National President David Neufeld joined Regional Vice-President (RVP) Valda Behrens and USJE member Deborah Wiens in Red Deer, Alberta, on May 6, for a meeting with Alberta Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange to discuss the importance of keeping the RCMP in Alberta.
USJE is firmly opposed to Premier Jason Kenney’s suggested plan to replace the RCMP with a provincial police force. His final decision is expected sometime this spring. In Alberta, USJE represents over 700 RCMP members, whose jobs are at risk if there is a transition to a provincial force. USJE’s RCMP members play a critical role in providing frontline services and operational support to frontline services.
David, Valda, and Deborah, a member of Local 20065 Red Deer RCMP and past president of Local 30010 Edmonton RCMP, discussed with Minister LaGrange (MLA for Red Deer North) the independent report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers commissioned by the province, which shows that a provincial police force would not necessarily be more efficient and cost effective.
They also referred to the National Police Federation’s recent report Your Police – Your Future: Listening to Albertans, which also outlines the importance of keeping the RCMP in Alberta and shared Valda’s April 11th op-ed in the Calgary Herald on the importance of the RCMP to Alberta communities.
Deborah spoke about her experiences as a frontline worker at the Sylvan Lake Detachment, just east of Red Deer, and spoke about how important the RCMP is to the safety of Albertans across the province. She shared her pride in her role as detachment supervisor at Sylvan Lake and spoke of the high level of service that the RCMP provide Albertans.
Minister LaGrange was interested to know more about USJE’s position on keeping the RCMP in Alberta. After the meeting, USJE sent her the reports in order to keep her engaged on this important issue.
While in Red Deer for the meeting, David and Valda took the opportunity to visit the Sylvan Lake Detachment and talk with workers there.
For more on USJE’s campaign to keep the RCMP in Alberta, visit our website AlbertansForRCMP.ca. Albertans can show their support for our RCMP members in Alberta by adding their names to the USJE letter-writing campaign.
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