On February 3-4, 2021 the Contract Management Committee (CMC), which includes representatives from provinces, territories and local governments, met with federal and RCMP representatives to discuss matters related to the RCMP Police Services Agreements. Issues relevant to local governments are summarized in this article.
Regular Member Demand
The RCMP, provinces, and territories (PTs) continue to work on the development of a Regular Member (RM) demand model that accurately reflects the true vacancy picture across all Divisions. Contract partners requested more information regarding timelines for receiving a draft model that incorporates PT input.
The RM demand model is a tool used by RCMP to determine the troop gate required to meet RCMP demand for resources, including assessments of attrition and growth across all business lines. The tool also informs allocation of cadets across all business lines across the country. The past 12 months have been particularly challenging, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused Depot to temporarily shut down, negatively impacting the number of troops that completed training. As a result, local governments that requested cadets may experience delays in receiving those officers.
2021-22 Five Year Review
CMC members discussed the upcoming 2021-22 Five Year Review, and in particular the need to eventually review any impacts to the Police Services Agreements resulting from RCMP collective bargaining.
Body Worn Cameras
A phased roll out of Body Worn Cameras is expected to begin in summer 2021, following the conclusion of a pilot project in Nunavut. In recognition of the short time period leading up to implementation and that this initiative is not included in the Multi-Year Financial Plans, the federal government will provide funding for the first three years of implementation. The expectation is that contract partners will assume all costs by 2024.
A new working group has been established that endeavours to involve a limited number of PT and local government CMC representatives. BC provincial and local government CMC representatives are seeking appointment to the working group. The lack of long-term funding and meaningful consultation with contract partners are two key issues of concern.
RCMP Strategic Plan
RCMP representatives, including Commissioner Brenda Lucki, discussed the development of the RCMP Strategic plan, which as part of Vision 150 will provide high-level direction related to key modernization initiatives. The Strategic Plan reflects and considers systemic racism, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other key developments over the past year. It is expected that this document will be made public in the near future, along with a corresponding results tracker.
RCMP Auxiliary Program
Following a review of concerns expressed by contract partners, RCMP National Headquarters provided CMC with the Auxiliary Program MOU. The MOU did not adequately address historical CMC concerns, specifically regarding liability. As a result, there is still no auxiliary policing option for RCMP-policed jurisdictions.
Labour Relations
Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) provided an update on collective bargaining, as the NPF and TBS continue to negotiate a collective agreement for RCMP members below the rank of Inspector. Due to the confidential nature of negotiations, there is minimal information that can be communicated to contract partners. In an effort to understand potential cost implications, UBCM has completed a broad review of recently concluded collective agreements.
Enhancements to Consultation Standard Operating Procedures
The development of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) document for engagement between the RCMP and contract partners was one of the key results of the 2016-17 Five Year Review. RCMP representatives, at the February 2021 CMC meeting, proposed strengthening their own internal processes in an attempt to ensure the RCMP is following the expected consultation process.
Surrey Transition
PT CMC members expressed interest in better understanding the financial impacts of the Surrey policing transition on RCMP policing costs and services. The City of Surrey is the largest contributor to the shared services, and at this point it is unclear whether these services will be scaled back (e.g. corporate cuts) or whether partners will absorb higher costs.
Eleventh Pension Panel Report (as first reported in November 2020)
In October 2020, CMC representatives considered the Pension Panel’s recommendation to slightly increase the employer’s contribution to Members’ pensions from 19.07% of pensionable salaries to 19.44% (+0.37%) for the next three fiscal years beginning April 1, 2021. Depending on local government population and associated cost-sharing ratios, the financial impacts will range from under $1,000 to just over $200,000. This change is minimal compared to the Tenth Pension Panel Report, which reduced the employer’s contribution from 22.7% to 19.07% (-3.63%) from April 1, 2018 – March 31, 2021.
Any questions regarding these issues may be directed to Bhar Sihota, UBCM Senior Policy Analyst.