Burnaby MLA Kathy Corrigan is raising concerns about rising policing costs for B.C. municipalities.
On March 21, provincial Justice Minister Shirley Bond signed a 20-year RCMP policing contract with the federal government, but news of several retroactive RCMP pay raises came to light after the deal was signed.
"These increases could significantly impact many local budgets, including a $2 to $3 million hit to Richmond and a $6 to $8 million hit to Surrey," Corrigan said in a media statement.
Corrigan did not know how much the costs would be for Burnaby but guessed it would be in the millions.
"Burnaby has a smaller detachment than Surrey but a larger detachment than Richmond," she said.
According to Corrigan, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews already warned Bond of the pay increases.
"The federal public safety minister claims to have shared the information (about the pay increases) with the provinces twice during negotiations, so as chief negotiator and signatory for the province B.C. Liberal Justice Minister Shirley Bond has an obligation to confirm whether or not she was aware of these looming increases before she presented the contract to municipalities," Corrigan said.
Bond responded to Corrigan's concerns with a statement emailed to the NOW.
"As early as May 2011, the RCMP signalled potential compensation increases of 1.5 per cent in their five-year plan sent to municipalities," Bond said. "The RCMP continued to use this estimate in subsequent meetings with various local governments. The approved federal Treasury
Board compensation package exceeds this in several areas. We have been reassured by the federal government that the cumulative impacts of this increase and federal budget reduction measures are unlikely to result in increased costs. We are awaiting financial information from the federal government. This situation is exactly why the new contract and its requirements for notification and consultation are so critical."
While the province may have signed the contract already, municipalities can opt out and set up their own municipal police force.
Some cities have already signed on with the RCMP, but Burnaby has not.
Municipalities pay a significant portion of RCMP costs, from 70 to 90 per cent, depending on population size. www.twitter.com/JenniferMoreau
