Published: April 12, 2023 @ 9:30 a.m.
The Town of Grand Bay-Westfield responded to the federal government’s disappointing decision to pass unbudgeted and unaccounted for costs on to municipalities, at a Town Council meeting on April 11, 2023.
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.
Federal Budget 2023 further confirmed that communities across Canada that are dependent on RCMP services for local policing, including Grand Bay-Westfield, are expected to cover these costs—a decision falling well short of the call from municipalities to fully absorb the costs.
“As a Town and through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, we’ve been advocating for the federal government to cover the RCMP retroactive costs. I was very disappointed to see in the Federal Budget 2023, that these costs were not covered. We have limited revenue tools. This could be crippling to certain municipalities, and certainly won’t go unnoticed by ours, when we’re talking about a potential hit in the six figures. These were costs that we were not at the table to negotiate. We had no say in it. There was no collaboration. There was no cooperation.” – Mayor Brittany Merrifield
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 Grand Bay-Westfield associated with these retroactive payments is estimated to not exceed $200,000.
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 they 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 Grand Bay-Westfield.
To view the Town Council meeting of April 11, 2023, visit HERE. (RCMP retroactive costs was discussed at the 33:50 minute mark of meeting).
Town Contact Information
Phone: (506) 738-6400 (Option 3 for after-hours urgent matters)
Email: administration@towngbw.ca
In-person: 609 River Valley Drive, Monday to Friday (excluding holidays), 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Register for Grand Bay-Westfield Emergency Alerts
The Town of Grand Bay-Westfield encourages residents to register for the emergency alert system (CodeRED by OnSolve). This is to ensure that the Town can notify residents in the event of emergency situations or critical community alerts. To register, visit HERE.
Stay Informed
Follow the Town of Grand Bay-Westfield on Facebook and Twitter or visit www.grandbaywestfield.ca
