Tuesday’s letters: Ben taught us all how to be better
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Once upon a time there was a little boy who brought a city, a province and maybe even a country together with his positivity, humor and hope. In these current times of division, anger and conflict, may we all channel Ben Stelter and try to make the world a better place.
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Thank you Ben for teaching us to be better people.
Crystal Mills, Edmonton
No need for a provincial police force
If something works well, why change anything? Our RCMP serves to enforce federal criminal law and law enforcement officers in most provinces and territories. They also provide policing services to 600 indigenous communities. In addition, they take care of border integrity and the monitoring of peacekeeping missions. The cost would be higher for the provincial police. There was a provincial police force from 1917 to 1932, which was replaced by the RCMP in 1932 to save money. The RCMP has been around for almost 150 years.
A police unit in Alberta would cost us hundreds of millions of dollars. Where is the sane thinking considering this change?
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Renee Park, Edmonton
Alberta is best served by its own police force
Ottawa is currently conducting a panic campaign that Albertans cannot do something that Ontario and Quebec have already done. Ontario has the Ontario Provincial Police and Quebec has the Sûreté du Québec. Here’s the big question: Does Alberta want a police force that is ultimately subordinate to the people of Alberta, or does Alberta want a police force that is ultimately subordinate to Ottawa?
The Mass Casualty Commission’s recent Nova Scotia investigation has revealed how Ottawa has “meddled” in the RCMP’s administration of justice in Nova Scotia. This blatant testimony should be of concern to any jurisdiction that has an RCMP police force. Despite Ottawa’s campaign of terror, Albertans should know that we can have our own Made-in-Alberta police force, for we already have Made-in-Alberta police forces in Edmonton and Calgary.
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The people of Alberta are best served when all Albertan police forces report primarily and always to the people of Alberta.
Chris Robertson, Rocky Plain
Walking the beat proved beneficial
Regarding. “Bring back police foot patrols,” Letters, August 20
I remember the weight of those buffalo coats all too well! We didn’t stand at the corners much, but had to keep moving to report to the next phone booth. By the end of the shift, our shoulders were screaming for mercy.
One of the benefits of foot patrol for me and my colleagues was that I got to know the neighborhood and the business owners, often by their first names. We could listen to their concerns and offer advice, and as a benefit of the relationship, we could turn to them to interpret for us when dealing with someone whose language we didn’t speak.
It’s been a long time since I’ve walked a step and I don’t know the protocol or the direction in which the Chief and his staff intend to go, but there may be some benefit in resuming those patrols.
George Murphy, Edmonton
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