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The purpose of this communication is to provide an update to residents and municipalities regarding concerns about the shortage of RCMP resources and the impacts of the decision to merge the Shaunavon and Ponteix detachments in order to provide emergency services to the area.
Since the retirement of Sergeant Don McPhee on October 6, 2023, the South District has decided to operationally merge the Shaunavon and Ponteix detachments. This means that there will potentially be instances where Ponteix RCMP members will be responding to calls of service for the Shaunavon detachment area.
The Town of Shaunavon received notice from the CEO of SUMA, Jean-Marc Nadeau, that RCMP Assistant Commissioner, Rhonda Blackmore, assured that this was not a permanent merger. Blackmore explained that the sudden announcement of Sgt McPhee’s retirement initiated staffing action, where they hope the vacant sergeant position will be filled very soon. Ponteix detachment will provide supervisory backup for the time being.
The Town of Shaunavon has addressed this issue by writing letters to government and RCMP officials urging that permanent solutions to fill the vacancies at the Shaunavon detachment be put in place, and surrounding area municipalities have been suggested to do the same.
If you as a resident feel you would like to voice your concerns, you may do so by sending a letter of concern to the following: Honourable Jeremy Patzer, MP Cypress Hills – Grasslands: Jeremy.Patzer@parl.gc.ca Honorable Doug Steele, MLA Cypress Hills; steelemla@sasktel.net Rhonda Blackmore, Assistant Commissioner RCMP: Rhonda.blackmore@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
“It is our top priority to ensure our communities have the critical safety coverage that they need. We will provide any updates we receive and hope this is resolved as soon as possible.” – Mayor Kyle Bennett