The Alberta government is taking further steps toward hiring officers for a new provincial police force.

Bill 4, tabled Thursday, sets up the future Alberta Sheriffs Police Service (ASPS) to be treated like existing municipal police forces when it comes to labour relations and workers’ compensation coverage.

The legislation, if passed, would make it so that permanent residents can become ASPS officers, which the government says will broaden the recruitment pool and ensure consistency with practices from other police agencies.

Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis officially named the ASPS in July, after years of government musing about the possibility of creating a provincial police service as an alternative to the RCMP. Former Calgary Police Service deputy chief Sat Parhar was named the fi

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