Overworked and underpaid: Manitoba struggling to fill conservation officer roles amid poor wages, morale
Province says recruitment is a top priority as 5 new officers joined the ranks this month
A projected exodus of conservation officers in the next few years is poised to deplete Manitoba's ranks, putting more pressure on officers who work longer hours but are paid significantly less than their counterparts in other Canadian provinces.
Manitoba wants 91 conservation officers in the field, but up to 56 vacancies could emerge within five years through retirements and other openings, according to an internal government report on the department's shortcomings with recruitment and retention.
"The recruitment of new Conservation officers will need to continue and succession planning will be critical," the document warns.
The report from late 2020, a copy of which was obtained by CBC News, illustrates the dire challenges facing conservation officers, who are charged with patrolling the vast lakes, trails and back roads of Manitoba, along with handling security at provincial parks, protecting natural resources and investigating illegal hunting.
The report also included a survey of current and former conservation employees, many of whom voiced long-standing complaints around wages, benefits and housing.
"There's positions in Manitoba that aren't being filled. There's districts that don't have officers in them. There's work that's not being done," said Rob Belanger, a retired officer who remains in contact with his colleagues.
"There seems to be this big need for protection of our fish and wildlife resources, but no plan to fill conservation officer positions."
Starting wages more than $10K lower
The report said as of late 2020, six of Manitoba's 38 subdistricts did not have a single conservation officer.
Belanger said recruitment efforts are hampered by wages that pale in comparison to other jurisdictions.
The report found the starting wage in Manitoba for three different classifications of conservation officers was at least $10,000 lower than the average starting salary for those in other western provinces and Ontario, as well as federal parks and wildlife officers.
For supervisors in the highest wage bracket, the pay ceiling in Manitoba is $19,000 lower.
A chart comparing wages for conservation officers (RO3), district supervisors (RO4) and regional field supervisors (RO5) in Manitoba with an average among federal, B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario counterparts:
The report found some district supervisors with more than 10 years of experience in Manitoba went to work in Saskatchewan, where they earned more at an entry-level position.
"Results from the jurisdictional wage scan indicate that wage concerns expressed in survey responses from officers … [are] warranted. Manitoba ranks last in salary and hourly wages in every classification," the report stated.
Belanger says it's "kind of a no-brainer" that conservation officers move elsewhere.
"In order to keep officers here, in order to keep the enthusiasm of filling the roles of conservation officers, you have to pay them appropriately."
Manitoba's officers also work longer than those in every jurisdiction surveyed, except for Ontario, the report found, with Manitoba officers' 80 biweekly hours adding up to an extra 16 to 32 days a year.
Working more hours for less pay is a "major contributing factor to low morale within the service and is likely a significant contributing factor to recruitment and retention issues," the report stated.
Recruitment 'key priority': province
A government spokesperson said recruiting and retaining officers "is a key priority for the department."
Five new conservation officers began this month, bringing the total to 76 in the field, plus 15 employees at headquarters.
The department is also "in the midst of developing a strategic enforcement vision and plan to focus enforcement efforts on the most serious environmental, fish and wildlife infractions," the spokesperson said in an email to CBC.
When asked about pay disparities, the province said compensation is set through bargaining with the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union, which represents conservation officers. The last contract expired in 2019.
The spokesperson said work is underway to address concerns from the report, including "extensive meetings."
Specifically, the report calls for "immediate solutions," ranging from pay increases to boosting the recruitment budget. It suggests better incentives to entice officers to work in northern Manitoba, such as paid flights from isolated postings, as well as improving employee housing in those communities.
Survey respondents also expressed concern with the requirement for more graveyard shifts to enforce night hunting regulations — a priority for the Progressive Conservative government. The decision results in fewer officers working in the daytime, which decreases public interactions and, in turn, the number of informants, the report found.
Belanger retired as a conservation officer in 2017 after more than 30 years on the job. He said he developed a reputation among his colleagues as someone who spoke up for other officers.
"They're the unsung heroes," he said of his former co-workers. "There's very little talk about what they do in the news."
The reality that officers have had the same complaints for years shows the government hasn't taken their plight seriously, regardless of the party in power, he said.
For example, demands for a call centre to provide backup when officers enter armed situations have fallen on deaf ears for 20 years, Belanger said.
"It's unfathomable to think that conservation officers are out in the field today without a call centre."
As well, Manitoba conservation officers technically fall under the Agriculture and Resource Department, which is responsible for The Wildlife Act and The Crown Lands Act, among other conservation-related legislation.
Belanger thinks they should be managed by a department with more justice experience.
The union that represents conservation officers says it is incumbent on the Progressive Conservative government to address safety concerns and provide fair compensation.
These officers are "respected more and valued more" in other provinces, MGEU president Michelle Gawronsky said.
"It's disappointing that Manitoba has not seen fit to respect our conservation officers the same" way, she said.
She said greater support is needed, especially while conservation officers have more responsibilities than before, which could include anything from waking up in the middle of the night to respond to night hunting to pandemic duties like enforcing public health orders.
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