B.C. mayors call on federal government to cover retroactive RCMP costs
Arrthy Thayaparan | CBC News | Posted: April 15, 2023 3:48 AM | Last Updated: April 15, 2023
Costs for B.C. municipalities are expected to be between $138 million and $145 million, says federation
Several B.C. communities are speaking out against the federal government's decision to pass retroactive RCMP costs onto municipalities.
In its 2023 budget, the federal government indicated it will not absorb retroactive costs associated with the RCMP collective bargaining agreement, despite requests from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) for federal support.
"It's terribly unfair … certain municipalities were told to expect increases, but it ended up being a lot more than was discussed," said FCM acting president Scott Pearce.
He adds costs associated with the RCMP were negotiated by the federal government without the involvement of municipalities.
The projected costs for B.C. municipalities alone is expected to be between $138 million and $145 million, according to Pearce.
Pearce and mayors from B.C. municipalities are speaking out in hopes local governments will be included in future RCMP cost negotiations. They say the unexpectedly high costs are "unfair" to communities that will now face increased taxes and limited budgets for services.
"Municipalities were not invited to the table, so the federal government was negotiating with our money," Pearce said.
"Municipalities are not allowed legally to finish with a deficit, so if you don't have that money somewhere, you're forced to basically cut services."
Varied costs
Costs will vary between municipalities, says Pearce, from a $4 million increase for Burnaby to over $30 million for Kamloops.
While some municipalities were warned ahead of time about increased costs, the amount in the end surpassed expectations, he said.
"[Prince George was] warned of increased costs… so they put away $4 million. But now they're still on the hook for another $2.5 million," Pearce said.
In a release, Prince George Mayor Simon Yu said the city will utilize its remaining COVID-19 "safe restart" fund to partially pay for the remaining expense.
"It is important that the federal government work collaboratively with local governments to ensure that policing services costs are handled fairly," Yu said.
'Money out of our budget'
Sooke Mayor Maja Tait says the community is "grateful" for the RCMP, but is frustrated by the lack of consultation with local governments.
"The rollout of the retro invoicing is all done behind closed doors … It's difficult for municipalities when we're already faced with cost pressures.
"We saved, we were able to cover this, but other municipalities are really stretched for this," she said, adding municipalities in B.C. are also expected to cover costs for 911 fees and manage local budgets amid rising inflation.
Tait says more RCMP officers will be needed as the community continues to grow. But the increase in costs means they've held off hiring more officers.
Fort St. John Mayor Lilia Hansen says they're looking at $1.4 million in retroactive costs this year for a community of 21,000.
"When we're taking that money out of our budget, that means we're not able to spend it on … things that we need to build a welcoming community," Hansen said.