Province proposes $77 million to offset OPP costs

Help could be on the way to ease the sting of rising OPP service costs for municipalities.

The province is proposing to provide over $77 million to help small and rural municipalities offset the rising costs of policing.

“This investment will help these predominantly small and rural communities address the budget impacts resulting from the collective bargaining agreement that was reached between the province and the Ontario Provincial Police Association (OPPA) in July 2024,” the Ministry of the Attorney General noted in a release this morning.

If passed, the $77 million will be most welcomed. Mattawa’s 2025 OPP bill went up just over $113,000, an increase of 21 per cent. East Ferris was also facing a similar rise.

"I spoke with the Mattawa mayor last night and to the Powassan, East Ferris, Callander, and Chisholm mayors and a few others," Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli said today. "This was a huge relief to them that the increases for the OPP will be completely covered by the province of Ontario. For Nipissing District alone this is almost $600,000, so the mayor of Mattawa, the mayor of Callander, both were looking at $100,000 OPP increases, so they were very relieved that this will be covered."

Yesterday, before this announcement, BayToday spoke with Mattawa’s mayor, Raymond Bélanger about the policing costs. He noted he was working with his neighbouring municipalities to convince the government to help cover these costs. Mattawa, and many other municipalities, want the province to foot the entire OPP bill for smaller communities, which Bélanger estimated would be around $428 million.

Bélanger also noted that at one time, before Mike Harris became premier, the province did cover these costs.

See: ‘Ludicrous,’ Mattawa’s CAO says of OPP service increase

And: OPP bills skyrocketing. Municipalities call for province to solve OPP costs

As for today’s announcement that the province is proposing to contribute $77 million, Solicitor General Michael Kerner said, “Our government is working closely with our municipal partners and our women and men in uniform to keep communities across Ontario safe.” If the proposal becomes a reality, the province anticipates municipalities will see:

• A 3.75 per cent bill reduction on 2023 total reconciled costs,
• A 44 per cent bill reduction in 2023 reconciled overtime costs, and
• A 10 per cent bill reduction on amounts invoiced for 2025 policing costs.

Kerner continued, “The financial relief we are proposing will help municipal leaders balance their budgets and invest in their communities while ensuring no change to the policing provided by the OPP that keeps families and businesses safe.”

David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.