The Alberta NDP Have Turned Into Crime Deniers

Crime has undoubtedly become a major political issue all across Canada, which is being acutely felt in Alberta as the province heads into an election in May. 

Alberta has seen noticeable rises in crime, especially violent crime and illicit drug use in major cities, especially along transit lines. 

In response, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party (UCP) government has been deploying more law enforcement officers on transit lines, and gotten municipal officials, like Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek on board to raise local police budgets in order to clean up the streets. 

This is the obvious move in order to get control of the public safety situation and make it so that Alberta does not become a province like British Columbia that seems to cater to criminals and vagrants more than its law-abiding citizens. 

The problem is that because Alberta is in such a tight provincial election, the Alberta NDP has taken the reactionary position to the UCP and has begun to deny the problem of crime and or the effectiveness of law enforcement to deal with the problem. 

The UCP has been taking shots at some of the most egregiously anti-cop NDP candidates, but what shouldn’t be lost in all of the more fiery rhetoric is how unanimous all the NDP candidates are when it comes to denying the issue of crime and pretending law enforcement is not the solution.

For instance, Calgary-Currie NDP candidate Janet Eremenko mocked the UCP’s strategy of deploying more CPS officers in Calgary to increase safety, saying it only “could” make people feel safer (Eremenko added asterisks around “could” implying more officers may not make Calgarians feel safer).

Eremenko then proceeded to say we need to invest in more social programs and deal with “systemic racism” as well. On one hand, she is weirdly implying criminals just need to be bribed with taxpayer money, as if they are just victims of economic circumstances, and on the other implies law enforcement should be more lenient on criminals depending on their demographic background. 

If Janet Eremenko wants to point at the individuals in prison due to “systemic racism” and not because they are actual thieves, rapists, and murderers, she is free to.

The NDP has attempted to dissuade voters that they are anti-cop in recent weeks by releasing a plan to hire 150 more RCMP officers and 150 more social workers in Alberta, but it is a very weak pledge compared to the UCP’s tough-on-crime stance. 

Not only is 150 over the entire province a drop in the bucket in response to the resources required, but the NDP’s focus on “social workers” and social program spending in response to crime demonstrates how unserious they are on the issue of crime.

The RCMP in Alberta should also not have a lot of confidence in the NDP to have their backs when some of the NDP candidates have supported defunding the police or attacking them as potential domestic abusers.

Rob Miyashiro, NDP candidate for Lethbridge-East was already hit by the UCP for voting on the Lethbridge council to defund the police, but not only did he do that, but he also posted an article about city councilors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, proposing to “disband” the police, and then getting mad at people in the comments for mocking the idea. 

Calgary-East NDP candidate Rosman Valencia, on top of implying Alberta is a “racist society,” backed an anti-police conspiracy theory after the tragic death of Latjor Tuel, a former South Sudanese child soldier, who was shot after assaulting someone with a stick and then stabbing a police dog in the neck with a knife. 

Obviously, Tuel was not mentally well and suffered from PTSD and other mental illnesses, but the implication Valencia spreads that Tuel was shot due to “racial profiling” and “systemic racism” is gross, and his sharing of a GofundMe that spreads the lie that Tuel was unarmed is extremely irresponsible. The video evidence proved the police acted properly, but Valencia, being a race-baiter, decided to make this a racial issue. 

And make no mistake, Rachel Notley although possessing more poise than her other NDP candidates, also shares their general sentiments on crime.

At a press conference at the University of Calgary a couple of weeks back Notley parroted the idea that although she vaguely supports law enforcement she thinks Alberta needs to put more focus on social programs and affordability. It’s as if Notley sees criminals as mere victims of economic circumstances and not rational agents. 

Whether they are denying that crime is a real problem, or pretending law enforcement doesn’t help solve the problem of rampant crime, the NDP has proven themselves to be unreliable on the issue. They believe they are more enlightened than the average Albertan wanting more police presence on the streets, and instead, favour a convoluted government response to crime, which they may or may not acknowledge the severity of.

Whether you are an Albertan concerned about public safety or a law enforcement official, the NDP likely will not have your back when it comes to public safety.