On September 15, USJE Regional Vice President Valda Behrens and Krysty Thomas, PSAC Alternate Regional Executive Vice President, Prairie Region, met with United Conservative MLA for Lethbridge-East and Minister of Affordability and Utilities, Nathan Neudorf, to discuss the joint PSAC-USJE campaign in support of retaining the RCMP in Alberta.
MLA Neudorf was engaged throughout the meeting as Ms. Behrens and Ms. Thomas highlighted the unique roles and responsibilities of USJE members working as federal public service employees with the RCMP, both in local detachments and at their Regional Headquarters in Edmonton.
In particular, the value of USJE’s members who are truly “boots on the ground” for the RCMP was emphasized. USJE representatives explained that these operational support staff are responsible for a lot of the administrative and day to day operations that enable Regular (Uniformed) Members to spend more time in the field responding to needs in the communities they serve, rather than being office bound.
USJE’s National RCMP campaign’s ServingTogether.ca was also shared, which features compelling profiles of a broad range of USJE members working for the RCMP. A map showing the over 112 RCMP locations in Alberta was provided to illustrate the geographic spread of the RCMP in the province, and to reiterate why USJE sees immense value in the RCMP which has a provincial and national infrastructure that can support RCMP Detachments in more rural and remote areas.
MLA Neudorf noted that through his political role, including participating in screening and security processes, he has visited local RCMP detachments and observed firsthand some of the responsibilities that our USJE members undertake.
Overall, the meeting was viewed as positive and informative by all parties, USJE would like to thank MLA Neudorf for his time and engagement with USJE in regard to this issue.
If you are interested in contacting your MP to talk about USJE and any of its ongoing campaigns, please reach out to your Regional Vice President and/or USJEcommunicationSESJ@psac-afpc.com for information on available tools and support.