ABmunis in the News: Q2, 2022

As the unified voice of our members, Alberta Municipalities works hard to bring attention to our members’ priorities. Alberta Municipalities was often in the news in the second quarter (Q2) of 2022, representing the interests of our member communities in which 85% of Albertans live and bringing public attention to the issues facing Alberta’s communities. 

Possible creation of an Alberta Provincial Police Service (APPS)

• Alberta Municipalities President Cathy Heron spoke about the impact provincial policies could have on municipalities and why the organization opposes creating a provincial police force when she appeared on a Municipal World podcast in late-April.
• Alberta Municipalities has repeatedly urged the provincial government to address the root causes of crime and improve resources within the criminal justice system, a fact that Alberta’s news media is well aware of. When a report was released at the end of April by the National Police Federation (NPF) saying that only 9% of Albertans support transitioning to a provincial police force, the Red Deer Advocate was clear on Alberta Municipalities’ position.
• Also, the Red Deer Advocate ran an editorial on June 17 that criticized Justice Minister Tyler Shandro's "unnecessary attack on the RCMP", noting that both Alberta Municipalities and Rural Municipalities of Alberta oppose eliminating the force.
• Justice Minister Shandro announced on June 20 he would continue consulting with municipalities over a provincial force. He said the province intends to continue consulting with small and medium-sized communities about creating a provincial police force.

Alberta’s troubled Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system

• “We have a system that is spiraling out of control where you can’t retain paramedics; you can’t attract them,” said President Heron on the May 12 episode of Ryan Jespersen’s podcast, Real Talk. “We’ve got ambulances that cannot be staffed. So, it’s not just the dispatch part of the system; it’s an entire systemic issue with ambulances,” she said.
• The Alberta NDP determined that St. Albert ambulances responded to more calls in Edmonton than in St. Albert in 2021. President Heron, who serves as St. Albert’s mayor, has accompanied EMS personnel in the past. She said the NDP’s findings confirm what she experienced on her ride-alongs, but changes to EMS dispatching made in February 2022 will correct the issue by sending ambulances only to extreme-level calls outside the jurisdiction.

Future of Municipal Government (FOMG) Project

• "There is no one-size-fits-all approach to organizing local governments in Alberta," wrote Zachary Spicer, author of Organizing Canadian Local Government. His paper – the first in a series of papers being written as part of Alberta Municipalities’ Future of Municipal Government (FOMG) project, in partnership with the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy – examines and compares municipal governance models across Canada. 
• The second FOMG paper concludes that immigration, jobs, and access to healthcare services are crucial to maintaining and growing municipal populations throughout Alberta. Author Kevin McQuillan from the University of Alberta’s School of Public Policy notes that smaller, more remote communities in our province face an existential crisis. Ultimately, Alberta needs a strategy to reverse stagnation in its aging rural areas.

Summer Municipal Leaders’ Caucus meetings

• Alberta Municipalities held one of its four Summer Municipal Leaders’ Caucus meetings in Medicine Hat on June 21. About three dozen municipal officials from across Southern Alberta met to discuss topics like policing, ambulance response times and infrastructure funding.