Whereas inflation, rising equipment costs, and increasing officer salaries have made the existing cost sharing formulas and RCMP costs unsustainable for local governments; And whereas local governments have no ability to negotiate or regulate the rising costs: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province to work with local governments to develop a new RCMP funding framework that gradually increases the cost-share rate for local governments.
Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General We recognize that policing is a major expense for municipalities, and we are committed to working with local governments to ensure police services are delivered in the safest, most effective, and efficient way possible. Policing costs also extend beyond simply the hiring of more officers, and our government continues to examine ideas across the public safety system where opportunities might exist for greater efficiency. RCMP-policed municipalities with over 5,000 population receive policing through their respective Municipal Police Unit Agreements MPUAs, which specifies the cost-share. MPUAs are a component of the standardized Policing Agreements with Public Safety Canada which includes the Provincial Police Service Agreement, Municipal Police Service Agreement and the MPUA. These agreements are in effect from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2032. The Province is aware of concerns from RCMP-policed municipalities with respect to the significant cost difference for property owners when their municipalitys Census population crosses from between 5,000 and 14,999 to over 15,000 persons, resulting in a change to the cost share ratio between the municipality and the Government of Canada from 70:30 to 90:10. The Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act recommended the creation of a fair and equitable shared funding model for municipalities, and staff in the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General have had numerous discussions with the Local Government Policing Modernization Roundtable to explore what potential changes in this area might look like. Ministry staff are continuing to assess a range of police funding ideas that were shared during this extensive consultation process focusing on modernization of policing policy. We are committed to incrementally building on the foundational work and engagement already completed to ensure that police services are fair, equitable, and responsive to the needs of municipalities for future work to come. Also, we are committed to re-establishing the Local Government Policing Modernization Roundtable upon receiving direction to continue engagement on this issue.