The union representing thousands of RCMP members, including 3,500 in Alberta, has accused Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis of making misleading statements about the Alberta RCMP to support Bill 49.
But Ellis fired back, saying the organization is out of touch with Albertans.
In a public letter, the National Police Federation criticized Ellis for comments made in the legislature on April 10, claiming he misrepresented RCMP staffing, 911 response times, and operations at detachments like Peace River.
“We are deeply disappointed, yet not surprised, by the continued pattern of broadcasting misinformation and politically motivated rhetoric regarding the Alberta RCMP to justify the replacement of Alberta’s provincial police service without evidence, need, or consultation,” said NPF president and CEO Brian Sauvé in the letter.
Introduced on April 7, Bill 49, the Provincial Priorities Act, proposes establishing a new policing agency as a Crown corporation, allowing municipalities to choose it over the RCMP, Alberta’s current provincial police service.
The bill would reassign about 600 sheriffs to the agency with further training, but it lacks a clear timeline or detailed cost estimates. The federation disputed Ellis’s assertions, such as claims of significant RCMP staffing shortages, noting that the Alberta RCMP, serving 99% of the province’s 660,000 square kilometres, responds to 911 calls in an average of 21 minutes from call receipt to officer arrival.
During second reading of Bill 49 on April 10, Ellis said there are horror stories regarding police service in rural Alberta. He said the Woodland Cree First Nation has been forced to hire private mercenaries due to a lack of RCMP response. Ellis said rural Albertans deserve robust police service.
"I have spoken to rural Albertans from everywhere, from Coutts all the way up to Peace River," said Ellis in a media scrum on Monday.
"I keep hearing story after story and, quite frankly, horror story after horror story. 911 calls are not being answered, the authorized strength levels are not being met."
"What I'm trying to do is make sure that when somebody has a 911 call, that somebody is responding to that call. This is precisely what we're doing under Bill 49 by creating this this Crown corporation that's going to allow for this independent police service to augment and support the folks in, quite frankly, rural Alberta, Calgary, Edmonton, and any police service that requires it."
The province argues that Alberta’s growing population and unique challenges, like rising rural crime or catalytic converter thefts, require a modernized policing model. Bill 49 is framed as a response to these demands, building on the Alberta Sheriffs’ existing roles