After Ottawa committed to keeping contract policing, premiers ask: where are the Mounties?

As the federal government's vision for the future of the RCMP comes into focus, premiers are urging Ottawa to pay more attention to the Mounties' staffing crisis.

"We just simply can't allow for those holes to go unfilled," said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Tuesday, as the premiers gathered in Halifax for their annual summer meeting.

After years of speculation and rumours about whether the Liberal government would drop the RCMP's contract policing service — the boots-on-the-ground policing Mounties perform in the provinces and territories — Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc recently wrote to his provincial counterparts assuring them the federal government is committed to honouring its existing contracts.

"Further, I commit to work with provinces and territories on our approach to the renegotiations of the agreements and ensure we have the proper path forward to support you in your needs and priorities when it comes to policing in your jurisdiction today and beyond 2032," he wrote.

That letter is getting a lukewarm reception from premiers.

British Columbia Premier David Eby said that while he's happy to see Ottawa commit to the contracts, that commitment needs to lead to more RCMP officers being trained and deployed to fill vacancies.

Eby's government won a court case to force the City of Surrey to move its policing services from the RCMP to a municipal force. He argued Tuesday that keeping the RCMP in its current state "would have resulted in a serious public safety issue."

"That's how tight things are for RCMP officers in British Columbia," he said.

"We increased funding for police across the province. We've got the money to pay for the officers. We just don't have the officers."

CBC has been asking the RCMP for a breakdown of its updated vacancy numbers since last Wednesday but hasn't heard back. According to a recently published federal survey of jurisdictions that use the RCMP, some contract holders report local RCMP vacancy rates in excess of 50 per cent at one time or another.

Alberta looking at a sheriffs program

Some provinces are testing the waters for alternatives to RCMP contract policing. 

Earlier this year, Alberta introduced new legislation aimed at creating an Alberta-only policing agency of sheriffs. If passed, Bill 11 would see sheriffs take on more responsibilities and work alongside RCMP officers.

"Unfortunately, we pay for 1,911 RCMP officers and we have over 400 vacancies," said Smith.

"It's part of the reason why we've been bringing in new sheriff's detachments and new sheriff duties, and also supporting our municipalities and expanding municipal forces just so that we make sure the public safety is number one."

New Brunswick last year ruled out creating a provincial police force to replace the RCMP, citing costs. Premier Blaine Higgs said he still has concerns about how the new federal vision for the RCMP will unfold.

"I'm cautiously optimistic that the model that Mr. LeBlanc is putting forward will be effective," he said Monday.

Northwest Territories Premier R.J. Simpson said he believes Ottawa hears him on the need to provide sufficient policing resources in the North.

"Time will tell how things turn out, but I do feel that there's an awareness that there's that responsibility, and that there's a line of communication for us to provide that feedback to the RCMP," he said Tuesday.

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme has said boosting recruitment and covering staffing gaps are his top priorities in the job.

Changes to federal policing 

In his letter to the provinces, LeBlanc said he envisions "an end-state for federal policing that is separate and distinct from the RCMP contract policing mandate."

That change appears to be a response to mounting calls to reform the country's largest police service.

The RCMP's federal policing side — which investigates foreign interference, terrorism and other threats to national security, along with high-level organized crime and cybercrime — has been losing regular members over the last decade in order to fill vacancies in the contract policing section.

Mounties in federal policing who are posted to detachments to address gaps in provincial policing are often not replaced, undermining the work of the federal policing unit.

Last year, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians issued a report saying the RCMP's federal policing mandate is hindered by resource issues and competing demands from the contract policing side.

Federal policing is not "as effective, efficient, flexible or accountable as it needs to be to protect Canada and Canadians from the most significant national security and criminal threats," the committee warned. 

It urged the government to review the relationship between federal policing and the RCMP's contract obligations.