THE two North Vancouver mayors say if the federal government refuses requests for more oversight of ballooning RCMP expenses, it might be time to consider returning to a provincial police force.
District mayor Richard Walton and city mayor Darrell Mussatto said they are happy with the level of service provided by the Mounties, and would rather strike a better deal with the RCMP than go it alone, but if a better deal isn't available, "The door's open, certainly," said Walton.
The province is in the midst of negotiating a new 20-year contract with the federal force to provide local policing services in all but 13 communities across B.C., including North Vancouver, but negotiations are stalled over requests for more local control of RCMP expenditures. West Vancouver, with its own municipal police department, isn't affected by the negotiations.
B.C. Solicitor General Shirley Bond accused the federal government of stonewalling negotiations in comments at the UBCM conference in Vancouver earlier this week. She said Ottawa has threatened to withdraw RCMP service if a new 20-year contract isn't reached by November, and that federal negotiators had refused any new costcontrol measures for municipalities.
Bond said in a release she wants to extend the current contract to allow more time for negotiations. In the same statement, she also opened the door to a provincial police force, something the province hasn't had since 1950, when the B.C. force was disbanded after 79 years and replaced by the RCMP.
Alberta and Saskatchewan have already signed new contract agreements with the RCMP accepting the federal government's terms, but a "me too" clause in their contracts mean any concessions B.C. wins will also apply to those provinces as well.
Public Safety Canada didn't return calls by press time; however public safety minister Vic Toews addressed the issue in the House of Commons, suggesting he sees little room for compromise.
"The same fundamental terms and conditions will apply to all provinces. Saskatchewan has accepted the agreement, Alberta has accepted the agreement and British Columbia will have to decide whether or not to accept the agreement," he said.
In addition to basic costs, cities have very little control over regional police teams such as the Integrated Homicide Team and the Emergency Response Teams, said Mussatto.
The city of North Vancouver spends about 20 per cent of its budget on police services, including the RCMP contract, building maintenance and the Lower Lonsdale community policing office.
"Their costs are going up faster than the other departments," said Mussatto. "That's directly involved in the discussion we have at tax time. It's a big one. Cost increases in policing are significant."
Mayor Walton agreed, but said any alternative system couldn't come with a bigger price tag.
"We may win a couple points of control and end up in 15-20 per cent increase in costs," he said. "We need to figure out what the risks are."
