The rural crime report released by the Standing Committee for Public Safety and National Security is “an affront to every rural Canadian,” according to Lakeland MP Shannon Stubbs.
”It confirms, without a shadow of a doubt, that the federal government doesn’t care about rural Canadians, and particularly doesn’t care about rural Albertans,” she stressed during a press conference at the Federal Building Plaza in Edmonton on Thursday, May 23.
The two-page summary was the result of Stubbs’ Motion 167, which she presented in the House of Commons on Feb. 1, 2018. It was passed unanimously on May 30, 2018, and it required the Standing Committee for Public Safety and National Security to investigate rural crime in Canada and to share their findings with parliament within six months. However, the document wasn’t made public until May 16 this year.
”The reality is the Liberals delayed the committee’s work until the fall, limiting the time and the number of resources who could participate, and then, they went way beyond the deadline of issuing the report,” Stubbs exclaimed.
She noted the summary included few details from witness testimonies and gave no formal recommendations for action “except that provinces and territories should do more,” such as spending more on emergency response services and for RCMP to partner with other police agencies.
The four components addressed in the report include adequate policing resources, partnerships within communities, robust support for victims, and a justice system that inspires public confidence.
MD of Bonnyville Coun. Darcy Skarsen, a victim of three break-ins himself, endorsed Stubbs’ Motion 167 in hopes that the committee would offer solutions to the issue.
”They didn’t really express anyway to combat (rural crime) or what next steps to take,” he noted. “We know what kind of problems are around here for crime, so how are we going to fix it?”
It highlighted that a majority of issues faced in rural areas included property crimes such as break-ins, thefts, and violent assaults.
Member of the Standing Committee for Public Safety and National Security and Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner MP Glen Motz said it was difficult to hear the 14 witnesses who shared their stories with the committee over the course of five meetings.
”When MP Shannon Stubbs brought forward Motion 167, the unanimous support in the House (of Commons) was fantastic, and I was optimistic of where this was going to go,” he explained during the press conference. “But, it was a huge understatement to say my Conservative colleagues and I were extremely disappointed and angry with the Liberal MPs on the Public Safety and National Security Committee.”
Based on 2017 numbers, Statistics Canada confirmed earlier this month that crime rates are 23 per cent higher in rural areas than in urban.
”The problem, of course, is most acute here in the prairie provinces and the highest in rural Alberta,” Stubbs said, adding the Elk Point RCMP detachment was recently ranked highest in Alberta on the crime severity rate index.
According to Stubbs, this highlights the issue of RCMP operating at low capacities, requiring officers to cover “hundreds of thousands of kilometres” of isolated rural roads and remote communities.
She believes the limited police presence and the long, or lack of, response time makes constituents living outside of towns and cities vulnerable.
”That’s why all of us have undertaken to make contributions to combat rural crime,” Stubbs continued. “I hear loud and clear, as I know my colleagues do, that rural Albertans are very frustrated with the revolving door of repeat offenders and that’s also related to a lack of frontline law enforcement. But, that’s why Motion 167 specifically directed the public safety committee to assess and work with provinces and territories specifically on this limited frontline law enforcement and support staff in rural communities.”
The report addressed that policing is primarily the responsibility of provincial governments, which Skarsen saw as the committee “washing their hands” of the issue.
Residents in isolated areas facing unprecedented levels of property crime was one reason why Stubbs thought Motion 167 passed with unanimous support in the House of Commons.
”I know many of my constituents feel unsafe and they live with the reality that rural crime imposes real costs to their homes, properties, businesses, their security, and peace of mind.”
The motion received 101 endorsements from local crime watch groups, provincial MLAs, municipalities, and major municipal associations in seven provinces, which highlighted the fact that the issue stretched much farther than the Lakeland.
How the Liberal MPs handled the rural crime report is confirmation for Stubbs that they “aren’t concerned with rural Canadians.”
She continued, “They’re furthering the revolving door approach to prison sentencing, reducing sentencing for very serious crimes, and making Canadians vulnerable. It’s the exact opposite of protecting the safety and security of rural Canadians, and the result of this committee should be an affront to every rural Canadian, and especially rural Albertans, who have been victimized by unprecedented rates of crime.”
With the report released, Stubbs said she plans to hold the federal government liable for their “soft on crime” approach and to take action to ensure there are sufficient activity and RCMP resources.
”We’ll keep holding them to account for the changes that they’re making in the justice system, which is actually the exact opposite of protecting the safety of all Canadians frankly, but in particular rural Albertans who are (enduring) unprecedented levels of crime.”
