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House Hansard - 42

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 21, 2022 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 42 - Mar/21/22
Ms. Pam Damoff (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)
  • Mar/21/22 6:41:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to address this historic first collective agreement for Royal Canadian Mounted Police members. Let me begin by saying that there is no greater responsibility for the Government of Canada than to keep our citizens and communities safe. RCMP members continue to play a primary role for Canadians in supporting this objective. The RCMP provides policing services across Canada, including much of rural Canada, all of the Canadian north and many towns and large urban centres. It delivers local and regional policing services under a contracted cost-sharing agreement with jurisdictions that have opted to have the RCMP as their police service of jurisdiction. They include all provinces except Ontario and Quebec, as well as the three territories and 155 municipalities. The Government of Canada shares the cost of RCMP contract policing by paying 10% of salary, equipment and other costs in large municipalities and 30% of these costs in municipalities with a population of less than 15,000. This collective agreement between the Government of Canada and the National Police Federation, the bargaining agent for RCMP members, went into effect on August 6, 2021. It provided a reasonable economic increase and market adjustments to address long-standing wage differences that existed between RCMP members and reservists and other police services across Canada. As a result of the agreement, RCMP salaries are now in line with those of other police services across Canada. The agreement marked the first time that RCMP members received a pay increase since 2017. Government officials kept partners informed throughout the collective bargaining process starting in 2017, including on anticipated salary increases, to help them plan accordingly. However, the Government of Canada is mindful that policing represents a significant cost for all communities, including municipalities that contract RCMP police services. We have heard the calls from municipalities that the cost of the agreement, while fair for regular members, presents challenges. For this reason, our government remains committed to continuing to meet with contract policing partners in order to effectively implement the collective agreement. In the coming weeks, officials will sit down with jurisdictions to discuss the impacts of the agreement and their specific needs. The women and men of the RCMP work tirelessly to serve and protect Canadians, including those in rural areas, and for this I thank them wholeheartedly. Our partnerships with all contract jurisdictions to support the RCMP in the communities they police are strong. In these challenging times, our government remains committed to working closely with contract partners, and indeed with all provinces, territories and municipalities, to achieve our shared public safety priorities. We will listen and be there for all communities to support them in ensuring that the public remains safe and secure.
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