The Town of Osoyoos responded to the federal government’s disappointing decision to pass unbudgeted and unaccounted-for costs on to municipalities.
Despite months of municipal advocacy led by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), provincial-territorial associations, and local leaders across Canada, the federal government has indicated in the most recent federal budget it will not be meeting the request to absorb the retroactive costs associated with the latest RCMP collective bargaining agreement. Tuesday’s budget further confirmed that communities across Canada dependent on RCMP services for local policing, including the Town of Osoyoos, are expected to cover these costs—a decision falling well short of the call from municipalities to absorb the cost fully.
“Council and the Town’s Administration are frustrated by the decision of the federal government to download these expenses to local municipalities who have limited ability to generate revenue for expenses,” stated Mayor McKortoff. Mayor McKortoff further said, " We appreciate the hard work and dedicated service that our local RCMP detachment provides to the residents and visitors of Osoyoos. Our frustration with the federal government funding decision is not at all directed at our local detachment.”
Local governments were not at the table for these negotiations. And while cost estimates were provided to some municipalities, these turned out to be far below the final agreement’s increase over six years, with retroactive pay going back to 2017. The cost to the Town of Osoyoos associated with these retroactive payments is expected to be $157,687.29.
The Town’s CAO Rod Risling, stated, “Unfortunately, this bill will, in effect, wipe out Council’s municipal sustainability fund initiative and will result in larger tax increases in the future.”
This decision is an example of a federal commitment that deeply impacts municipalities without municipalities being properly consulted or involved. Municipal governments are paying a growing share of policing costs but cannot run deficits and have limited revenue tools.
FCM has clearly reiterated the need for municipalities to be actively involved in any future processes regarding contract policing, calling this recent decision unacceptable. This is a position supported in full by the Town of Osoyoos.