$1.6M in extra pay for RCMP brass

RCMP top brass took home more than $1.6 million in extra pay in 2009-2010. 

According to documents provided by the RCMP, the Mounties' six deputy commissioners were paid a total of $224,419 in at risk pay and bonuses, which when divided equally, works out to a little over $37,000 each.  The force paid its 33 assistant commissioners a total of $358,296 in extra pay last year and its 77 chief superintendents an additional $1,033,101. 

A spokesperson for the RCMP says the Commissioner has authority over the additional payments but bases his decisions on the Treasury Board's performance management program for executives.  The Treasury Board defines at risk pay as a percentage of an individual's salary based on the successful achievement of commitments.  Bonuses are also a lump sump payment "based on the individual's demonstrated performance that has surpassed expectations."  

Liberal public safety critic Mark Holland questions whether the time is right for bonuses.  "When you're in a fiscal climate that is tight, when the mantra is austerity, one must ask whether we can afford these payments."

Many executives across the civil service receive similar payments every year.  What's different about the RCMP though, is the high level of dissent among its top cops at the time those bonuses would have been doled out.  The breaking point came in July when several deputy commissioners complained to the Privy Council Office and Public Safety department about what they described as the arrogant and insulting management style of Commissioner William Elliott.