B.C. municipalities have begun to receive bills for millions of dollars to cover back pay for RCMP members under the police force’s new collective agreement — and are warning of tax increases or other budget impacts unless Ottawa helps shoulder the load.
Signed last August, the agreement between the members’ union and the federal government secured pay raises for thousands of RCMP members that are retroactive to 2017, covering the period since the pay scale was last updated in 2016.
Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie says while municipalities that pay the RCMP for policing services were warned for years to set aside money to cover these retroactive costs, the size of the bill that Richmond received was still unexpected.
“It wasn’t enough,” he said. “We’ve got a very significant payment (due) over the amount that has been saved.”
Brodie says it’s not just the retroactive pay — estimated to be between $9-10 million currently — that will hit the city’s bank account, but also the need to cover the higher pay going forward.
“There’s going to be about a three-per cent tax increase ongoing for the operating costs,” he said, estimating an additional $7 million cost annually.
“This is a big hit on our budget when we can ill afford it. So we’re looking for some compensation and some help going forward.”
The City of Surrey, which currently employs the largest RCMP force in Canada, will receive the highest bill for retroactive pay at an estimated $46.6 million.
A spokesperson for the city said municipalities had no role in negotiating the collective agreement, adding the federal government “does not take into account any (city’s) ability to pay when negotiating the agreement.”
“Cities are informed after the fact,” a statement from the city said.
Under the collective agreement for about 20,000 RCMP members, a constable will see a $20,000 annual salary bump as of April 1, while a staff sergeant will see a roughly $25,000 raise.
Although the RCMP is under federal jurisdiction, it provides policing services to municipalities through contracts. How much municipalities pay for those services depends on its size, with the remainder split between federal and provincial governments.
B.C.’s 2020 report on policing resources found 65 municipalities contract the RCMP, totalling over 4,000 members. Provincial RCMP services have an additional 2,600 members.
Laurey-Anne Roodenburg, a Quesnel city councillor and vice president of the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), says her city will be on the hook for about $834,000 in retroactive pay — which is on the low end of the scale.
“We are a community of just over 10,000 people,” she said. “If you look at North Cowichan” — whose population is just shy of 32,000 people — “they will be getting a bill of over $1 million.”
Roodenburg would not say if taxes will go up in Quesnel or other municipalities due to the back pay, saying it will be up to local city councils to make those decisions.
“Local governments understand the need for RCMP policing in their communities, and they will find ways — local governments are very creative when it comes to trying to figure out these types of challenges,” she said.
She says the UBCM has called on the federal government to absorb the retroactive pay costs, but have so far been ignored.
Brodie says he and the rest of the B.C. Urban Mayors Caucus he sits on has requested a meeting with Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, whose ministry oversees the RCMP.
Other provinces as well as the Federation of Canadian Municipalities have previously called on Ottawa to help municipalities — particularly those in rural areas — cover the costs.
A Public Safety Canada spokesperson did not respond to Global News in time for publication.
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