RCMP on Parliament Hill rack up $275K a month in hotel bills: documents
New recruits from Regina, Sask., on 2-month stints to watch Parliament Hill after Oct. 22 shooting
Hotel bills for RCMP officers guarding Parliament Hill were projected to reach a total of $275,000 per month as officers require kitchenettes during two-month stays in Ottawa and Gatineau, Que.
In November 2014, the RCMP projected a $3.2-million hotel bill for officers to monitor Parliament Hill after the shooting on Oct. 22, which has been a large boost to the Ottawa-Gatineau hospitality industry.
The total monthly cost to the RCMP amounted to about $275,000 for the hotels, according to documents, with a total projection including hotel stays from November 2014 to December 2015.
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A request for proposal was sent to Ottawa-area hotels on Nov. 21, about one month after the shootings in the Centre Block and at the National War Memorial, CBC News has learned.
The document from the RCMP expressed a need for 28 single-occupancy hotel rooms for officers and the only required amenities were Wi-Fi and an ironing board. Neither a parking space nor breakfast was required, according to the request for proposal.
These rooms did require kitchenettes because the officers would be on extended stays, according to Steve Ball, president of the Ottawa-Gatineau Hotel Association.
Ball said most of the suite hotels in Ottawa are outside Ottawa's downtown core.
Officers on 2-month postings
Officers told CBC News they each spend two months in Ottawa before moving on to postings in other cities.
Most of these officers are new recruits straight from the RCMP training centre in Regina, Sask., a move criticized by Conservative MP Daryl Kramp in February.
In the fall of 2014, the House of Commons voted for the RCMP to take charge of security on Parliament Hill, but a shortage of officers pushed the force to dip into the pool of new recruits.
The RCMP would not supply the exact cost for hotel stays, but told CBC News to file another access-to-information request for that information.
The RCMP also would not reveal how many total officers were brought to Ottawa for Parliament Hill security.