The Mounties will have a home in Alberta for the next 20 years, after the province inked a new deal with the police force on Friday.
After four years of negotiations, Solicitor General Frank Oberle and federal justice minister Vic Toews signed the deal, with Premier Ed Stelmach looking on at the RCMP headquarters in Edmonton.
Stelmach said he was pleased to see the deal finalized. He said the RCMP is part of Alberta's history and will be part of its future.
"Looking around and seeing the RCMP officers in their red serge uniforms reminds me of how important the RCMP is to who we are as Canadians and Albertans," he said. "This uniform has been a symbol, a symbol of what is great about our province and what is great about our country."
Alberta is the first of several provinces involved in negotiations to officially renew the contract. Toews thanked everyone who had worked on the agreement and said he expected other provinces would follow close behind.
"I fully anticipate that we will move forward rapidly to finalize agreements with the remaining provinces and territories on the basis of the model with Alberta," he said.
Toews said he has visited RCMP detachments over the summer, meeting with officers, and he has been impressed with their professionalism.
"The RCMP is a vital national institution recognized around the world as a symbol of who we are as Canadians and what we represent."
The deal would be good for officers and for Albertans, he added.
"Today's announcement is good news for the RCMP officers who serve their communities with professionalism and dedication and good news for Albertans who rely on the RCMP," he said.
Deal details
The deal reconstitutes a cost-sharing agreement where the province pays 70 per cent of the costs and the federal government the other 30 per cent.
The deal is more of a 'live contract' that will help both parties plan, Oberle said.
"The rest of the agreement is more of a framework. It doesn't say how many officers will be provided. It talks about how we will determine that," he said.
He said both sides got what they wanted.
"It is a fair deal for both, it establishes a modern relationship built on consultation, respect for each other's roles and responsibilities and an understanding of each other's needs."
The agreement also gives Albertans an ownership stake in any RCMP infrastructure in the province. Oberle said this could be used in the future to convert former detachments into community centres or other facilities.
The 20-year deal comes just a month and a half before Stelmach is set to step down. Oberle said the entire PC caucus supports a provincial police force.
"I am not aware of any sentiment for a provincial police force other than the RCMP. This is an iconic symbol and an excellent police force," he said.
RCMP deputy commissioner Dale McGowan said the province's decision to sign on is a relief for RCMP members.
"It puts them to rest in terms of that question, that lingering question, it is established that for the next 20 years it will be the RCMP," he said.
McGowan said there was never a major concern the province wouldn't sign, but now the force can focus solely on the job ahead.
Local impact
There are 43 communities in Alberta, including both St. Albert and Morinville that contract their policing services with the RCMP.
Chris Jardine, St. Albert's general manager of community and protective services, said the provincial agreement is essentially the blueprint for the city's own deal and there is a limit to what St. Albert can change.
"We really just take the one the province has negotiated for us," he said. "Basically, where we can exercise any type of latitude is around the number of police officers we wish to contract."
St. Albert could in theory contract with another force or start its own police force, but Jardine said the RCMP provides excellent value and policing.
"From previous analysis and work that I have done, unless a municipality has extremely unique policing circumstances, the relationship with the RCMP is actually a fairly good and economical way to provide policing service."
