The Alberta Minister of Justice heard first-hand the issues municipalities are facing in the Lakeland, after local dignitaries travelled to Edmonton and knocked on her door.
Last Monday (March 19), representatives from local councils and Bonnyville-Cold Lake MLA Scott Cyr, sat down with Kathleen Ganley, Alberta's current Minister of Justice and Solicitor General, to discuss rural crime and what can be done.
"What we were trying to do is impress upon the minister the effects rural crime has had on our residents, and just to try and get the point across that what we have seen and heard from the RCMP, is we have a small number of people committing a majority of the crimes. We were hoping they could impress upon the justice system the fact that we need these criminals to be put behind bars for a long time," explained MD of Bonnyville Reeve Greg Sawchuk.
Bonnyville Mayor Gene Sobolewski agreed, "It was a really good meeting. There were a lot of issues brought forward to the minister, particularly with rural crime. It went from everything from reinforcement of the boots on the ground in terms of police officers, but there was also a major focus on the justice system such as more docket and court time, more prosecutors, and less of a revolving door."
Through one-way or another, Cyr heard the voices of concerned residents, who agreed something had to change when it came to rural crime.
"They said we need to start seeing some action from the Minister of Justice," he said, adding this was a clear indication he needed to sit down and paint a picture for Ganley.
"What's important here is all of our area was represented at this meeting. We were a cohesive group bringing a message forward saying our area needs to be dealt with and rural crime is a concern," expressed Cyr.
With 26 Lakeland delegates in the room, each community was well represented. From the local area, Sawchuk, Sobolewski, Village of Glendon Mayor Laura Papirny, and representatives from surrounding communities, First Nations, and Métis Settlements were present, so there was no shortage of voices heard.
Overall, Sobolewski and Sawchuk felt the minister was receptive to their suggestions and their concerns.
"She has listened and she did acknowledge the fact that this whole cycle has been 25-years in the making, where there is a lot of cliché "have to do a lot more with a lot less,' and high efficiencies," expressed Sobolewski.
Some of their concerns included harsher penalties for repeat offenders, and addressing the need for more Crown prosecutors in rural Alberta.
"We have these repeat offenders who just seem to be caught and then released," Cyr noted. "We need to make sure these people are prioritized. A small part of our constituency is doing a majority of the criminal activity."
Municipalities also expressed their concerns with the workload Crown prosecutors are taking on. According to Cyr, Ganley admitted rural-Albertan Crown prosecutors have a heavier file load than those in British Columbia or Saskatchewan.
"That's not okay," Cyr stated. "We need more prosecutors."
In order to remain competitive with other provinces, Cyr suggests an increase in their rate of pay, which has been frozen for "a number of years."
Ganley did acknowledge the work the province is currently doing, by allocating $10-million towards hiring more RCMP members and Crown prosecutors. However, that is not the only issue local representatives see.
They also suggested researching plea bargains between the accused and the Crown, and helping those with mental health or addiction issues.
"We need to do a better job at sorting people with addictions and mental health problems and making sure they find the help that they need," Cyr explained. "We can put them in jail for a while for some petty crime, but in the end, it's a burden on the system. We need to address this."
Another concern, was options for better utilizing peace officers within communities.
Cyr said that is an option that could take many forms and have multiple benefits. "One thing that was brought up, is our peace officers could be better utilized.We should be investigating if there are ways for our peace officers to take some of the strain off of our RCMP officers. That could be more enforcement powers, but there are a number of things we can do, and I think we need to start looking at pursuing these."
Now that their voices have been clearly heard, representatives will continue their fight against the issue.
Cyr stated, "The minister is saying they're hearing rural Alberta. This $10-million they have announced is just the first step of more steps to come."
