Ottawa tells BC RCMP contract policing for municipalities continues

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New information from the federal government indicating that the RCMP will continue to provide policing to provinces and municipalities even as Ottawa creates a “distinct” federal force will help influence a decision on a provincial force here, B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said Thursday.

Provinces, including B.C., had recently expressed concerns that the federal government was considering ending policing to provinces and municipalities by the Mounties when the current contract expires in 2032.

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This was also after reports surfaced that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government was considering transforming the RCMP into an FBI-like federal agency that focuses solely on national security, terrorism, financial crimes, cybercrime and organized crime, and would drop so-called contract policing to communities and provinces.

B.C. has the largest number of RCMP contract officers in Canada.

But in a recent letter to Farnworth, federal Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the federal government was committed to honouring its contract policing obligations and working with provinces and territories on renegotiations of agreements “to 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.”

Any decision on creating a provincial police force — a recommendation from an all-party B.C. legislative committee in 2022 — will not be for some time, said Farnworth.

But the letter from LeBlanc certainly helps the province to understand where the federal government is going, he told Postmedia News.

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“That helps us in terms of when we do get to some point around discussions, but I fully expect the RCMP are going to be policing in the province for quite a long time,” said Farnworth.

B.C.’s public safety minister also welcomed the decision to create a distinct federal force. In the past there have been concerns Ottawa couldn’t provide both officers to fulfil its contract obligations and to carry out its federal policing mandate.

For example, a public inquiry led by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen recommended in 2022 that the provincial government create a new money laundering intelligence and investigation unit because the federal government was failing to carry out its mandate to probe money laundering.

Earlier this week, the RCMP was asked how many officers staffed its federal financial crime division in B.C., but RCMP officials wouldn’t say. And the vacancy rate of RCMP officers remains high in B.C. Unfilled positions stand at nine per cent or more and there is another 13.5 per cent of officers on leave in the 7,350 or more authorized positions for Mounties in B.C.

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B.C. Premier David Eby said those vacancies are a challenge for the province. He added the letter provides short-term certainty for contract policing.

Farnworth said it’s early days and much discussion needs to take place before the contract ends in 2032 and also on the federal government’s intentions on federal policing.

However, he said his initial discussions with RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme have been encouraging.

In his letter, LeBlanc said he envisioned an “end-state” for federal policing that is separate and distinct from the RCMP’s contract policing mandate. He said this will assure dedicated resources and prioritization of policing to combat ever-changing, highest-level crime threats.

Federal officials didn’t immediately respond Thursday to questions, including how a distinct federal force would be funded or how Ottawa would ensure federal and contract forces were fully staffed.

The Union of B.C. Municipalities has opposed the move to a provincial force in B.C. and is also concerned about increasing policing costs.

Craig Hodge, a Coquitlam city councillor and co-chairman of the UBCM’s local government RCMP contract management committee, said he couldn’t comment officially on LeBlanc’s letter as it hadn’t been presented to the UBCM but noted an extension beyond 2032 of RCMP contract policing is something municipal members would support and encourage.

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“I think this is an opportune time, eight years out, to start that conversation,” he said.

Ottawa subsidizes police services for provinces and municipalities that contract with the RCMP, a nearly $305 million contribution to B.C. in 2021. Ottawa pays 30 per cent of the cost of RCMP services for provincial policing in rural areas and specialized units. The federal contribution is 10 per cent for larger towns and cities, and 30 per cent for those with a population under 5,000.

Doug King, a justice studies professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary, says the federal government should move away from RCMP contract policing. 

“They can’t get enough people, they’ve got so much liability, they have training problems,” he said.

But you can’t do that right now because there’s a federal election a year away and it would be unpalatable to the public, noted King.

Wally Oppal, a former judge and ex-B.C. attorney general, continues to support the move to a provincial police force. He noted that while municipal forces are more expensive, they provide more local control, noting the RCMP isn’t transparent and has no independent complaints process.

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Christian Leuprecht, a professor at the Royal Military College and Queen’s University in Ontario, said the move to create a distinct federal policing agency is something he has recommended for years.

But said Leuprecht: “The federal government can’t get out of contract policing because so many of the communities they police can’t pay for policing, the Maritimes, the territories and Indigenous communities to begin with.”  

With files from The Canadian Press

ghoekstra@postmedia.com

twitter.com/gordon_hoekstra

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