Policing

The RCMP and the Government of Canada have moved one step closer to the national deployment of body-worn cameras (BWC). This comes after a BWC vendor completed an eight-week field test at multiple locations across Canada. Despite ongoing procurement and implementation delays, the federal government will not revise its decision on financial support, leaving local governments to absorb costs at the applicable cost-share ratio outlined in the Police Service Agreements.

Last week, the Province introduced a series of amendments to the Police Act, including changes to police governance and oversight that will impact police boards and municipalities. The Province has advised that these amendments represent phase one of a multi-phase process to review and reform BC’s policing legislation. Phase one, incorporating provincial priorities, is highlighted in this article.

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) and the National Police Federation, the union representing RCMP reservists and Members below the rank of Inspector will move to third-party binding arbitration, which is anticipated to occur in May 2024. TBS communicated this information to contract partners as part of a recent national Contract Management Committee (CMC) briefing.

Although the Parties are moving to third-party arbitration, TBS has indicated that over the last several months the parties have resolved several pending issues, but not pay.

On January 10, 2024 the Local Government RCMP Contract Management Committee (LGCMC) met with provincial government and BC RCMP representatives to discuss issues related to the Municipal Police Unit Agreements, and policing more broadly in British Columbia. Key issues discussed at the meeting are summarized in this article.

On November 23, 2023 the Local Government RCMP Contract Management Committee (LGCMC) met with provincial government and BC RCMP representatives to discuss issues related to the Municipal Police Unit Agreements, including items raised at the national Contract Management Committee (CMC). Key issues discussed at the meeting are:

UBCM is seeking to appoint local government representatives from RCMP-policed jurisdictions to the Local Government Contract Management Committee (LGCMC). There are four vacancies that are required to be filled by local government elected officials or staff members.