Contracts paid out millions in overtime and vacation pay, documents reveal
Police officers brought in from departments outside the Greater Toronto Area during last summer’s G8 and G20 summits amassed millions of dollars in bonuses and overtime pay, according to recently released RCMP documents. The CBC reported on Monday that the RCMP paid $7 million to hire 657 officers from 17 different police forces to help with the security clampdown during the two summits. According to the contracts, an officer from Stirling-Rawdon was hired on for 10 days received over $11,000 in overtime pay. The documents also reveal that 278 officers sent from the Montreal police force were paid vacation rates during their time at the summits, accumulating a total of $3.3 million. Former Toronto mayor John Sewell said the spending was “absolutely ludicrous,” and “irresponsible in the extreme.” The RCMP defended the spending, telling the CBC they were forced to pay these rates since they had to cater to the wage agreement of each police force.