There’s no bottomless pit of money

Re: Ottawa can afford to pay police officers competitive wages, July 9.

Perhaps the most striking thing in Matt Skof’s lengthy defence of police salaries is that he offers no alternative but to continue to have salaries based on the status quo. But of course he would, being president of the Ottawa Police Association, and realizing that the arbitration awards over the years have moved much of the force into the top 15 per cent of wage earners in Canada.

In effect with matching salaries across the province, along with retention bonuses, that reward someone for actually coming to work, although it is defined as an incentive to remain with the force, competition for individual officers in the marketplace has all been removed.

If officers are not leaving for other municipalities — and I am sure Skof would have the numbers for this — you might well wonder why we are paying retention bonuses for officers who aren’t moving. Competitive wages and retention bonuses have in effect eliminated competition for officers within other forces. Some might say that is stagnation, while others might also argue that it’s a good thing, as it builds continuity. We will never know though will we, as long as the current system of arbitration is in place.

Using building legacy projects like light rail, transit, bike paths etc. and then making the implication that we should have the ability to pay ever higher police salaries, indicates a stunning lack of knowledge of how long-term projects are paid for. Therein lies the problem, there is not a bottomless pit of money that City Hall can dip into at will, again something that Skof fails to grasp.

JEFF SPOONER,

Kinburn