{"id":58794,"date":"2025-08-10T09:10:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T09:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/58794\/"},"modified":"2025-08-10T09:10:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T09:10:16","slug":"rcmp-union-pushes-for-changes-to-help-attract-talent-from-u-s-other-countries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/58794\/","title":{"rendered":"RCMP union pushes for changes to help attract talent from U.S., other countries"},"content":{"rendered":"

The union representing front-line Royal Canadian Mounted Police<\/a> members wants the force to ease requirements for foreign applicants to help attract experienced police officers from agencies like the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and counterparts in the United Kingdom and Australia.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The RCMP<\/a> currently requires that applicants be Canadian citizens or have permanent resident status in Canada. Applicants with permanent resident status must have lived in Canada as a permanent resident for three of the last five years.<\/p>\n

The National Police Federation<\/a> says the RCMP should follow the lead of the Canadian Armed Forces, which in 2022 opened applications to permanent residents without any requirement on time spent in Canada.<\/p>\n

Federation president Brian Sauv\u00e9 said he\u2019s \u201cpretty sure we can attract some good talent\u201d through a similar move by the RCMP.<\/p>\n

Sauv\u00e9 compares the idea to federal immigration programs that seek to entice skilled workers to come to Canada.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this government has identified public safety, border security and all that stuff as an imperative, we can do the same thing, right?\u201d Sauv\u00e9 said in a recent interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have equivalency training. You can come from Manchester, you can come from New South Wales, you can come from, I don\u2019t know, the FBI. And we\u2019ll train you to be equivalent, to give you a job and put you in a role.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:59
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRCMP shortage impacts rural Manitoba communities\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The proposal is one of several ideas the police federation presented in a June report aimed at improving the RCMP\u2019s recruitment practices, funding model, training programs and procurement.<\/p>\n

The federation says independent reports over the past two decades have offered the federal government clear guidance on how to improve RCMP operations in these areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet time and again, these recommendations have been met with inaction or insufficient follow-through,\u201d the June report says. \u201cAs a result, long-standing issues persisted and were allowed to worsen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

Public Safety Canada spokesperson Max Watson said the department is committed to working with the RCMP and others to ensure the force \u201cis equipped to meet evolving public safety needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"For<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGet breaking National news<\/p>\n

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.<\/p>\n

The federation is calling for a streamlined and modernized RCMP application processing system, more training capacity and an increase in the cadet training allowance to about $1,200 a week from the current $525.<\/p>\n

The federation says it wants more flexibility for some new recruits, such as people from other law enforcement agencies, to make it easier for them to fit into the RCMP.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2:07
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNew initiative at RCMP Depot focuses on removing systemic barriers\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

For instance, the federation notes only serving or recently inactive police officers can apply through the RCMP\u2019s three-week experienced police officer program, provided they meet strict criteria.<\/p>\n

That excludes a large pool of well-trained public safety personnel, including members of the Canada Border Services Agency, provincial sheriffs, conservation officers and other law enforcement agents who may not meet the threshold, the report says.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

Forcing these candidates to repeat a full 26-week training program at the RCMP training depot \u201ccreates a barrier to recruitment and results in missed opportunities to bring skilled, experienced candidates into the RCMP,\u201d the report adds.<\/p>\n

It also says the federal procurement process is too slow and unresponsive to the urgent needs of modern policing, and drains valuable government resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cDelays in rolling out life-saving equipment, including service pistols, body armour and body-worn cameras, threaten both officer safety and public trust,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:53
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRCMP working to tackle high vacancy rate\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\tTrending Now\n\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tMontreal father assaulted in front of his children leads to outrage from officials\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tLandlord says B.C. billionaire\u2019s plan for Bay properties \u2018defies commercial common sense\u2019\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

During the spring election campaign, the Liberals promised to recruit 1,000 more RCMP personnel to tackle drug and human trafficking, foreign interference, cybercrime and car thefts by organized crime.<\/p>\n

The Liberals also pledged to create a new RCMP academy in Regina and increase pay for cadet recruits.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

Watson acknowledged the promise to hire more Mounties and said Public Safety recognizes the importance of cadet pay in broader efforts to support recruitment and retention.<\/p>\n

The RCMP did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.<\/p>\n

The police force has been told to trim two per cent of its budget as part of a governmentwide cost-cutting exercise.<\/p>\n

Sauv\u00e9 said he is \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d the Liberal government will follow through on its commitment to strengthen law enforcement, set out in a May mandate letter.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:42
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRCMP report 2% vacancy rate, influx in recruits in Saskatchewan\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The RCMP provides policing services through contracts with all provinces and territories, except Ontario and Quebec. RCMP policing agreements cover much of rural Canada, all of the North and many towns and municipalities in contract provinces.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

The police federation acknowledges that some continue to ask whether the RCMP should shed its contract policing role across Canada and become more like the FBI by focusing on federal criminal matters.<\/p>\n

In March, before Mark Carney became prime minister, the Liberals published a paper outlining a new vision for the RCMP. It suggested the force concentrate on federal policing, reflecting its \u201cessential mandate and where it is best placed to lead investigations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The federation flatly rejects the idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe RCMP\u2019s integrated pan-Canadian policing model remains one of its greatest strengths, due to its ability to leverage co-ordination, consistency and efficiency across all jurisdictions,\u201d the June report says.<\/p>\n

It argues that moving away from the current model \u201cwould create deep service gaps, duplication and costly public safety and economic inefficiencies with no evidence of better results.\u201d<\/p>\n

The federation calls for dedicated funding for federal policing, saying RCMP officers carrying out those duties must no longer be used to backstop vacancies in contract jurisdictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cFederal assets should be used solely for federal mandates,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf federal members are redeployed for non-federal purposes, those services must be cost-recovered from contract partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2025 The Canadian Press\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The union representing front-line Royal Canadian Mounted Police members wants the force to ease requirements for foreign applicants…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11064,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,2169,38686,44,920,38687],"class_list":["post-58794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-crime","tag-national-police-federation","tag-news","tag-rcmp","tag-royal-canadian-mounted-police"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}