People got the answers March 23 they wanted about the Albert Police and Peace Officer Training Centre.

Solicitor General Frank Oberle was at the Empress Theatre to provide answers to questions some of the 300 people in attendance had about the police college.

Fort Macleod resident Greg Coulling noted the government made education a priority by finding money to build eight new schools in Calgary and to build and upgrade schools in southern Alberta.

“Is this not also education?” Coulling said of the police college. Oberle agreed, and said while he understood the point Coulling was making, it’s a matter of getting the police college on the province’s capital plan.

“Not everybody gets their priorities,” Oberle said.

Fort Macleod resident Inez McArthur wanted to know if the province has considered getting corporate sponsors involved in the project. McArthur used an example approaching a computer company for money, if the college is tied to a new computer system as Oberle suggested.

“We have,” Oberle said. “We’re trying to attract private funding from wherever we can.”

Barons resident Trudy Smith wondered if the province has approached other agencies, such as firefighters, to see if they would be interested in training at a college in Fort Macleod.

Oberle said the Treasury Board is working on just such an idea. Fort Macleod resident Stasha Donahue noted the government made the Calgary cancer centre a priority for funding when it was not on the capital list.

“How is that different?” Donahue asked. “Is it politics of place?” Oberle said the cancer centre funding reflected the nature of the capital plan.

“The capital list is not static, which is a very positive thing,” Oberle said. “I’m going to fight to get this college on the capital list.”

Fort Macleod resident Bonnie Kletke wanted to know more about the nature of the capital list.

“The capital plan is a 20-year plan and it’s full,” Oberle said. “It’s always full.”