Public safety

Municipalities are working hard to keep Canadians safe, but in the face of current public safety challenges, local policing often represents the biggest budget item for municipalities.

With policing costs rising nationwide, shortcomings in public safety underlines quality of life in our communities, and represents a major challenge for municipalities, especially in rural, remote and northern communities with large geographic areas and limited tax bases.  

To ensure safer communities for Canadians, FCM is advocating for the federal government to increase investment in the RCMP and improve staffing and service levels for municipal contract policing. Additionally, FCM is advocating for recent federal bail reform to be followed-up with enhanced judicial capacity to address court backlogs, better national data-sharing and improved bail enforcement practices

Canadians deserve to feel safe and secure in their homes and neighbourhoods. Municipalities are vital partners in ensuring that and will continue to advocate for the next steps to support safer communities across the country.