The RCMP is looking for a few good men, or women..Recruitment of new Mounties continues to be a fraction of its needs, an RCMP union told the Commons public safety committee..Blacklock’s Reporter says the National Police Federation counted only 380 graduates from the RCMP police academy in Regina last year, about a third of requirements..“COVID-19 significantly impacted the RCMP’s ability to train new recruits and the backlog it has created will be felt for years if immediate actions are not taken to remedy the situation,” the federation wrote MPs..“Depot (in Regina, Sask.), where all RCMP members are trained, has experienced a backlog in graduations..“Instead of 1,050 new members, only about 380 graduated. The situation resulted in further strain on serving members who continue to do more with less.”.The number of newly trained Mounties previously fell to as low as 395 constables in 2013 prompting $1.2 million-a-year recruitment drives..The Regina academy in 2014 accepted cadets as old as 52..The RCMP at the time was subject to a 1920 cabinet order forbidding unionization of the force. Mounties were among the lowest-paid police in Canada with a constable’s salary averaging $80,500 a year compared to $86,000 for municipal constables in Vancouver, $88,000 in Toronto and $91,000 in Edmonton, according to a 2014 report of the Commons public safety committee..A federal advisory body, the Pay Council, in 2015 blamed poor recruitment on noncompetitive pay..“Not only are members finding their basic compensation packages unattractive, they also find allowances intended to offset certain hardships of the job are insufficient,” said a Pay Council report..The council noted Mounties posted to remote communities received fewer incentives or “isolation” bonuses, citing the example of a constable assigned to Wabowden, Man. who received no isolation pay while Ontario Provincial Police constables in Pickle Lake, Ont. qualified for up to $32,000 in bonuses..The Supreme Court subsequently struck down the union ban in 2015. The federation in 2021 ratified its first collective agreement that will raise a constable’s pay to $106,576 effective this April 1..“With the newly negotiated collective agreement an increase in applicants should be expected,” the federation wrote the public safety committee..“However further investment into expansion of recruitment and training as well as a rigorous recruitment strategy needs to be put in place to address the current and future backlog.”
