Establishing Community Safety and Wellbeing Strategies in Alberta’s Municipalities

Issue

Albertans are concerned with rising crime levels and safety issues within their local communities, and areas outside of Edmonton and Calgary feel left out of government supports. Ensuring the safety and well-being of its citizens is a fundamental responsibility of any government, and it is important to find equitable, effective, and collaborative solutions that consider various regional differences and needs.

Background

Recently, the province of Ontario set out to deal with municipal safety concerns by legislating that Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) plans be created by every municipality in the province through the 2019 Comprehensive Police Services Act (Bill 68). According to the Government of Ontario website, “the goal of this provincial mandate is to establish a proactive and collaborative approach to community safety and wellbeing planning, in which the municipalities will take the lead in identifying and responding to local needs alongside other community service providers.” In Alberta, municipalities including Strathcona County, Lethbridge, Morinville, Edmonton, and others have also undertaken CSWB work to date.

Recommendations

The Alberta Chambers of Commerce recommends that the Government of Alberta work with relevant stakeholders to:

1. Encourage municipalities to conduct Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) assessments to create strategies that promote safer communities;

2. Recognize regional differences, and ensure funding provisions are equitable and fair across the province;

3. Provide supports to municipalities that will allow them to gain the expertise, training, and support throughout communities of practice through Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention and the local police service, and;

4. Provide base funding to support the timely completion, submission and implementation of Community Safety and Well-Being strategies by municipalities.