BC’s Justice Minister says the province is sending a message to Ottawa we will only pay our fair share and nothing more when it comes to the new RCMP headquarters.
Shirley Bond says she isn’t worried about rushing negotiations and is focused on taking the time needed to get the right deal.
“The bottom line in the discussions remains the same the fact of the matter is that British Columbia is not interested in paying for space that we don’t believe we need to utilize so in fact we are looking at paying a share of the cost but we want to be sure it reflects the actual needs and requirements for BC.”
When asked if she feels any pressure in negiotiations with Ottawa.
“You know there is a constant dialogue underway and the strongest message that I can deliver is that we look at this new contract one of the things we said was that even though Green Timbers isn’t included directly in the RCMP contract that the same principles apply that we are not simply going to pay bills in British Columbia we are going to make sure that we have a fair approach to this.”
Bond stresses the province, and municipalities, won’t carry any additional costs, other than a fair share, for the Green Timbers facility.
“My concern right now is that we get to pay our fair share of this so I want to make sure that as the discussions continue the key issue rather than worrying about doing this too quickly is ensuring that at the end of the day we have a share of this which I feel is reasonable for the province.”
Mayors had complained negotiations weren’t happening at all with months to go before the RCMP moves in, and municipal budgets already in the works.
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