Public Safety Minister Alberta RCMP raises concerns about vacancies

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Alberta's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services says action is needed to address the lack of police presence in some rural Alberta areas.

Mike Ellis said Monday that vacancy rates in Alberta's RCMP detachments are an ongoing concern for the provincial government.

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The Alberta RCMP officer vacancy rate is 21.6 percent, Ellis said. The federal government authorized 1,911 officers for Alberta, but the province only has 1,498 officers, a shortfall of 413 officers.

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“Make no mistake, we're paying for these services — over 400 vacant RCMP officer positions for boots that don't exist,” Ellis said Monday during an online roundtable with rural media.

Of those vacancies, 177 officers are “on leave of some sort,” costing Alberta taxpayers $16 million, Ellis said.

“We're paying $16 million for services we didn't receive,” he said. “I have to respond to calls for police officers on the street.”

The Alberta government's 2024 budget includes $377.8 million in RCMP funding, which is $21 million more than last year, he said.

The RCMP is dealing with recruitment issues across Canada, but has tried to address the needs of young Canadians who may be interested in becoming police officers, Ellis said.

“But it will take some time,” he said. “There are some areas in Alberta that don't have 24-hour coverage. That's unacceptable, so I'm trying to do what I can to think outside the box to meet those needs.”

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Ellis, a former Calgary police officer, said no matter where someone lives in Alberta, they should expect a police officer to arrive in a timely manner.

“Unfortunately, that's not always the case, especially in rural Alberta,” he said.

Bill 11 seeks to create an “independent agency police service”: Ellis

In March, the legislative body introduced draft law 11 of 2024, amendments to the Public Safety Regulations. If passed, it would update legislation to create what the province calls an “independent police service,” with Alberta sheriff's peace officers trained to the level of police officer so they can “appropriately augment and support” the RCMP and other police services. services in the province, Ellis said.

“We need to get away from the idea that just one police service can solve some of the problems we face today,” he said.

“The outreach and support we're doing with the sheriffs is that when you're in rural Alberta and you call 911, there's a sheriff five minutes away and an RCMP member an hour and a half to two hours away, you're sure to want a police officer five minutes away to help you.”

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Alberta sheriffs are already on police duty, Ellis said, adding that some are ALERT members and others are on gang suppression teams.

Critics see the move as an attempt to replace the RCMP with Alberta's provincial police service.

Ellis said the federal Department of Public Safety Canada does not want to continue with contract policing.

“It would be remiss of me if I wasn't prepared for any type of scenario,” Ellis said, noting that “signal check” during the announcement Friday that the province will give southern Alberta a $550,000 annual police grant. City of Coaldale, which has not received federal police funding despite an RCMP contract.

“If that's not signal testing, I don't know what is,” Ellis said.

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