter directs him to "implement a strategy to ensure violent criminals and gang members are detained and effectively prosecuted."

His office is also to work with Ellis to create "a specialized prosecution unit to address deteriorating safety in Alberta's major urban centres."

The Opposition NDP said the United Conservative government is fighting the symptoms of crime but not doing enough to fight the underlying problem, including housing, harm reduction, mental health supports and addiction treatment.

NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir also said he's waiting to hear the premier "unequivocally" declare that her government is no longer pursuing a new provincial police force.

"It's a costly initiative ... and there is no evidence that it will help us address the issues that are facing the whole justice system," he said.

Advice on ethics

Another part of Amery's mandate letter flows from an earlier request from Smith to have him provide her with advice on how to deal with the justice system.

This request came after the ethics commissioner found in May that Smith contravened the Conflicts of Interest Act in her interactions with the minister of justice and attorney general at the time in relation to criminal charges faced by Calgary street preacher Artur Pawlowski.

Smith has since apologized publicly.

Her mandate letter to Amery broadens her original direction to now include advice on how all cabinet ministers — not just Smith — should interact with the Justice Department.

Asked why it was being broadened to all cabinet ministers, Amery said, "Because I think it's important that all cabinet ministers and government caucus members understand that transparency and accountability is of fundamental importance to this government and to myself."