Municipal leaders offer mixed reviews for Alberta government's policing plan

Public safety minister says it's unacceptable that calls to the police aren't being answered quickly enough

RED DEER, Alta. — Alberta’s government is getting pushback from some municipal leaders and support from others over its plan to build the sheriffs into a second provincial police service.

At the Alberta Municipalities convention in Red Deer on Friday, Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis got an earful from Coun. Ed Cole with the Village of Alix.

“To be blunt, when are we going to put this Alberta provincial police to rest? Eight in 10 Albertans want to keep the RCMP,” he said.