THE best thing about the new RCMP contract signed Wednesday by B.C. Justice Minister Shirley Bond and federal Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews is that it allows parties to opt out with two years' notice.
That's not to say that the two North Vancouver municipalities need to, or should, take such action. But it is one of the few areas of flexibility that has been added to the terms of the previous 20-year contract.
What is not clear - and was certainly not explained to our North Vancouver mayors or their staff in advance of Wednesday's photo op - is just how much influence a new contract management committee made up of 10 municipal representatives will have in addressing municipal concerns about ballooning police costs.
To be clear, we are not questioning the professional standards of our local Mounties and the job they do. But North Vancouver homeowners pay for almost all of that service with their property taxes, and yet our elected representatives have little direct oversight of the local detachment's budget.
Sure, our mayors can ask for a greater police emphasis in a certain area and that would likely happen. But this contract does nothing to encourage innovative cost control.
For instance, a combination of psychiatric care and social work could likely deal with many of the troubling calls our police officers face. But whether such an option is more cost effective would require more budget oversight - and ultimately control - by the municipalities than what is on the table.
