City of Surrey reaches RCMP pension agreement in move to local police force
Doubts over pension portability widely seen as major stumbling block in creation of local force
The City of Surrey says it has cleared a major stumbling block on the road to implementing its own police force.
In a written statement emailed Wednesday, Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum said an agreement has been finalized between the Municipal Pension Plan and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pension Plan to allow RCMP officers to "fully transfer" their pensions.
"Not only is this agreement a major milestone in the creation of our own city police department, but it, more importantly, answers a significant and legitimate concern expressed by RCMP members and their families about pension portability," wrote McCallum.
The question of pension portability has been widely viewed as a major recruiting roadblock for cities wishing to create their own police force.
Richmond city council looked into setting up a municipal police force in 2015, but it was determined RCMP officers would not be able to transfer their pensions.
There are, as yet, few details on on how RCMP members would transfer their own plans. The city has not released specifics of the new agreement, but the statement said members who join the Surrey Police Department can incorporate their contributory and pensionable service into the municipal pension plan.
The CBC has reached out to Surrey's mayor for more details.