B.C. might have shot itself in the foot with Ottawa鈥檚 gun by threatening that municipalities were prepared to abandon the venerable RCMP and form a provincial force.

The remarks, made recently by 91原创鈥檚 Peter Fassbender, the Union of B.C. Municipalities鈥� observer in contract negotiations between the province and Ottawa, came as a reaction to what many consider an unpalatable policing deal with the Mounties.

While the proposed 20-year contract for policing services throughout much of the province is indeed expensive and undesirable, the comments that we鈥檒l take our gun and strike out on our own are somewhat premature.

For one, we don鈥檛 even own the gun.

In Nanaimo, taxpayers foot the bill for 90 per cent of all costs to have the RCMP police our community, yet all the city really owns is the building out of which the officers are based.

Everything else, from the guns and handcuffs to the cruisers and computers, ultimately belong to Ottawa.

Despite the threat to form our own force, it appears no one has really done the homework on how feasible that really is. No one is presenting any numbers that show what starting a provincial force would cost, nor how it would save us money and hassle in the long-term.

Solicitor General Shirley Bond called it a 鈥渧ery expensive, very challenging鈥� prospect. In other words, we can鈥檛 afford it and probably can鈥檛 figure out how to do it.

It鈥檚 no surprise then that Ottawa called B.C.鈥檚 bluff this week, issuing an 鈥榰ltimatum鈥� that we either sign the contract or the Mounties will march into the sunset.

Next time, before we go off making threats half-cocked, perhaps we should make sure we鈥檙e not taking aim at our own boots and the gun isn鈥檛 about to backfire.