Saskatchewan’s top Mountie says a countrywide RCMP internal memo asking front-line officers to come and fill shifts in her province and in Manitoba is unusual but necessary.
RCMP have asked for members and reservists to sign up for two-week stints in the two Prairie provinces this spring.
It's an issue that has raised questions over whether moving police from one short-staffed province to another is a viable solution.
Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore, the commander in charge of Saskatchewan’s RCMP, said the need is "a bit unusual" but it's in part because fewer members are choosing to come to the province. At the same time, she said, they've been hit with a rise in violent crime.
“I was very happy to see our national headquarters take these steps, because we are in a situation where we do need help," Blackmore told The Canadian Press in an interview Friday. "It's not good."
The hard vacancies, as high as about 13 per cent in November, are a worry for her.
Almost two years ago, Blackmore said, the RCMP also started allowing cadets to choose their placements, a policy she said Saskatchewan and Manitoba "didn't really benefit from."
Other staff vacancies, due to things like parental leave or injuries, were about 7.5 per cent, said Blackmore.
Unfilled spots "can always mean shifting resources," Blackmore said, adding she believes the national call-out will help increase local members.
She said she's optimistic and is hearing interest in the temporary relocations from members across the country.
The union representing front-line Mounties said it has not seen the call-out memo, but acknowledged Saskatchewan and Manitoba are under severe workload stress.
“We've had 58 homicides in rural RCMP areas (over the past) year, and we've never had that many. We've never had close to that many, and our members are burnt out," Bobby Baker, the National Police Federation's director for the Prairies, said in an interview.
The Saskatchewan government, in a statement, said Justice Minister Tim McLeod met with RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme in Ottawa this week and is "encouraged by the work that is being done by the RCMP to overcome ongoing recruitment challenges."
In Manitoba, Premier Wab Kinew told reporters his government has boosted police funding and will continue to do so to combat what is recognized as a long-standing staffing issue.
In Portage la Prairie, Man., Mayor Sharilyn Knox said they have been dealing with an officer shortage for years following the COVID-19 pandemic. The city of 13,000 west of Winnipeg has a contract for 27 officers but often only has 22.
In the meantime, the city has started a community safety officer program in partnership with the province to fill gaps. It is currently staffed with four officers and a supervisor employed by the city to deal with issues like shoplifting and traffic control.
In the small town of Lac du Bonnet in eastern Manitoba, Mayor Ken Lodge said there are concerns about workloads, especially when summer brings large crowds to cottage country.
Lodge said the town is contracted to have the equivalent of one full-time staff position, but depending on the circumstances, there may not be an officer in the community. "It takes up a significant portion of our small town’s annual budget to ensure that we have a police service, but we would desire more," said Lodge.
In Alberta, RCMP spokesman Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said in a statement, “We are not aware of any officers that have reached out to relocate as part of this initiative.”
Provincial and municipal leaders in Alberta have also expressed concerns about Mountie staffing.
Kara Westerlund, the president of Rural Municipalities of Alberta and a councillor in Brazeau County, said she's concerned shifting officers from one province to another could create policing gaps, especially in rural Alberta where officer shortages are already an issue.
"Any time you take even one RCMP officer out of our rural communities, it's felt instantly and directly to our residents," Westerlund said.
She said she hopes planning is undertaken to ensure any officers who take up the call to go to Saskatchewan or Manitoba aren't leaving their home detachments in a dangerous position.
"Our two biggest concerns right now are, what does it mean and what does coverage look like in our communities if we're losing officers?" she said.
Tyler Gandam, president of Alberta Municipalities and the mayor of Wetaskiwin, also said he was concerned about what the short-term transfer of officers would mean for his city's detachment.
"I completely understand the workload is there and officers are getting burnt out, but we're just setting ourselves up for the same problem here I think," Gandam said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2025.
-- with files from Jack Farrell in Edmonton and Steve Lambert and Brittany Hobson in Winnipeg
Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press
