Mounties spent nearly $14M to protect Pope Francis during historic visit

The Mounties have, so far, spent close to $14 million in security costs to protect Pope Francis during his historic visit to Canada last summer.

One former Mountie said that, while the cost may seem high, he suggests that it is the cost of diplomacy.

The figures were released to CBC News in response to an access to Information request and cover the period of July 24 to 29, when the Pope made stops in Edmonton, Quebec City and Iqaluit.

The visit was hastily arranged after a delegation visited the Vatican a couple months prior, looking to press the Pontiff to apologize for the Catholic Church's role in residential schools.

While on Canadian soil, Pope Francis apologized for members of the Catholic Church who co-operated with Canada's "devastating" policy of Indigenous residential schools.

The visit also included several private meetings with Indigenous peoples, a visit with state officials, several public addresses, a participation in a pilgrimage and two public holy masses, one in Edmonton and one in Quebec City.

It also involved the coordination of multiple police agencies, from the municipal level to provincial agencies to the Mounties.

The numbers released about the RCMP's role in policing are broken down by province or territory and reveal a total cost, thus far, of $13,829,054:

Alberta | Edmonton, Maskwacis, Lac Ste. Anne

Quebec | Quebec City, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré

Nunavut | Iqaluit

The RCMP said the costs around Pope Francis's trip are as of Nov. 22, 2022 and expects that "additional costs will continue to be processed, potentially until the end of the 2022-23 fiscal year."

"The numbers seem high because anything with millions in it is obviously high, especially for regular people who are just trying to keep their life on the rails," said Chris Mathers, a former RCMP officer who now runs a crime and risk consulting company in Canada, the United States and Central America.

"It begs the question, should we be receiving the individuals? … [The] reality is, if you want the world to be a better place, you have to have the dialogue and this is what foments dialogue."