Alberta’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services has announced a new initiative to combat the deadly issue of fentanyl.
Mike Ellis highlights the fact that the provincial government and Alberta’s municipalities are working together to get 800 community peace officers under operational command of their local police services to combat fentanyl, and social disorder with a unified approach. He says “so how will this work? Under this initiative, community peace officers from 34 large and mid-sized municipalities will immediately begin to coordinate operations with local police by integrating their communication, their dispatch systems while on patrol and when responding to calls. Doing so will create the operational consistency needed to combat fentanyl crime, as well as social disorder with compassion as well as efficiency.”
Ellis calls it a Team Canada approach in the fight against fentanyl. He says “as you all know, President Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Canada sighting the need to stop fentanyl from entering into the United States. This is an issue which is occurring both ways across this border. Prime Minister Trudeau has responded by committing 10,000 personnel that would be deployed to strengthen border protection and to combat the issue of the fentanyl crisis. Here in Alberta we are doing our part for a strong Team Canada solution with a visible law enforcement presence to deter illegal activity.”
He notes officer presence matters and this will make a significant difference in the fight against social disorder and open-air drug use. Ellis adds, this crisis demands action and Alberta’s government is stepping up to ensure that its enforcement efforts are as strong and coordinated as possible.
