The exclusion from an RCMP contract negotiation that left Prince George stuck with a $5.374 million bill for retroactive compensation is one of the action items on the city’s intergovernmental affairs committee 2025 workplan.
The back pay was part of the RCMP’s collective bargaining agreement for 2017 to 2023, negotiated between the federal government and RCMP members.
RCMP members ratified a six-year Canada-widelabour contract in August 2021 which included a 23.78 per cent pay increase and was retroactive to 2017, with municipalities required to cover the one-time back pay cost.
Municipalities had been warned about the potential one-time cost, and the City of Prince George set aside $5.269 million to cover most of it by the time the contract was ratified.
Despite pressure from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), BC Urban Mayors’ Caucus, Union of BC Municipalities and local government association across Canada to convince the federal government to pay that bill, the city ultimately had to come up with the money.
Through the FCM, the city has asked the federal government to consult with municipalities on future RCMP contracts but has had no assurances that will happen.
“I wish somebody federally would take it on in a public way, with a federal election coming on,” said Coun. Brian Skakun. “The current Liberal government is not paying much attention to this and this is a huge issue across the country. We’re just blowing in the wind here.”
Coun. Garth Frizzell, chair of the intergovernmental affairs committee, plans to raise the topic with local MPs Todd Doherty and Bob Zimmer ahead of the FCM convention in Ottawa, May 29-June 1, 2025.
“Our stance is the feds need to engage with municipalities when going through these negotiations because they affect us,” said Coun. Kyle Sampson. “They make a deal that impacts local government then local government need to be part of that conversation and not just an afterthought.
“Police services is extremely important and they do a fantastic job her in Prince George, but it is our highest cost item in our budget ($61.3 million for protective services in 2024, which is 36.7 per cent of the city’s budget) and so we need to be sure that when those costs are changing we need to be consulted.”
Among other intergovernmental affairs workplan items discussed at its Nov. 5 meeting, the city will back the RCMP’s push for more provincial conservation officers in the region.
It will also support the federal Bill C-277 to establish a national strategy on brain injuries.
The committee is planning an advocacy trip to Victoria in February to learn more about the city’s role to support the BC Human Trafficking Prevention Network, as the first municipality to join that provincial committee.
