News
Royal Canadian Mounted Police retroactive pay

Nov. 11, 2021, Coalhurst, Alta. – During a recent council meeting in Coalhurst, there had been a discussion of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Retroactive Pay, which is an agreement for the RCMP that grants officers millions in back pay.

The new RCMP collective agreement was ratified in August. Still, Alberta municipalities on the hook for back pay are looking for answers, ultimately hoping the federal government will pick up the bill.

This will mean that over 20 thousand members from the RCMP will have a sizeable pay increase from this agreement.

As part of the agreement, officers are due up to five years of back pay. As it stands, the 47 municipalities across the province that use the police force will have to shell out millions, which many see as unfair because they don’t set salaries and weren’t at the bargaining table.

Mayor Lyndsay Montana asked the Chief Administrator Officer Kim Hauta to elaborate on the funding model.

“Again, it’s just an agreement that the federal government has been negotiating with the RCMP to deal with this retroactive payment for a pay increase, so now it’s just determined how they may prorate that or deal with that cost,” said Hauta.

In a statement, Public Safety Canada said the provinces knew the salaries were frozen for five years.

“With ratification, individual contract jurisdictions are best placed to undertake the financial analysis required and to advise regarding the annual increase they are required to pay as a result of this collective agreement,” it read.

“As territories, provinces or municipalities determine policing models and budgets. They are best placed to provide information on the impacts that will result from this collective agreement.”