The red serge will remain watchful in Alberta after the province initiated a move to extend its provincial policing contract with the RCMP until 2032.
The current contract with the RCMP is set to expire in 2012, but the province forwarded a proposed extension to Ottawa this week.
The extension would continue the current cost-sharing arrangement with the federal government picking up 30 per cent of policing cost to Alberta’s 70 per cent.
Christine Nardella, a spokesperson with the Alberta Solicitor General and Public Security, said the province has no firm timetable for when Ottawa will approve the contract, but they hope it will be soon.
“It is totally out of our hands,” she said. “Obviously we would like to see it done as soon as possible.”
Nardella said the contract follows the same cost-sharing formula as the previous version and the federal government has been involved in negotiations.
The new contract provides added emphasis on information sharing, planning and reporting, but further details won’t be available until the contract is formally approved, she said.
With the provincial-federal aspect of the deal under way, individual municipalities can now look at RCMP contract extensions.
“The have the go ahead now to go start.”
The RCMP provides policing services to 43 Alberta municipalities that have more than 5,000 residents. Those contracts are arranged directly between the individual municipalities and the RCMP.
The province handles contracts and costs for municipalities with fewer than 5,000 residents.
That arrangement has caused some concern, especially from municipalities slightly over the 5,000-resident threshold that face large policing bills.
Nardella said the province is not currently considering any changes to that arrangement and noted municipalities do get grant dollars to help cover those policing costs.
