B.C. now appears close to inking a new 20-year policing contract with the RCMP. Negotiations in Ottawa ended last week with a tentative agreement that would keep the Mounties as the police force for most B.C. cities, said Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender, the municipal observer in the talks. No details have been released on the new contract, which is subject to detailed technical review, consultation with cities and may require further refinement. To meet an end-of-November deadline imposed by Ottawa, the deputy ministers leading the talks for each province or territory are to confirm by Wednesday they will recommend the agreement to their respective ministers and cabinets, Fassbender said. Final decisions to sign would still be up to each provincial cabinet, he said, and promised city councils in RCMP-policed cities will get detailed briefings as soon as possible. Fassbender said the recent talks have been "productive" and said federal officials have become more willing to address municipal concerns. "Everybody came to the table with a desire to find the best for both Canada and the provinces and territories," he said. Cities had demanded greater control over how the RCMP are managed, particularly in the containment of costs and greater transparency and accountability. Federal officials in September told B.C. to sign the new RCMP contract by the end of November or they'd begin withdrawing the Mounties in 2014. That ultimatum prompted B.C. Solicitor General Shirley Bond to begin considering the launch of a replacement provincial force, if necessary. Any new contract would still have opt-out clauses under which any city can form its own municipal force or the province could end the RCMP contract and form a provincial force. The deal is not expected to change the current cost-sharing formula, which sees large cities pay 90 per cent of local RCMP costs, while smaller ones pay 70 per cent. A new contract management committee to address local concerns on an ongoing basis is among the new components of the contract.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Tentative deal reached to keep RCMP
B.C. now appears close to inking a new 20-year policing contract with the RCMP. Negotiations in Ottawa ended last week with a tentative agreement that would keep the Mounties as the police force for most B.C. cities, said Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender, the municipal observer in the talks. No details have been released on the new contract, which is subject to detailed technical review, consultation with cities and may require further refinement. To meet an end-of-November deadline imposed by Ottawa, the deputy ministers leading the talks for each province or territory are to confirm by Wednesday they will recommend the agreement to their respective ministers and cabinets, Fassbender said. Final decisions to sign would still be up to each provincial cabinet, he said, and promised city councils in RCMP-policed cities will get detailed briefings as soon as possible. Fassbender said the recent talks have been "productive" and said federal officials have become more willing to address municipal concerns. "Everybody came to the table with a desire to find the best for both Canada and the provinces and territories," he said. Cities had demanded greater control over how the RCMP are managed, particularly in the containment of costs and greater transparency and accountability. Federal officials in September told B.C. to sign the new RCMP contract by the end of November or they'd begin withdrawing the Mounties in 2014. That ultimatum prompted B.C. Solicitor General Shirley Bond to begin considering the launch of a replacement provincial force, if necessary. Any new contract would still have opt-out clauses under which any city can form its own municipal force or the province could end the RCMP contract and form a provincial force. The deal is not expected to change the current cost-sharing formula, which sees large cities pay 90 per cent of local RCMP costs, while smaller ones pay 70 per cent. A new contract management committee to address local concerns on an ongoing basis is among the new components of the contract.
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