By Canadian Press

Alberta hiring staff for feasibility study of replacing RCMP with new force

Sep 11, 2020 | 9:31 AM

EDMONTON – The Alberta government is looking to hire a contractor to study the benefits and costs of a proposed provincial police force that could replace the RCMP.

Online job postings show the province wants the contractor to do a feasibility review of a possible transition from the RCMP to an Alberta Provincial Police Service.

An executive manager, with a salary of up to $164,000, would oversee a team that is to provide an evidence-based and objective assessment of the idea.

The provincial government’s Fair Deal Panel recommended in June the creation of a provincial police force, saying the RCMP has become too bureaucratically inflexible and smaller communities aren’t getting enough front-line officers.

A government website says the new transition study will help the government as it considers the recommendation.

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Blaise Boehmer, an Alberta Justice spokesman, says a final decision on whether to replace the RCMP won’t be made until after a final report based the study is completed by April 30, 2021.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2020.

The Canadian Press