Justice Minister Shirley Bond: Shirley Bond

British Columbia Dept: SURREY, B.C. - Ottawa's decision to cede control over how the RCMP spends its money tipped the balance in negotiations with British Columbia to keep the Mounties in the province, B.C.'s justice minister said Wednesday as she signed a new, 20-year agreement with the federal government, according to Winnipeg Free Press. The federal government blinked, B.C. Justice Minister Shirley Bond said Wednesday, giving provinces and municipalities more control over how the RCMP runs its operations and spends its money, as well as who is appointed to senior management positions and canada's Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, right, and British Columbia Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Shirley Bond, sign a new contract for policing by the RCMP in B.C. for another twenty years during a news conference in Surrey, B.C. Wednesday, March, 21, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward Six months ago, politicians in B.C. were publicly threatening to ditch the Mounties altogether and set up their own police force if Ottawa didn't meet their demands for a greater say in how the RCMP manages its local operations. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.