Cadets were put through their paces at the RCMP Training Academy in Regina on Friday, the day Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that cadets will now be paid. (Stefani Langenegger/CBC)

The federal government will start paying RCMP cadets at the force's training academy in Regina, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday.

The prime minister said the cadets will receive an allowance of $500 per week for the duration of their 24-week training period.

"Our goal is to make the choice of a career as a Mountie all the more attractive for the legions of smart, fit, dedicated young Canadian men and women who dream of becoming RCMP officers,” Harper said alongside Stockwell Day, the minister responsible for the RCMP. "This will help cadets meet financial obligations that they cannot ignore during training.”

The RCMP was one of the few police services in the country that didn't pay cadets during their training period of six months.

A 2007 report by David Brown, an independent investigator and former head of the Ontario Securities Commission, called for major changes in the force, including payment of cadets.

Brown's investigation was set up after allegations that senior Mounties covered up pension and insurance fund irregularities.

He gave the RCMP until June 30, 2008, to report back to the public on how it was meeting his recommendations.

Earlier reports have also urged that trainee Mounties be paid, but the CBC's Alison Crawford in Ottawa said the Treasury Board has long been reluctant to agree to the move.

"The RCMP has a lot of boots to fill," Crawford said. "The Conservative government is making it a priority to hire thousands more RCMP officers and when you're competing with other police forces and the Armed Forces for the same pool of people, you have to make it worth their while."

A report prepared in 2007 by workplace health consultant Linda Duxbury, obtained by the CBC under freedom of information legislation, refers to large numbers of officers "fleeing" the RCMP by taking early retirement. The report estimates that up to 40 per cent of serving Mounties could leave before serving their full term because they feel they're overworked and underpaid.

"This has been recommended over and over again," Crawford said, "and now the government is acting on those recommendations."

RCMP lags behind other police

About 2,000 young men and women pass through the RCMP cadet training program in Regina each year, according to the force's website.

If they successfully complete their training, they can be hired as a full time Mountie at a annual starting salary of slightly less than $45,000, the RCMP website says.

That usually increases to more than $70,000 within three years.

By contrast, the Toronto police pay their cadets as probationary officers with a starting salary of $45,042 a year.

Cadets in the Ontario Provincial Police earn $32,436 annually.

RCMP recruits go through 24 weeks of training in Regina. Even though they aren't paid, cadets get free room and board.

RCMP trainees pay for all other incidental costs, including the graduation fund, school supplies and items such as shoe polish. The force recommends that they budget at least $4,500 for these expenses.