N.S. says local police forces that don’t meet standards will be replaced by RCMP

HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government says it is considering a larger role for the RCMP as the province restructures and modernizes policing services.

Justice Minister Becky Druhan announced six changes on Wednesday aimed at improving policing, resulting from a review launched in September 2023. The review was announced about six months after the Mass Casualty Commission released its final report on the shooting rampage in central and northern Nova Scotia that left 22 people dead in April 2020.

“Today’s announcement is in direct response to those events, to calls for change from Nova Scotians across the province and to the Mass Casualty Commission’s recommendations,” Druhan said. “It marks a pivotal moment for the future of policing here in this province.”

The commission’s final report, released in March 2023, was highly critical of the national police force and its response to the mass shooting, during which a gunman impersonating a police officer shot 22 people over two days. It highlighted issues such as poor co-operation and co-ordination between the RCMP and municipal police.

But Druhan said the RCMP is the largest police force operating in Nova Scotia, covering over 80 per cent of the territory and more than 50 per cent of the population. As the province looks to improve policing, it’s “only natural” to turn to the RCMP, she said, because of the breadth of services they already provide.

“The evaluation and analysis reveals that changes need to be made to our full system, not only RCMP services but municipal services as well,” the minister said. “This is about shifting the system to ensure that Nova Scotians can get equitable police services.”

Nova Scotia has 10 municipal police forces, while the RCMP provides policing to all other areas. There are currently 1,890 police officers in the province with 1,450 civilian support personnel.

Druhan said municipalities will be allowed to keep their local police as long as the service meets provincial standards. Otherwise, they will need to switch to the RCMP. The province introduced a set of 39 new policing standards last September, and Druhan said Wednesday her department will be adding to that list, but she didn’t give details.

The suggestion to expand the existing RCMP services comes from a report done for the government by Deloitte Canada. The provincial government used that report, along with a survey of 6,700 Nova Scotians and consultations with police and community groups, to come up with the six changes to policing announced Wednesday.

In line with the Deloitte report, the province will introduce a new billing system for municipal police services. Last year, the province spent $190 million for RCMP policing, Haley Crichton, executive director of public safety and security for the Justice Department, told reporters.

Under the existing system, municipalities are billed based on the number of police officers that operate on their territory. The new formula, Crichton said, will be based on “weighted factors.”

“Those factors can include population and geographic coverage … to come to a (funding) mechanism that is more flexible.”

Aside from the potential expansion of the RCMP, and reforms to the billing system, the four other changes include establishing a single police records database to replace the three existing systems; creating community safety boards to improve civilian oversight of policing; recruiting more officers; and adding more resources for police in the field.

Officials said Wednesday that during the policing review, they consistently heard about the need for more visible policing in communities along with more equitable services, especially in rural areas.

Druhan said it will all amount to more money being spent by the government on public safety.

“We do know that this work is going to require investment and we are committed to doing that,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.

Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press