‘Big hit’: B.C. municipalities facing large backpay bill to RCMP

Communities like Osoyoos, B.C., are having to pay over $150,000 dollars in retroactive RCMP payments, as its population grew above 5,000. 

Municipalities across B.C. could face thousands, if not millions in backpay for RCMP services in their communities.

Some cities say they expected the costs years ago and others are stuck searching for ways to come up with the money.

The federal government is passing on unbudgeted and unaccounted-for RCMP costs to municipalities.

“We’d heard that this might happen for the last couple of years but we were quite surprised to get a bill. We’ve got lots of things on our budget and that wasn’t one of them. It’s going to be a big hit to our budget,” said Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff.

Communities like Osoyoos are having to pay over $150,000 in retroactive RCMP payments, as its population grew above 5,000.

“We then had to pay 70 per cent, so knowing that we had put money aside each year to try and cover that. We have to be prepared; that’s why we have a five-year plan and a 10-year plan,” said McKortoff.

Last year, 20,000 RCMP members signed a collective agreement with retroactive pay going back to 2017, meaning communities would have to pay that back.

However, some Okanagan towns started planning ahead years ago, including Oliver, where they raised taxes by nine per cent.