In this episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast, Rob Breakenridge delves into the future of policing in Alberta and whether that will — or should — involve the creation of an Alberta Provincial Police Force.
The RCMP contract for community policing ends in 2032, and we may see the RCMP exit community policing altogether in favour of a more focused, national mandate. At the same time, however, the idea of Alberta shedding a federal institution in favour of something Alberta-made and Alberta-branded has taken on added political significance. The UCP government is keen on establishing greater autonomy for Alberta and this change is seen as one way of accomplishing that.
In this episode, Rob is joined by Kara Westerlund, president of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta. They’re worried about the impact such a change could have on their communities and their budgets, and they feel like their voices are not being heard in this debate. Plus, we’ll also get some perspective from Mount Royal University criminology professor Dr. Kelly Sundberg, who has been following and studying this issue for years — what are the costs and benefits of establishing an Alberta Provincial Police Force?
The Line: Alberta is the new provincial bureau of The Line, and podcasts will be released via its own standalone podcast channels for audio formats. This includes via this Substack, but also The Line: Alberta’s new channels on all major podcasting apps.
Spotify:
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The good news is that we’ll be using our regular video channels for the release, though, so you can just check that out at the usual places. Which we assume you have already subscribed to!
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A note on commenting: We have received some questions about why people who can comment on The Line’s main page cannot comment here. Good question! Here’s our best shot at giving a concise answer.
You don't need to be a paid subscriber to the Alberta version to receive/read/listen to what we produce.
You do need to be a paid subscriber to The Line: Alberta to comment.
A paid subscription at The Line DOES NOT transfer over to a paid subscription at The Line: Alberta. That's not possible within the Substack ecosystem, the lists are entirely separate. This also reflects the reality that while we expect both properties to appeal to much the same audience, it won’t be a perfect overlap. Conversely, for clarity, a paid subscription here doesn’t give paid access to The Line’s main content, either.
Since there isn’t a technical way to give paid Line subscribers paid privileges at The Line: Alberta, we will not paywall, ever, the Alberta content, for that reason. Our operations here will be funded in other ways. Signing up for a paid subscription is your way of showing us support, and it is appreciated, but it isn’t necessary to access the content.
If you do sign up for a paid account here, commenting will be a perk (of sorts), as will some early or free access to in-person events. But you will get the same content as everyone else.
Hope this helps!
The Line: Alberta is a provincial bureau of The Line, edited by Jen Gerson and Matt Gurney. Email us at alberta@readtheline.ca.
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