PJ The Belt - February 27, 2026


Alberta Just Built Its OWN Police — Independence Vote Is Next

Mentioned
Barhar Alberta Sheriffs Jordan Kanigan Alberta RCMP Sean Amato Bill C-63
Canada's Gun Grab Just Got MUCH WORSE - New Rifles Banned Patriots Everywhere! - Alberta Independence is SURGING

Episode Stats


Length

12 minutes

Words per minute

167.82

Word count

2,058

Sentence count

100

Harmful content

Hate speech

1

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Bill 15, the Public Safety and Emergency Services Statute Amendment Act 2026, is the latest step in creating a new Provincial Police Service, the Alberta Sheriffs Service, or ASPS. It would allow for the transition of the Alberta Sheriff's Branch into the new service, and allow the sheriff peace officers and civilian staff to become ASPS employees without any disruption to public safety or day-to-day operations.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 Bill 15, the Public Safety and Emergency Statutes Amendment Act 2026.
00:00:04.020 Alberta's legislature session kicked off Tuesday
00:00:07.060 with another step toward replacing the RCMP with sheriffs.
00:00:11.720 All 1,200 government employees will now be transferred
00:00:15.460 to the new Crown Corporation called Alberta Sheriff's Police Service.
00:00:21.060 Alberta RCMP is at the forefront of some of the biggest stories in policing and crime,
00:00:25.980 but the future of the RCMP in the province is in limbo.
00:00:28.720 The Alberta government is exploring the possibility of a provincial police force
00:00:33.200 when the RCMP contracts expire.
00:00:38.500 Alberta is moving ahead with a plan to transition hundreds of sheriffs into police officers.
00:00:44.120 New legislation is the latest step in creating a provincial police service,
00:00:47.900 but it's still a plan with few details,
00:00:50.380 and we won't know the cost until Thursday's tough budget.
00:00:53.760 Jordan Canagan reports.
00:00:54.860 A provincial plan to get more officers on the streets
00:00:58.620 is to train Alberta sheriffs to do the job.
00:01:02.360 This bill creates a practical path for the eligible sheriffs
00:01:06.540 to pursue police officer roles within the ASPS.
00:01:09.840 The province says about 600 sheriffs could go through six weeks of training
00:01:14.300 to move from a peace officer to a police officer.
00:01:17.840 So those would be your scan teams, your highway patrol teams,
00:01:22.420 your surveillance teams, your fugitive apprehension teams.
00:01:25.300 The minister says the Alberta Sheriff's Police Service will work alongside municipal police
00:01:30.680 and RCMP, not replace them, at least for now.
00:01:34.980 A final decision on whether to move away from the RCMP in Alberta will come in the future.
00:01:39.960 Albertans are tired of feeling like the deck seems to be stacked against them.
00:01:44.900 They don't want excuses, and they certainly don't want governments
00:01:49.480 that just react after the damage is already done.
00:01:53.240 They want us to stay ahead of the criminals, and they want results.
00:01:57.240 The commitments and promises are, quite frankly, simple.
00:02:00.660 This government will do whatever it takes to put boots on the ground
00:02:03.180 to keep communities safe.
00:02:05.320 Today, we're taking another important step towards delivering on that promise.
00:02:10.200 This afternoon, I'm going to be tabling Bill 15.
00:02:12.440 This is the Public Safety Emergency Services Statute Amendment Act 2026,
00:02:16.720 legislation that supports the continued development
00:02:19.240 of the Alberta Sheriff's Police Service, or some call it the ASPS.
00:02:23.600 Last year, we formally established the Crown Corporation for the ASPS
00:02:27.700 to augment and support all police services in the province.
00:02:30.520 And from the beginning, our goal has been to strengthen public safety
00:02:34.040 and give municipalities more options to meet their policing needs.
00:02:36.800 Bill 15 is the next step in that evolution of the ASPS
00:02:41.100 and a foundational step in aligning people, expertise, and operations under the ASPS.
00:02:47.880 For decades, our sheriffs have been the part of the landscape of community safety,
00:02:54.120 doing everything from high-speed traffic enforcement to specialized surveillance.
00:02:58.580 They're highly skilled, they're dedicated, and quite frankly,
00:03:02.360 they've been doing the police-like functions, and this work for a long time.
00:03:07.560 It creates a very common-sense line-of-sight transition for the sheriff peace officers
00:03:13.120 to move into the police officer functions under the ASPS.
00:03:16.860 If the bill is passed, the legislation would allow for the formal transition
00:03:20.860 of the Alberta Sheriff's Branch into the ASPS,
00:03:24.080 and it would also allow the sheriff peace officers and civilian staff
00:03:27.620 to become ASPS employees without any disruption to public safety or day-to-day operations.
00:03:33.280 So, let me be very clear.
00:03:34.920 This bill creates a practical path for the eligible sheriffs
00:03:38.920 to pursue police officer roles within the ASPS,
00:03:42.140 and this is a major milestone in building the new service.
00:03:45.920 Bill 15 gives sheriffs the opportunity to pursue training,
00:03:48.740 to become ASPS police officers subject to the required training,
00:03:52.760 recruitment, and qualification standards,
00:03:54.940 and others would continue in their current peace officer roles,
00:03:59.020 ensuring full operational capacity is maintained throughout the transition.
00:04:02.860 This approach allows the ASPS to recruit and train new police officers
00:04:06.400 while maintaining uninterrupted public service,
00:04:09.380 and it's about reducing unnecessary red tape
00:04:12.260 and making better use of the experience that we all have.
00:04:16.500 Of course, as I have stated before,
00:04:18.740 money has been set aside for the Alberta Sheriff's,
00:04:20.760 which will be transferred into the Crown Corporation.
00:04:23.880 When it comes to training,
00:04:25.440 rather than asking hundreds of skilled sheriffs to reapply
00:04:29.960 or to start from scratch,
00:04:32.180 this legislation will provide a stable and common-sense pathway
00:04:35.240 into the new police service.
00:04:37.340 The reality is that many sheriffs
00:04:39.100 are already performing police-like duties every single day,
00:04:42.880 supporting communities right across the province,
00:04:44.660 and they bring extensive front-line experience
00:04:47.280 and proven leadership that Albertans already rely on.
00:04:51.300 This legislation would allow the ASPS to benefit from the experience
00:04:55.040 immediately, without gaps or delays or disruption in public safety.
00:05:00.640 The sheriffs are going to continue to serve their communities,
00:05:03.620 enforce the law,
00:05:04.920 and support public safety just as they do today.
00:05:07.900 And for those who want to advance their careers,
00:05:11.880 this legislation would create a clear pathway
00:05:13.720 to becoming fully authorized ASPS police officers
00:05:17.480 with the appropriate training, authority,
00:05:20.300 and accountability under the Police Act.
00:05:22.920 Over time, this will mean faster response times
00:05:25.720 as we augment and support all police services,
00:05:28.500 stronger coordination with police of jurisdiction,
00:05:31.200 and more strategic deployment of police resources.
00:05:34.220 The result is safer communities for Albertans
00:05:37.440 and a greater confidence in public safety
00:05:39.580 right across the province.
00:05:41.380 As the ASPS continues to mature,
00:05:43.920 it will also provide municipalities with more flexibility
00:05:46.260 and more choice in how to meet their local policing needs
00:05:49.940 and also to ensure that sheriffs can continue
00:05:52.500 doing their jobs effectively.
00:05:54.760 We're also making targeted amendments
00:05:56.240 to the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act.
00:05:59.180 Our specialized sheriff units are already out there right now,
00:06:02.540 shutting down problem properties,
00:06:04.860 targeting fugitives that are avoiding accountability,
00:06:07.980 and these amendments ensure
00:06:09.000 that those teams don't miss a single beat.
00:06:11.520 They're doing a fantastic job out there.
00:06:13.180 They're going to continue to shut down crime
00:06:14.840 where it lives seamlessly as part of the ASPS.
00:06:18.560 This isn't about creating more government.
00:06:20.780 It's about creating more safety.
00:06:23.140 It's about faster response times, better coordination,
00:06:25.280 and, of course, putting more police officers on the streets
00:06:28.140 to deter those who think that they can break the law with impunity.
00:06:31.240 The legislation of past reflects the advice and expertise
00:06:35.760 of law enforcement leaders and the Alberta sheriffs themselves
00:06:38.200 because unnecessary red tape provides stability for staff
00:06:42.440 and, above all, strengthens public safety.
00:06:44.600 It moves Alberta closer to a modern, coordinated,
00:06:47.420 and community-focused police service,
00:06:49.280 one that meets today's needs.
00:06:51.340 And, of course, there is always more work that needs to get done.
00:06:55.380 The head of the ASPS is going to continue to build its leadership team.
00:06:59.020 It's going to develop training programs and recruit police officers.
00:07:02.480 But today's legislation represents a very meaningful and practical step
00:07:05.840 towards a safer, stronger Alberta.
00:07:08.180 And with that, I will take questions. Thank you.
00:07:10.120 Okay.
00:07:10.420 How many Alberta police service members will receive additional training
00:07:15.580 to perform police-like functions?
00:07:18.540 And what does this high-tier training entail?
00:07:21.620 So we've identified of the roughly 1,200 or so Alberta sheriffs,
00:07:27.700 there are approximately 600 of them have been ones
00:07:30.080 that have been performing the police-like functions.
00:07:32.280 So those would be your scan teams, your highway patrol teams,
00:07:36.520 your surveillance teams, your fugitive apprehension teams,
00:07:39.240 just to, I think I named almost all of them.
00:07:42.720 So those folks are already doing what we would call police-like functions.
00:07:45.920 Now, there are, again, the team led by Chief Barhar are identifying those folks.
00:07:52.680 We do have people that, for example, are former EPS or CPS members,
00:07:57.760 just as an example.
00:07:59.540 Those people are already trained police officers.
00:08:01.840 There are obviously a couple small qualifications that would need to be made.
00:08:05.580 But that transition is relatively simple for them.
00:08:08.260 There are people that have been or are very highly trained
00:08:12.960 that have worked in the Alberta sheriffs that are, for example,
00:08:16.380 doing the highway patrol, which, for those of you who do not know,
00:08:18.780 is probably one of the most dangerous things that somebody could do as a police officer.
00:08:22.760 It's known as an unknown threat because you just don't know
00:08:25.980 what you're getting yourself into on every traffic stop, quite frankly.
00:08:28.920 And so those people are very highly skilled and highly trained.
00:08:31.800 What we have determined or what we're figuring out,
00:08:34.380 I'm trying to reduce this working with Chief Barhar,
00:08:36.940 but we figure that there's about a gap of about six weeks' worth of training
00:08:41.360 that those folks would need to do in order to meet the necessary qualifications
00:08:46.420 under the Police Act to become fully empowered police officers.
00:08:51.100 Did you have a follow-up?
00:08:52.080 Yeah.
00:08:52.480 So the cost, we've been waiting to hear an overall cost for this transition.
00:08:56.600 If you've got to repaint all the decals on the vans,
00:08:59.580 if you've got to do six weeks of training with 600 members,
00:09:03.060 I mean, that's not free.
00:09:04.180 What's your ballpark?
00:09:04.960 Well, look, we have a budget that's going to be coming out here in the next couple of days.
00:09:10.380 I can tell you, as I know you've attended almost all of these press conferences,
00:09:14.580 we have the Alberta Sheriff's Branch that has a budget,
00:09:19.660 that budget, which is what this bill is essentially doing right now.
00:09:24.280 It lifts the people, it lifts the money that is within the Alberta Sheriff's Branch,
00:09:30.860 and moves it into the Crown Corporation that we built during the last session.
00:09:35.380 Of course, you know, people that are going to be doing police officer jobs,
00:09:42.400 and this is no secret, I have said this to you and I've said this to others before,
00:09:45.860 equal pay for equal work.
00:09:47.880 I don't know why anyone would be opposed to that.
00:09:50.680 And those people who will become police officers will be paid at the same level as a police officer.
00:09:57.160 Sure, there's going to be an increased cost in that,
00:10:01.080 and we have factored that in to those increases,
00:10:05.440 but that is something that will be coming out in the upcoming budget.
00:10:08.240 Sean Amato with City News.
00:10:09.660 So is Alberta fully committed to moving away from the RCMP now,
00:10:12.720 or when does that decision have to be made?
00:10:14.660 Well, we are fully committed right now to augmenting and supporting,
00:10:19.560 and that hasn't changed, all police services.
00:10:21.460 You would have seen this only a couple weeks ago in the city of Calgary,
00:10:24.740 where the Calgary Police Service had an operation
00:10:29.540 where they were dealing with social and civil disorder in downtown Calgary,
00:10:32.640 and they utilized the Alberta sheriffs.
00:10:34.800 And the good news is that once we transitioned many of these folks 1.00
00:10:38.240 into becoming police officers,
00:10:39.960 here's a bit of the difference here,
00:10:41.820 is that those police officers will be able to act
00:10:46.220 without having their hands held by the local police of jurisdiction,
00:10:51.020 if that makes any sense, right?
00:10:52.180 So right now, you have police officers that have to work with the police officers,
00:10:55.840 and then when they become police officers,
00:10:59.080 the sheriffs become police officers,
00:11:00.800 they won't need, we'll call it a chaperone,
00:11:03.300 by a Calgary Edmonton police officer.
00:11:06.140 Now, in regards to the other part of your question there,
00:11:10.200 look, we're still continuing to evaluate
00:11:13.440 what is the best option for the people of Alberta.
00:11:17.440 I know that the federal government has committed to some of the provinces
00:11:23.940 who have been very clear that they want to maintain the contract services of the RCMP.
00:11:29.500 However, what the federal government has not committed to
00:11:32.260 is what that funding model is going to look like.
00:11:34.180 And nobody has really been talking about that,
00:11:35.580 and that's a very, very important question that has to be had.
00:11:37.900 The RCMP still face the challenges when it comes to authorized strength levels.
00:11:42.400 And I don't think we can ignore that.
00:11:43.760 And this is not, again, something that is exclusive to the people of Alberta,
00:11:48.080 B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba, all the way down east as well.
00:11:52.320 There are authorized strength levels.
00:11:54.020 So this is not, this is as simple as just, again,
00:11:56.620 writing a check and crossing your fingers
00:11:59.640 and hoping you're getting police officers here.
00:12:01.240 What we are doing here is, again,
00:12:03.080 when we talk about augmenting and supporting police services,
00:12:05.520 is this is the fastest path to get at least 600 or so police officers
00:12:10.240 on the streets of Alberta trying to assist all police of jurisdiction
00:12:14.520 in calls to service right now.