The federal government is threatening to withdraw RCMP services from B.C. in 2014 unless the province signs a contract by November, Solicitor-General Shirley Bond said Tuesday.
Addressing delegates at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, the minister said negotiations have broken down between Ottawa and Victoria over a proposed 20-year policing contract.
She said the federal government halted negotiations last year in advance of the federal election and has refused to resume them, insisting that the province accept its proposal.
The province is negotiating the contract on behalf of local governments that pay for RCMP services, as well as for policing in rural areas, which is paid for by the province.
In the Lower Mainland, Surrey is the largest RCMP detachment, with Burnaby close behind.
Efforts to convince Public Safety Minister Vic Toews to restart the negotiations have been fruitless, she said.
"We have received notification from the minister of public safety that should British Columbia not sign the federal proposal, that they will consider withdrawing RCMP services beginning in 2014," Bond told reporters. "We're not very pleased that there has been that kind of ultimatum and we look forward to the negotiators coming back to the table."
Bond said Toews wants B.C. to accept a contract based on two contracts signed by Alberta and Saskatchewan earlier this year. But she said those contracts don't reflect the reality of policing needs in British Columbia, which has 6,000 RCMP officers, the largest contingent in the country.
"As you can imagine, our goal has been to bring the team back to the table to work on a deal that works for British Columbia."
Bond said if the province can't get Ottawa back to the table, it may look at a "Plan B" scenario of reconstituting the former provincial police force. But that idea is challenging, she said, because it would be more costly and also create a break in national crimefighting efforts and the sharing of intelligence.
"I don't want to characterize it as I am looking at a provincial police force. What I am looking at is trying to find a way to reach a settlement with federal government to maintain an RCMP contract," she said.
"But on the other hand, when you receive an ultimatum that suggests the RCMP may be withdrawn from this province by 2014, I think any responsible minister would at least begin to do the homework to look at if that is necessary, what does it mean for the province."
The contract represents more than $800 million annually in B.C. The province's share, about $300 million, goes to cover services in small municipalities and rural areas. Medium and large municipalities without their own forces pay about $500 million annually for contracted RCMP services.
Bond said the federal government is balking at giving the province and municipalities more control within the contract to deal with rising costs, something she thinks Ottawa would want as well.
"What we want are some management tools. We want to be able to sit down and talk to the federal government when we are looking at increased costs to say, 'are these things important and how are we going to pay for them?' We have no ability to have that discussion today."
She cited as an example the RCMP's new E Division headquarters being built in Surrey. Originally estimated to cost $300 million, it is now edging $1 billion. She emphasized that the dispute is not about the officers who serve in the RCMP, but about settling a contract with the federal government.
