An RCMP protest over pay and working conditions is growing. It began last week in North Vancouver after the Federal government announced a pay package that fell short of expectations.
Sunshine Coast RCMP Sergeant Chris Backus says the pay gap between municipal forces and the RCMP is widening, in some cases by $18,000 and the training, equipment and harassment within the force needs to be addressed.
“The RCMP as an organization has been a ship that’s been taking on water for decades…it’s not the people that are on the ship…we’re going to keep moving with this and the stripes are not coming back on our pants until we get a fair pay package from the Federal government and they start addressing some of these working conditions”, he says.
The protest began when officers began removing the yellow stripes from their pants, or replacing it with another colour.
Backus says the movement is growing with RCMP right across the country, even those on Parliament Hill, removing their stripes.
