Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen met with the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) on Wednewsday (May 3) regarding proposed amendments to the Police Services Act which would provide rural and urban municipalities with additional options to address its unique safety concerns.
In a media release, Goertzen said “Crime is a concern across Manitoba and there are unique challenges in rural Manitoba, particularly when it comes to the staffing of policing positions. Local municipalities need more options and more control to improve community safety. Municipalities have long asked for the ability to have community safety officers enforce additional provincial laws.”
The Manitoba government has heard the concerns and has taken definitive steps to ensure municipalities have the ability to respond to local safety concerns through this layered enforcement approach, the minister noted, adding that these changes will provide a number of possible solutions to ensure municipalities can address their specific needs.
“The Association of Manitoba Municipalities welcomes the Manitoba government’s commitment to expand the responsibilities and powers of community safety officers,” said Kam Blight, president, Association of Manitoba Municipalities. “The proposed amendments offer municipalities an additional avenue to boost safety measures in their communities.”
Goertzen noted that he and Municipal Relations Minister Andrew Smith have renewed calls for the federal government to fund the back pay it unilaterally negotiated for the RCMP, an additional cost that will severely impact many municipalities.
“We appreciate and value the work of the RCMP in Manitoba,” said Goertzen. “However, municipalities were not consulted nor were they involved in the negotiation of the back pay that the federal government negotiated in the RCMP contract. Simply handing the bill to municipalities isn’t good enough and will significantly impact local municipalities and their residents.”
AMM has also strongly urged the federal government to reconsider its approach and absorb all retroactive salary costs immediately, Goertzen added.
