Municipalities continue to bash provincial police force proposal

More municipalities are speaking out against the government's plan to eventually replace the RCMP with a provincial police force.

The idea has been drawing criticism since it was first proposed, but recent talk of further changing the policing model is attracting even more ire across Alberta Saturday.

"I just have a lot of worry that it's going to be much more expensive than they believe themselves," Strathmore mayor Pat Fule said. "We've worked really hard with our detachment, and we have a really solid group of officers. Why would we want a change?"

The province proposed a plan this week that would add more officers to rural and remote communities. It also revealed a new report showing the potential advantages of a shift, pointing to successes in both Quebec and Ontario.

The government is convinced it can increase service levels and personalize policing by moving to an Alberta-only force.

Experts still have their doubts.

"The assumption that most of these officers would stay if they were given the opportunity, I think has to be tested out," said Doug King, Mount Royal University justice studies professor. "Retaining these people for a (supposed) lower salary will be a tall task."

While staffing levels have been talked about at length, the cost is still the focus of most pundits.

A move away from the RCMP would jeopardize roughly $170 million annually in federal funding.

Kickstarting the project would also carry a hefty fee. A report released in October by PricewaterhouseCoopers suggests the price tag to transition away from the RCMP would be about $366 million initially, with annual costs of around $734 million.

Justice Minister Tyler Shandro called funding a "red herring" on Tuesday while pitching the idea.

King sees it differently.

"They've said to municipalities that they won't pay anything more," he told CTV News. "So either (officer) salaries will be lower, or big cities will have to pay. There's a lot of wishful thinking going on."

The Rural Municipalities of Alberta have previously opposed the proposal to move away from the RCMP.

"Based on the arguments provided by the province so far, there's simply no evidence that a switch to a provincial police service will be worth the cost and disruption," reads a letter sent by the group to Shandro in April.

And the mayor of Nanton also threw her hat in the RCMP ring this week, tweeting that rural leaders do not want an Alberta police force.

No final decisions have been made.