After Ottawa committed to keeping contract policing, premiers ask: where are the Mounties?

As the federal government's vision for the future of the RCMP comes into focus, premiers are urging Ottawa to pay more attention to the Mounties' staffing crisis.

«We just simply can't allow for those holes to go unfilled,» said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Tuesday, as the premiers gathered in Halifax for their annual summer meeting.

After years of speculation and rumours about whether the Liberal government would drop the RCMP's contract policing service — the boots-on-the-ground policing Mounties perform in the provinces and territories — Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc recently wrote to his provincial counterparts assuring them the federal government is committed to honouring its existing contracts.

«Further, I commit to work with provinces and territories on our approach to the renegotiations of the agreements and ensure we have the proper path forward to support you in your needs and priorities when it comes to policing in your jurisdiction today and beyond 2032,» he wrote.

That letter is getting a lukewarm reception from premiers.

British Columbia Premier David Eby said that while he's happy to see Ottawa commit to the contracts, that commitment needs to lead to more RCMP officers being trained and deployed to fill vacancies.

Eby's government won a court case to force the City of Surrey to move its policing services from the RCMP to a municipal force. He argued Tuesday that keeping the RCMP in its current state «would have resulted in a serious public safety issue.»

«That's how tight things are for RCMP officers in British Columbia,» he said.

«We increased funding for police across the province. We've got the money to pay for the officers. We just don't have the officers.»

CBC has been asking the RCMP for a