The proportion of Mounties on long-term, off-duty sick leave has reached an all-time high and become a critical issue for the national police force, according to a new outside report.
The Management Advisory Board (MAB), an oversight body that advises the RCMP commissioner, is warning that the existing model of unlimited sick leave at full pay is unsustainable and in need of a rethink in order to get more officers back on patrol — recommendations that are already garnering vehement disagreement from the RCMP union.
“The rapid increase over the past fifteen years in the number of RCMP employees on [leave] presents an area of well-being concern at the individual level and poses significant operational challenges at the organizational level,” said the report from the board’s well-being task force.
“It also has the potential to impact public safety writ large,” the report continued. “This increase also comes with significant associated financial costs.”
Long-term, off-duty sick status is used for absences due to illness, injury or disability that exceed 30 consecutive days. According to the task force’s figures, the number of RCMP regular members on leave has increased by 184 per cent over a 14-year period.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, about seven per cent of the regular members were on long-term, off-duty leave at an approximate cost of $58 million, the task force estimated in its report. It also raised concerns about the number of Mounties on extended leave for more than a year.
As it stands, the task force — which said it talked to regular members, supervisors and senior leadership — found the model “offers no incentive to return to work.”
The task force said it recognizes Mounties put their lives on the line and many will face injury and trauma during their careers.
“These injuries, whether mental, physical, or otherwise, need appropriate recovery time,” said the report.
However, it also recommends the RCMP rethink its unlimited sick leave regime at full pay, and consider incorporating a reduction in pay after a pre-established period on leave.
“The task force heard repeatedly that the current unlimited sick leave at full pay model used by the RCMP is unsustainable in its current state, places undue pressure on the organization and has an adverse impact on the RCMP’s human, financial and technical resources,” it said.
The union representing thousands of RCMP officers vehemently disagrees with the report’s findings.
Brian Sauvé, president of the National Police Federation, said the issues don’t lie with the sick leave pay model, but with how it’s managed.
He believes the report missed the union’s warnings that the RCMP’s disability management accommodation program is not properly funded.
“They never looked at the fact that there’s a shared responsibility here, and half that responsibility rests with management,” Sauvé said in an interview.
“Members fall through the cracks, are not contacted by their employer — sometimes for six months or longer — for return-to-work programs or disability management accommodation programs.”
The MAB report pointed to models used by other police forces to reduce pay for members on leave. For example, it said the Edmonton Police Service reduces pay to 90 per cent or 75 per cent, at the chief’s discretion, after 85 days of sick leave.
Sauvé countered that RCMP members are in a unique position as they fall outside of any provincial or territorial worker compensation scheme. He also said sick leave is something that must be decided through collective bargaining, and any proposal to modify it must be brought to the union.
“So you can provide advice all you want to the RCMP commissioner. If they want to bring it to the bargaining table, they can.”
The RCMP said the board’s report “is currently under comprehensive review,” and it will deliver a more substantive response to the advisory body shortly.
“The RCMP welcomes the MAB’s engagement on this important issue, as the need to improve how the RCMP manages long term off-duty sick cases has been identified as a key area of concern by employees and by management at the RCMP,” said spokesperson Camille Boily-Lavoie
“The RCMP is continuing to work on several initiatives to better understand and improve employee physical and mental health.”
