Lakeland municipalities invoiced over $1M in retroactive RCMP pay

The feds collective bargaining with the RCMP includes tabbing municipalities with retroactive pay for policing dating back to 2017. 

Municipalities are left holding the bag worth hundreds of thousands of dollars after retroactive payments to the federal government for the RCMP have been collected. 

The City of Cold Lake is charged $411,900.47, the Town of Bonnyville is charged $355,762.88, and the Town of St. Paul gets a bill of $327,835.16. 

When the RCMP went to the negotiating table for a new collective bargaining agreement and reached a new deal in 2021, that included retroactive pay reaching back to 2017. 

Municipalities were notified in 2020 by RCMP K Division that they would help “shoulder the load” in these payments, and local towns began saving for these expenses. 

But that doesn’t mean they’re happy. 

“We’re angry,” said Mayor Maureen Miller. “I’m not saying our RCMP do not deserve this money. Absolutely. That’s never been my voice. But to not be at the table and then be invoiced is another story.” 

Municipalities were not at the table during the negotiation, which is part of the frustration. Councils saw this invoice as part of their last regular meeting package with the amount expected by May 15, 2023.  

A legal opinion shared between Alberta Municipalities and Federal of Canadian Municipalities advised not to consider a class action lawsuit because of how the language of the law may be interpreted. 

How much a community pays for policing depends on the size. For the City of Cold Lake with a population of over 15,000, they pay 90 per cent of the policing cost.  

Mayor Craig Copeland gave credit to staff for having the money saved away in advance. However, part of the city’s tax increase of three per cent is reflected in this jump in costs. 

“We’ve absorbed a lot of that increase with the staff reserve they had. Plus, unfortunately, this year, there’s a tax increase that’s associated with that jump. I think a one per cent tax increase is just related to this extra police funding because it’s significant on ratepayers upcoming tax,” he said. 

For the Town of St. Paul, they have elected to make payments on the total bill. It will be paid in full by March 31, 2025. 

“That’s 30 per cent of our revenue we receive on a tax rate basis…it’s major for our communities and all of our communities in the northeast. This is huge,” said Miller.  

“Municipalities can’t be left on the hook continually…we have to balance our budgets, and we are the end of the line. It’s the same rate payer.”