BATTLEFORD — A template resolution from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities was passed by the Town of Battleford at their Monday, April 10 meeting, calling for the prioritization of municipal input in future contract decisions with the RCMP.
This is in response to the Government of Canada’s decision in their 2023 budget to force municipalities to bear responsibility for retroactive costs stemming from the latest RCMP collective bargaining agreement.
The passing of the template resolution joins the FCM and other municipalities in calling on the federal government to commit to ensuring local governments are meaningfully consulted, fully informed and at the table on issues related to policing costs, given the municipal role in keeping communities safe.
“Municipal governments are already paying a growing share of policing costs, but unlike other orders of government, cannot run deficits to spread out the impact of these extraordinary one-time sums and have limited revenue tools,” reads the resolution.
The town says the federal government's decision may force municipalities into difficult decisions that may impact residents, including the cutting of essential services, reducing policing levels, raising property taxes significantly, up to and including or cancelling work on local infrastructure.
“... it is critical that municipalities be proactively engaged in any forthcoming processes related to contract policing to prevent this from occurring again,” the resolution reads.
Councillor David George noted his concerns to the residents of Battleford.
“We don’t know what the costs are going to be yet to the community, so hold on.”
