The Town of Edson is voicing its displeasure with the Province’s lack of consultation on the creation of a provincial police force.
At Edson town council’s April 5, 2022 meeting, council approved a regional advocacy letter expressing their disappointment at a provincial consultation session on March 31, 2022.
Among those representing Edson at the session were Mayor Kevin Zahara and Councillor Krystal Baier.
Zahara was dismayed at the lack of actual consultation.
“The so-called consultation session was really more of an information session, where the first 20 minutes were spent telling us the questions we could not ask, and then questions that were somewhat political in nature we could not ask because there were no political representatives of the Province there,” described Zahara.
Baier agreed with Zahara’s assessment, saying the whole exercise felt more like a lecture than a consultation.
“There were seven different spots where we could ask questions, and we were so pressed for time we skipped through five of the seven opportunities to ask question,” added Baier.
In their letter, the Town of Edson is asking for a meeting with Justice Minister Tyler Shandro, MLA for West Yellowhead Martin Long, and the mayors of Edson’s neighbouring municipalities so the municipalities can get their questions answered. Zahara mentioned he had already spoken with several neighbouring mayors and they share his frustrations.
Key among Zahara’s questions is how a provincial police service would actually improve service.
“A lot of the ideas put forward in the Price Waterhouse Cooper report can be accomplished with the existing police force, and as a matter of fact, a lot of those things are already being done,” explained Zahara.
The Price Waterhouse Cooper report is the Provincial study that provides the blueprint for creating a provincial police force.
In addition to sending out the letter, the Town of Edson also endorsed the National Police Federation’s Call to Action. The National Police Federation is the RCMP’s union, and they have been conducting town halls across the province voicing their opposition to the creation of a provincial police force.
