It’s something both the governing Saskatchewan Party and opposition NDP can agree upon; they want the Regina RCMP Depot to stay open in the Queen City.
In March, the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission’s Report had as one its recommendations that the RCMP training facility model was outdated and that it should be phased out by 2032. It contends that the depot does not properly prepare Mounties for the demands of modern policing. It suggested that all police officers be sent through a standardized three-year degree program.
Opposition leader Carla Beck is reaching out to the new federal public safety minister, Dominic LeBlanc, to maintain the call not to close the RCMP Depot.
She states, “Regina is home to the University of Regina and the First Nations University of Canada, and the opportunity to partner with these institutions in re-imagining training and education standards for recruits should be thoroughly explored by your ministry.”
The NDP leader asked that as the feds proceed with plans to modernize the RCMP, they be cognizant of the economic impact that the loss of a major employer would have on the City of Regina, as the depot employs over 500 people.
On April 3, the opposition NDP led an emergency motion in the Saskatchewan Legislature opposing any plans for changes to RCMP training that include the closure of Depot Division.
That motion was passed unanimously.