UCP says Coaldale’s push for federal RCMP funding shows need to consider provincial police service

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Justice Minister Tyler Shandro says an Alberta town’s effort to get federal RCMP funding shows why the province needs to look at paying for its own police service.

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In a Monday news release, the provincial government said the Town of Coaldalewith a population of 8,691, is the only small town in Canada that has to pay 100 per cent of the costs for RCMP policing, rather than 70 per cent.

Shandro accused the federal government of discriminating against the small town.

“This is yet another example of why Alberta needs to consider adopting a provincial police service. The federal government’s administration of policing is incompetent,” he said.

Coaldale Mayor Jack Van Rijn told Postmedia that council is open to discussions about an Alberta provincial police service because if the province is offering to pay 30 per cent of policing costs, the town can’t say no.

“Our hands are tied, and I’m looking for a way of resolving this situation,” he said, adding Coaldale has been on the hook for close to $460,000 per year — costs he expect will grow.

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“We need that money… Why are we the only municipality in all of Canada that finds ourselves in this situation?” he said, adding the nine RCMP members in Coaldale “are doing an excellent job.”

The UCP has not made a final decision on whether it will move to create a provincial police service but, in the Monday news release, promised if it did, it would fund the federal government’s portion for Coaldale “throughout the transition period.”

According to a study released by the provincial government in October, dumping the RCMP for a provincial police force could cost Alberta approximately $200 million more per year and the transition could cost at least $366 million.

Premier Jason Kenney has said if the province goes ahead with the idea, those costs won’t be downloaded onto municipalities. Still, the idea has been rejected by Alberta Municipalities and the Rural Municipalities of Alberta.

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In a Monday letter to federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, Shandro argued that a 1992 rule ending the federal subsidy for communities that were never policed ​​by the RCMP should not cut Coaldale off from the same cost-sharing agreement provided to other RCMP-policed ​​municipalities with similar populations.

Coaldale was policed ​​by the RCMP before it formed its own police service in 1954. Then, it contracted Lethbridge police from 2004 to 2015 but, in 2016, a local RCMP detachment was established under a municipal policing agreement. Coaldale is 16 km east of Lethbridge.

Van Rijn said the town has been fighting for more than eight years to draw attention to the issue, and the former federal Conservative government acknowledged the historical RCMP presence in Coaldale, but progress on the issue hit a wall when the Liberals took power in Ottawa in 2015.

Since then, Van Rijn said the federal government has been unwilling to discuss the issue with the town.

Alexander Cohen, a spokesman for Mendicino’s office, said in a brief statement to Postmedia the minister has received Shandro’s letter.

“We look forward to working with our provincial and municipal colleagues to ensure that all residents of Coaldale are supported,” he stated.

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