Provinces say Ottawa is leaving them in the dark about RCMP's future

Frustration is mounting in provincial and territorial governments that rely on the RCMP's services as they wait for Ottawa to come up with a plan for the beleaguered national police service.

Outside of Ontario and Quebec, the RCMP provides front-line policing services through contract agreements with the provinces and territories. Under those agreements, which expire in 2032, provinces and territories pay 70 per cent of the cost of the RCMP's services and the federal government covers the rest.

But a growing number of voices are calling for root-and-branch changes to the way the RCMP operates.

Almost exactly a year ago, the inquiry into the worst mass shooting in modern Canadian history criticized the RCMP's response to the crisis on almost every level and recommended an in-depth, external and independent review of the RCMP.

The Mass Casualty Commission's report said that review should "specifically examine the RCMP's approach to contract policing and work with contract partners, and also its approach to community relations."

A few months after that report landed, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP), one of Canada's intelligence watchdogs, reported that the RCMP's federal policing responsibilities are being hindered by resource issues — including the force's focus on boots-on-the-ground contract policing.

The RCMP's federal policing responsibilities include financial crime, organized crime, international investigations and threats to national security.

"We're certainly calling on the federal government to examine the relationship between contract policing and federal policing inside the organization," said NSICOP's chair, Liberal MP David McGuinty.

While the federal government has said it is assessing the RCMP's contracts with provinces and territories, there have been rumours suggesting Ottawa is open to changing the RCMP's mandate so that it concentrates entirely on federal policing — making the RCMP more like the FBI.

The lack of clarity is causing some anxiety among the provinces and territories, said Saskatchewan's Public Safety Minister Paul Merriman.

"Just tell us which way you're going to go," he said.

"We want to see a plan … We want to know with some certainty what is happening for the future of policing in Canada. The federal government has not given any direction."

Other provincial governments contacted by CBC shared those views.

A spokesperson for New Brunswick's Public Safety Minister Kris Austin said the province is waiting to see how the federal government responds to the Mass Casualty Commission.