A sweeping new deal reached yesterday between the government of Alberta and the Métis Settlements General Council (MSGC) will provide enhanced policing in Métis settlements in Alberta.
The three-year pilot program will deploy five uniformed RCMP officers in the eight Métis settlements to address community issues such as crime prevention, traffic enforcement or acting as school resource officers.
“We’re looking at having the officers in place sometimes in the next five to six months,” Brian Mulawka, a spokesman for the Alberta Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security, told Metro yesterday.
The Alberta government has agreed to shoulder the cost of $1.77 million required over three years to run the program as part of its Alberta’s Safe Communities Initiative.
Under a typical enhanced policing agreement, communities finance 70 per cent of the cost and the federal government pays the remainder.
MSGC, the legislative body for the Métis Settlements, will be overseeing the enhanced policing program.
