City of North Battleford responds to lack of assistance from Federal Government in 2023 budget for retroactive RCMP costs

Along with numerous municipalities across Canada, the City of North Battleford is disappointed to learn the Federal Government will not provide additional funding to offset retroactive RCMP costs in the new fiscal year.

The RCMP’s union, the National Police Federation, ratified its first-ever contract with the federal government in 2021, which featured significant pay increases dating back to 2017. The national policing organization was previously non-unionized.

The City of North Battleford, along with other communities belonging to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), lobbied the federal government to absorb the retroactive costs associated with the RCMP’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Federal Government’s 2023 Budget, issued on March 27, did not include financial support for municipalities that depend on the RCMP for policing.

“Local governments were not at the table for these negotiations,” noted a release from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

“While [bargaining agreement] cost estimates were provided to some municipalities, these initial estimates turned out to be far lower than the [eventually-] approved [wage] increases spread out over six years [2017-2023]. The cost to North Battleford associated with these retroactive payments is expected to be slightly more than $1 million.”

The $1 million payment for retroactive pay raises in North Battleford is the equivalent of a 6.45% tax increase to residents, which was highlighted during the City’s budget discussions in December 2022.

“Like many other Canadian municipalities, the City was disappointed to learn that the federal government will not be covering these costs,” commented North Battleford Mayor David Gillan.

“At a time when many people are experiencing post-pandemic and inflationary financial struggles, it is unfair to have residents contributing to an additional $1 million cost that was agreed to by the federal government and not by the City of North Battleford.”

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For more information:
Candace Toma, Public & Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator
306-441-0713 | publicrelations@cityofnb.ca