This Web page has been archived on the Web.

2005 November Report of the Auditor General of Canada

November 2005 Report—Chapter 1

Exhibit 1.2—Roles and responsibilities in contract policing

Roles and responsibilities in policing provinces, territories, and municipalities

Provinces and territories may contract with the federal government, represented by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, for policing services. Provincial and territorial police services agreements

  • set the overall framework and responsibilities of each party;
  • set out the cost sharing formulas and requirements for consultation, billing, payments, and changing the number of peace officers required;
  • follow the same format and standard wording;
  • are established with the Government of Canada but the RCMP, which is accountable to the Minister, provides the required peace officers.

Annual priority setting, funding, and resource allocation process

Provincial and territorial policing. Each province and territory determines the number of peace officers it requires. As long as the number meets the minimum standard of policing set by the RCMP, the RCMP has one year to adjust the size of its force. Provincial or territorial activity includes all police services not provided at the federal or municipal level.

Municipal policing. In cities where the RCMP provides a local police force, municipal agreements flow from the provincial agreements.

Aboriginal community policing. Agreements for policing aboriginal communities are signed by the provinces or territories and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and in the case of community tripartite agreements, the applicable First Nation community. As with the other agreements, the RCMP, while not a signatory, provides policing services, which are partly funded by parliamentary appropriation.

Following consultation between the detachment commander and the community about the services to be provided, the community makes its request to its provincial or territorial counterpart. This is combined in the annual request for changes to the level of policing for each province and territory and sent to PSEPC, which then forwards it to the RCMP. The RCMP discusses the request with the Department of Finance and the Treasury Board Secretariat, which include the changes when planning the following year's parliamentary appropriation. The RCMP then recruits, trains, and deploys the necessary peace officers.

Source: Adapted from the Provincial Police Services Agreement: Interpretation and Administrative Procedures, (RCMP, 1995).