Whereas the Province of BC has decided, without meaningfully consulting local governments, to transfer a substantial portion of provincial costs under the federal-provincial Agreement Respecting Biological Casework Analysis 2014-2024 BCAA to municipalities with populations greater than 5000; And whereas the cost of DNA analysis services in BC is projected to increase 127 between 201415 and 201920, with 2.9 million in unexpected costs being shifted onto municipalities in 201617 alone, creating significant additional pressure on municipal finances and flying in the face of the one taxpayer principle commonly invoked by the provincial government: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the Province of British Columbia to reverse the decision to download DNA costing to British Columbian municipalities and call on the federal government to amend the Agreement Respecting Biological Casework Analysis.
Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General The new Agreement Respecting Biology Casework Analysis 2014-2024 BCAA between the Province of British Columbia and the Federal Government was negotiated as a result of the federal government informing the ProvincesTerritories PTs that it would no longer provide DNA analysis through the RCMP at the historical flat rate. In December 2013, the federal government informed the Province that if British Columbia did not agree to pay considerably more for the service, as of April 1, 2014, the RCMP would significantly reduce the forensic DNA analysis services provided to law enforcement agencies in British Columbia. British Columbia was the last PT to sign the new 10 year BCAA committing to actual costs based on usage at a cost share of 54 PT46 Fed. Under the Police Act, municipalities with a population of 5,000 or more are responsible for providing policing and law enforcement, and for the expenses necessary to generally maintain law and order. As per s. 15 1 of the Police Act, BC police agencies are responsible for expenses necessary to maintain law and order, enforcing criminal law, and to provide adequate equipment and supplies for the operations of and use by the police. DNA analysis is one of those operational policing expenses for which police agencies are responsible. The Province has never paid for the delivery of this service on behalf of police agencies; rather, it has contributed resources to the federal government towards the cost of this service. The Province will continue to fund DNA analysis at the historical level of 1.366 million as a deduction from the gross annual DNA billing and will also pay for the Provincial Business Line share of DNA costs estimated at .4 million annually. As part of the three year phase in, the Province agreed to pay the bill for all agencies for the first year 201415. For the second year 201516, the Province paid 75 three quarters of the year of the cost to agencies, and municipalities were invoiced in October 2015 for the final quarter of the year January-April 2016. Starting April 1, 2016, agencies will be invoiced annually with payments due by June 30 of each year. The invoices to municipalities for 201617 ranged from approximately 800 to 675,000. During the negotiations for the agreement, police agencies and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities UBCM were informed in a number of venues, including various Associations of Chiefs of Police meetings, that the Federal Government was seeking to increase recovery for DNA analysis. Senior officials with UBCM, UBCMs Public Safety Committee, and UBCMs Local Government Contract Management Committee were also briefed. The Ministry will be conducting a review of alternate service delivery models to ensure the new agreement is in the best interest of BC taxpayers.