The northeastern town of Shippagan will only have to pay a portion of its $2.5-million bill for RCMP services, according to the provincial government.

Dale Wilson, the deputy minister of public safety, told the Standing Committee on Public Accounts on Wednesday that the provincial government will pay $900,000 of the town’s $2.5-million debt.

The northeastern New Brunswick town has carried an outstanding balance since 1997.

Under a policing agreement, the provincial government pays the federal government for the RCMP's regional services and then bills the municipalities quarterly.

The opposition Liberals raised the issue municipalities not paying their RCMP bills last year.

Liberal MLA Donald Arseneault, the opposition’s finance critic, said on Thursday that the deal offered to Shippagan is unfair to other municipalities.

"[Premier David] Alward enacted a law last year that allows government to chase after social assistance recipients who inadvertently receive too much on their monthly cheque. Meanwhile, they’re letting Shippagan get away with not paying almost a million dollars that they owe to the province," Arseneault said in a statement.

"There’s a real problem with the Alward government’s priorities here. They’re giving million-dollar sweetheart deals to their deputy premier’s hometown, while at the same time shaking down our province’s most vulnerable for pocket change.”

Deputy Premier Paul Robichaud is the MLA for Lameque-Shippagan-Miscou.

Arseneault called for a crackdown on these overdue RCMP bills last fall. The Liberals revealed that 15 municipalities were behind in paying for their RCMP services.

In November, the municipalities had a combined outstanding balance of more than $3 million for their RCMP services.

Premier David Alward said in November that Shippagan would have to pay what it owed the government.

The provincial government and Shippagan then began negotiating over how the unpaid bills would be covered.