(file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

NB council

City upset with lack of federal assistance for retroactive RCMP costs

Apr 11, 2023 | 3:16 PM

The City of North Battleford is concerned about a lack of assistance from the federal government in the 2023 budget for retroactive RCMP costs.

The city said in its release, along with numerous municipalities across Canada, it is disappointed to learn the federal government will not provide additional funding to offset retroactive RCMP costs in the new fiscal year.

The RCMP’s union, the National Police Federation, ratified its first-ever contract with the federal government in 2021, which included significant pay increases dating back to 2017. The national policing organization was previously non-unionized.

The City of North Battleford, along with other communities belonging to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), lobbied the federal government to absorb the retroactive costs associated with the RCMP’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The federal government’s 2023 budget, issued March 28, did not include financial support for municipalities that depend on the RCMP for policing.

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“Local governments were not at the table for these negotiations,” the Federation of Canadian Municipalities stated in its release. “While [bargaining agreement] cost estimates were provided to some municipalities, these initial estimates turned out to be far lower than the [eventually] approved [wage] increases spread out over six years [2017-2023].”

The cost to the City of North Battleford for these retroactive payments is expected to be slightly more than $1 million.

The $1 million payment for retroactive pay raises in North Battleford is the equivalent of a 6.45 per cent tax increase to residents, as noted during the city’s budget discussions in December 2022.

“Like many other Canadian municipalities, the city was disappointed to learn that the federal government will not be covering these costs,” North Battleford Mayor David Gillan said. “At a time when many people are experiencing post-pandemic and inflationary financial struggles, it is unfair to have residents contributing to an additional $1-million cost that was agreed to by the federal government and not by the City of North Battleford.”

During its meeting Monday, city council approved a resolution to make a request to the FCM to appeal to the federal government on behalf of all affected Canadian municipalities related to RCMP retroactive costs. City Manager Randy Patrick recommended the city ask the FCM to provide an emergency resolution on the appeal matter at the FCM’s annual general meeting in May.

“We’re hoping the FCM will entertain this [proposal] on behalf of all affected municipalities,” Mayor Gillan told battlefordsNOW. “If we all get together, [as] one voice, maybe we can have one large appeal together. It’s just a theory today. We don’t have all the details… but maybe the [federal] government will listen to our voice again, a little bit better.”

Council also approved a separate proposed resolution for the city to join the FCM to call on the federal government to commit to ensuring that local governments “are meaningfully consulted, fully informed and at the table on issues related to policing costs, given the municipal role in keeping our communities safe.” The amended resolution also indicated the city will convey the support in writing to the Solicitor General of Canada, with a copy of the letter sent to the local MP.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow