View From the Legislature

Likely many Manitobans were not aware that Saturday, February 1st in our province was Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Day. This day was created through an Act of the Manitoba Legislature and is designed to bring awareness and appreciation for the work that our RCMP do in our province every day.

For many in Manitoba, the RCMP is the primary policing agency that they rely upon. Vast parts of rural Manitoba are policed by the RCMP along with many small towns. Some urban centres, notably Winnipeg and Brandon, have created their own municipal police forces. Some cities, like Steinbach, have continued to contract with the RCMP to provide policing in their community rather than opt for a municipal police force.

Regardless of where you live or the policing arrangement that your community or area has, the RCMP play a role in keeping you safe. Manitoba’s RCMP participate in several cooperative policing units, such as the high-risk offender unit to arrest those breaching bail, as well as assisting or leading various joint policing operations that target certain crimes.

The RCMP both in Canada and in Manitoba have a long and storied history. Manitoba plays a special part in that history as our province was the base of the North-West Mounted Police. That police forced merged with the Dominion Police of Eastern Canada and in 1920 the RCMP were officially created. They are well recognized in their red ceremonial uniforms as symbols of Canada. I recall meetings I attended several years ago in the United States which were partially intended to help inform those in attendance about Canada. Joining us at that meeting was an RCMP officer in their Red Serge uniform. Very quickly a long line of people formed to take pictures with the officer.

The RCMP are not just part of Canada’s history, they play a vital role in policing today. But that is filled with a number of challenges. Rural Manitobans will know that it has been a struggle for many years to maintain a full compliment of officers in their local detachments. Recruitment and retention into the RCMP are as challenging as other critical sectors of society. This leads to not only community safety concerns, but also officers’ safety concerns. In response to these challenges and the pleas of communities, the former provincial PC government created the Community Safety Officer (CSO) program.

This is another level of trained enforcement officer that can help to augment the local safety needs of a municipality, town or city. Yet, the shortage of RCMP officers is still significant and it is something that the federal government has yet to make inroads on despite several years of knowing the challenge.

RCMP officers that are contracted by the province or a community still need to be recruited and trained by the national RCMP training facility located in Regina. And the supply of officers has not kept up with the demand.

While we know and appreciate the history of the RCMP, dedicated efforts are needed to strengthen its future. What is certain however is that the vast majority of Canadians are grateful for the work that the men and woman of the RCMP do everyday. It is a difficult job with greater challenges than ever before.

During my time as Minister of Justice, I witnessed firsthand the daily dedication and courage it takes to do the job of RCMP officer. And while many Manitobans may not have known that February 1 was RCMP Day in Manitoba, every day is a good day to be thankful for the work that those who wear the Red Serge do for our province and country.