Unclear how much RCMP pay raises will affect you: Bond
Posted Apr 7, 2012 01:17:50 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – BC’s Justice Minister says it’s still unclear exactly how much costs might rise for municipalities with an RCMP detachment.
Police pay raises included in the federal budget came without consultation, but the province expects that process to change.
Shirley Bond says millions of dollars in RCMP pay increases could be offset by new savings elsewhere in the organization.
“If you look at both the increases to wages and the potential reductions on the administrative side in the RCMP, it’s very likely, and we are hopeful that this will have no impact, or a minimal impact, and potentially net benefits,” explains Bond.
She says her staff is working with Ottawa to determine the impacts, adding BC’s new contract with the force will give municipalities and the province more say in controlling costs.
“What we’ve asked for and received in the new contract is the ability to be at the table, to have a discussion about any of those costs that might impact our municipalities,” stresses Bond. “We have a new contract management committee through the Union of BC Municipalities, and I think that new gained tool will be one of the things that will help us work through the details of the compensation package.”
Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts has suggested the Mounties’ pay hikes could cost her city more than $6-million.
