A dispute between Metro Vancouver’s two Langleys over policing costs won’t end up in court after one municipality handed the other a hefty cheque on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Township of Langley threatened the City of Langley with a lawsuit if it didn’t hand over $2.7 million for its share of 2023 funding for the RCMP detachment the two communities share.
Township of Langley Mayor Eric Woodward said the city made the payment after receiving a third demand letter in as many months.
The City of Langley’s mayor said council was already in the process of approving the payment when the township issued the legal threat.
The dispute stems from a breakup between the two municipalities over the future of policing.
The Township of Langley has initiated steps to de-integrate the joint detachment, and a policing service agreement between the two municipalities, which expired in 2022, has not been re-signed.
Langley City Mayor Nathan Pachal said his municipality didn’t want to hand over a cheque without having that service agreement in writing.
“I think this idea of paying money but having no definition of what it is being used for isn’t really good, and I think our ask is very, very basic: that we just continue what we have been doing for the last couple of decades,” he told Global News.
Woodward doesn’t see it that way, saying it was unacceptable for Langley City to withhold payment in an attempt to “leverage” the township.
“I would think of it as a collective bargaining agreement we have with CUPE or the firefighters; when that expires there’s potentially up to a few years … before a new agreement is negotiated,” he said.
“We don’t stop paying our workers when the collective bargaining agreement expires. I think the same thing applies here.”
He added that the township’s legal team had determined the city’s approach was “the definition of bad faith.”
The fracas has left the relationship between the two communities frayed.
Pachal said tensions have been mounting between the Langleys since the township voted to begin exploring splitting the RCMP detachment in 2022.
Woodward said the two communities have many major initiatives they need to work on together, including future SkyTrain and Bus Rapid Transit projects, and that the goal now is to look to the future.
“When someone doesn’t pay the bill for millions of dollars of services you’ve given them in good faith, I think that puts some strain (on the relationship),” he said.
“But at the end of the day, you move on to other issues, we work with them on a number of things … we’re looking forward to moving forward in a positive way with the City of Langley.”
That look-ahead approach may take a little bit longer, however.
Woodward said the city’s payment for policing costs didn’t include interest for the four months it was withheld, money the township intends to bill its neighbour for.
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