Continuing their cross-country tour to meet USJE members working for the RCMP, National President David Neufeld, RVP Valda Behrens and the USJE Communications team visited the RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre in Innisfail and the Sylvan Lake detachment on May 8.
Starting the day off with the potential of seeing puppies, the team was warmly welcomed at the RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre. The USJE thanks Staff Sergeant Stephen Pike who gave a tour of the grounds and facilities, including the police dog and handler memorials, whelping areas, seek-and-find building and other training areas. The delegation gained insight into the process of breeding and training police dogs and the integral roles USJE members have at the centre as Kennel Attendants, Maintenance staff, and administrative support. The USJE team particularly thanks USJE Local President and Kennel Attendant Louise Paquet for allowing the team to watch as she socialized a litter of 16-day-old puppies, and USJE Member and Kennel Attendant Brea Desnoyer for an engaging and educational demonstration of clicker training and dog plyometrics with an adult female brood dog, Mika.
The second stop of the day was at the Sylvan Lake detachment where the team met with Sergeant Sean Sexsmith and Detachment Services Supervisor Deb Wiens. Deb graciously provided a full tour of the detachment and explained more about her multi-faceted role as office manager. This detachment, largely due to Deb’s work as manager, is pioneering a model of collaboration and efficient workflows that help empower support staff in their roles and get regular RCMP members into the community. The detachment is fully supported by the town of Sylvan Lake, with a fun surprise during this visit being the movie-theatre-style popcorn machine in the break room that was provided by the town.
Throughout the site visits to Innisfail and Sylvan Lake, the USJE team saw firsthand the commitment and passion each USJE member had for their work. The USJE recognizes and thanks members who shared their personal stories as part of USJE’s campaign to showcase their work as the operational backbone of the RCMP. RCMP public service employees and CMs can participate in this campaign on future site visits by reaching out to the USJE Communications team at USJEcommunicationSESJ@psac-afpc.com.
Upcoming schedule:
British Columbia, July 22-27
Additional locations to be confirmed