On Friday, May 9th, USJE National President, David Neufeld, USJE National Vice-President, Lynette Robinson, and USJE RVP, Heather McKinnon, were joined by PSAC National President, Sharon DeSousa, and PSAC REVP, Marianne Hladun, in Regina for a visit to the RCMP Depot and F Division Headquarters.
This visit was conducted in support of USJE’s ongoing national RCMP Campaign and in response to new legislation introduced in Alberta (Bill 49) on April 7th which, if passed, would allow municipalities in Alberta to choose the new police agency as their local policing provider, rather than the RCMP.
This visit to RCMP Depot provided an opportunity for the USJE and PSAC leadership to see our members in their workplace and to learn how they support the overall operations and training for all RCMP cadets.
Fortunately, USJE RCMP RVPs, Valda Behrens (Alberta), Sonia O’Brien-Colterman (NCR), and Annie Blanchette (Québec) were also able to join this tour following the conclusion of their participation in the CIPSRT Conference earlier that week in Regina. All union representatives were very impressed with the contributions that USJE members provide as part of the operational backbone of the training academy.
The tour was very Informative and USJE would like to thank Corporal Miles Hiebert for the tour.
Following the visit to RCMP Depot, USJE President Neufeld and RVP McKinnon took PSAC President DeSousa and REVP Hladun to F Division to meet with Commanding Officer, Rhonda Blackmore.
This meeting was very productive and provided much insight into the challenges of policing in the province of Saskatchewan. The leadership spoke about the Marshall Service in Saskatchewan and USJE’s concerns about proper resourcing for RCMP operations in the province of Saskatchewan. Discussions also focused on the provincial policing challenges in other parts of the country (ie. Alberta) and an opportunity to speak to USJE’s RCMP Campaign.
Over the past 3 years, USJE has been keenly focused on the development of our “RCMP Campaign”. The campaign’s focus has been on exhibiting our members’ contributions to public safety across Canada and the importance of their service. It has also been created to help Canadians understand the role the RCMP plays in public safety and to help protect the jobs of our members in the years to come as municipalities and provinces renegotiate their policing contracts with Public Safety Canada.
Over the past number of years, there have been some areas of the country that have moved away from contract policing with the RCMP. This includes Surrey, BC, and Grande Prairie, Alberta. It is USJE’s goal to remain vigilant in monitoring the negotiation of policing contracts across the country between now and 2032 and using our RCMP campaign to better inform Canadians on the valuable role our RCMP members play in public safety.
USJE’s focus in the coming months will be on the impact of Bill 49 in Alberta. The PSAC will be partnering with USJE to help protect the work of our 875 members in the province of Alberta.
Stay tuned for future campaign updates.
USJE would like to thank Commanding Officer Blackmore for taking the time to meet with our USJE and PSAC representatives and for her support of our campaign.
USJE would also like to thank PSAC National President, Sharon DeSousa, and PSAC REVP-Prairies, Marianne Hladun, for their interest and PSAC’s support of our RCMP Campaign.