Commentary
In March of this year, Public Safety Canada released a report titled “A New Policing Vision for Canada: Modernizing the RCMP.” Among the many suggestions within the report, one said that “the federal government should be committed to working closely with provinces to support a transition away from contract policing.” The government feels the time has come to turn the RCMP into a more federally focused force and move away from rural and provincial police services.
As with many bold policy proposals, the issue is unlikely to escape partisan politics.
On July 2, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith held a press conference to announce an expansion of the Alberta sheriff’s service into the role of a provincial force. While she didn’t expressly say the role of the expanded force was to replace the RCMP, she did say municipalities could choose to replace the contracted RCMP services with the provincial sheriffs. Opposition NDP public safety critic David Shepherd lambasted the move and said creating a provincial police force was “a zombie idea” that Albertans have repeatedly spoken against. NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said the new force was one that nobody wants and which would cost billions, though he didn’t explain why he thought it would cost so much….