VICTORIA — British Columbia's justice minister says municipalities should speak to the federal government if they are worried about paying more for police to test DNA.
Suzanne Anton says until recently the federal government, through the RCMP, paid for the testing, with the provinces contributing funds.
She says that changed when the former Conservative government revised the funding model, requiring municipalities and provinces to pay more.
Anton says B.C. will continue to subsidize testing and help municipalities by contributing $1.3 million annually.
She says the province also paid an additional $1.2 million last year and will pay an extra $1.7 million this year for the service.
Anton says the Union of B.C. Municipalities has known about the added costs for more than a year and local governments should raise the issue with their federal colleagues.
