VICTORIA - The normally friendly relations between the federal Conservative government and B.C. Liberal government are being put to the test over talks to renew a 20-year contract with the RCMP in British Columbia.

B.C. Solicitor General Shirley Bond said she's received a take-it-or-leave it ultimatum from the Conservatives, including a threat to start pulling the Mounties out of the province.

Meanwhile the Conservatives said Wednesday that after four years of failed talks aimed at brokering a new deal, a deadline is approaching.

The federal Opposition New Democrats are using the RCMP contract dispute to take shots at the Conservatives' crime-fighting agenda, saying the federal government talks tough on crime, but is threatening to leave B.C. without police protection.

But a Simon Fraser University criminologist who frequently criticizes the RCMP's service record in B.C., says the B.C. government should seize the moment and leave the Mounties behind in favour of a new provincial force.

"It's just simply not acceptable that government would continue with this particular model which is obviously broken down," said Prof. Rob Gordon, a former police officer who has long advocated for a provincial force to police the province and replace the RCMP.

"Here we are thinking about renewing a contract with an organization that simply isn't working."

The Mounties in B.C. have come under heavy public fire in recent years for their handling of investigations and police incidents.

The RCMP faced public criticism over the investigation in the Air India terrorism bombing, the pursuit of serial killer Robert Willie Pickton and the taser-related death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport.

Heritage Minister James Moore, B.C.'s Conservative caucus chief spokesman, told reporters in Ottawa the federal and B.C. governments have been negotiating the terms of the $800 million contract for the past four years and the deadline to conclude the agreement is approaching.

He did not directly say the federal government has threatened to start pulling the RCMP out of B.C. in 2014 if the province doesn't renew the contract by the end of November.

"Ultimatum, I think is a torqued word," said Moore. "I mean, the truth is you have to have a deadline. There is a deadline. The province has to step up."

He said the federal government and B.C. government agree on the cost of the contract and the funding formula over the next 20 years, but are deadlocked over governance issues, which include the coverage of unexpected costs over the 20-year deal.

"This is an $800 million obligation by the government of Canada," Moore said. "We want to make sure that those lids - that those costs are dealt with as well so we don't have unexpected increase to costs on either municipalities, the province or the federal government."

Peter Fassbender, the mayor of Langley, B.C. and a municipal observer at the negotiating table, said earlier provincial negotiators are concerned about cost issues like pension and CPP benefits, caps on salaries and how the force runs its headquarters in Ottawa.

Fassbender gave several examples where other costs have increased significantly and the federal government has failed to explain why.

He said the cost for the RCMP's yet-to-be completed divisional headquarters in Surrey was originally $300 million, but the price tag has now risen to $1.2 billion.

Moore said federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has signalled to Bond that the federal government wants to talk about governance.

Bond said Tuesday the province now is looking at the costs of a provincial police force in case further negotiations fail and the federal government makes good on its ultimatum.

Bond said the federal government has forwarded to British Columbia the RCMP contracts signed recently by Alberta and Saskatchewan, leaving the impression that if those two provinces can sign a deal, B.C. should be able to too.

She was unavailable for further comment Wednesday.

Federal New Democrat public safety critic Jasbir Sandhu said it appears the Conservatives are willing to leave B.C. without a police force to push through their contract demands.

"Clearly, for some reason, the Conservatives don't seem to be interested in the public safety of British Columbians," he said.

"The Conservatives aren't looking in the interest of the people of British Columbia because safety is important and to threaten B.C. with pulling out the RCMP is certainly not acceptable to me."