National RCMP The union is criticizing what it calls a “misleading” Alberta government commission report calling on Premier Danielle Smith's government to continue steps to phase out the Mounties.
Brian Sauvé, head of the National Police Federation, says: Alberta Next panel is trying to revive a proposal that was already rejected by Albertans.
And he says the commission's report uses outdated references and inaccurate federal policies to justify its position.
The Alberta Next Panel was created and chaired by Smith to gauge public opinion on how to reset the relationship with the federal government.
The commission conducted surveys and face-to-face town hall meetings this year and released its recommendations just before Christmas.
In its Dec. 18 report, it said there were concerns about the effectiveness of federal police and called on the government to continue with plans to transfer the RCMP's public order services to its provincial counterpart. It said in-person opinion polls showed support for scrapping the Red Linemen, while online comments strongly opposed the move.
“Ontario and Quebec have shown how a provincial police service can work alongside the RCMP's federal crime-fighting unit. Alberta is now also a large province and must also take on this core element of self-government,” it said.
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The report notes a decline in recruitment and also states that there are 500 unfilled positions in the police force. That's about one-sixth of the total number of officers the province and municipalities pay Ottawa to provide, the report said.
But there is a “plenty” of candidates for a municipal police force in Grand Prairie, Alta., the report says, using the city of about 70,000 people as an example of why the province can succeed where the federal organization has failed.
The Alberta Next Panel report also said that as Ottawa plans to overhaul its police force, it will divest itself of provincial policing in 2032, when current agreements expire.
Sauvé disagreed with both of these assertions, calling the report “politically motivated” and saying it obscured the reality on the ground.
“This includes outdated references to RCMP staffing issues and mischaracterization of federal policy, despite this federal government recently reaffirming its commitment to contract RCMP police beyond 2032,” Sauvé said in a statement Monday.
Arthur Green, a spokesman for Public Safety and Emergency Services, responded to the union's comments by saying the government has received the commission's recommendations, will review them and that the government is taking action to ensure the province's public safety needs are met.
“Once fully operational, the Alberta Sheriffs' Police Service will help fill gaps, reduce response times, and strengthen and support all law enforcement agencies in the province, including the RCMP, First Nations police services and municipal police,” Green said.
Under the current federal-provincial agreement, the RCMP controls about 20 per cent of Albertans, the report says. For this reason, it is assumed that the issue is too narrowly focused to justify a province-wide referendum.
Alberta RCMP Deputy Commissioner Trevor Daru, in a statement also released Monday, disputed the report's assertion.
Daru said the linemen patrol 95 percent of the province and about 40 percent of its population.
Daru acknowledged that while the RCMP has struggled to recruit and retain officers, it has received more than 4,600 applications since April 2024 and has been working to build up its staff.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
