2020 budget won't create new RCMP position in N.W.T. after all

After unveiling a new budget that included $1.6 million more for the RCMPlast week, Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek told reporters that spending would result in a new officer somewhere in the territory.

Turns out, that's not the case.

Last Tuesday, spokespeople for the territory's Department of Finance deferred followup questions about the position to the Department of Justice, which manages payments to the RCMP for police services.

When the response came through, it contradicted the minister's statement.

"We can tell you there are no new RCMP positions created as a result of the increased investment," the response reads.

The federal police service operates across the N.W.T. and is the sole police force present in most of the territory's communities.

My original response was simply a recollection about another part of the budget presented.- Finance minister's statement

Under a funding agreement with the federal government, the territory is obligated to pay 70 per cent of the cost of RCMP services in the N.W.T.That amount increased by more than $1.6 million in the 2020-21 budget, but it wasn't because of any new officers.

Instead, $507,000 more is going toward the maintenance of property, likely including several of the 45 new RCMP housing units announced by the NWTHousing Corporationlast year.

And $306,000 is directed toward an increase in national program rates negotiated with the federal government.

Bulkgoes to 'isolated post' allowance

The bulk of the increase goes toward a bump in RCMP officers' "isolated post" allowances bonuses "designed to assist in offsetting some of the higher costs, and to recognize the inherent disadvantages associated with living and working in isolated posts," according to a federal website.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department explained that those amounts are negotiated between the Treasury Board of Canada and the National Joint Council, the "forum of choice" for public sector unions and their employers.

"The costs of the directive are outside the control of the department and the [local] RCMP," the Justice statement said.

Not a lot changed in the 2020-21 budget, but with more than 380 pages of details to keep straight, the minister's statement said she was simply mistaken.

"The Department of Justice is correct in their summary," it reads. "My original response was simply a recollection about another part of the budget presented."