I don't know RCMP Sgt. Neil Tremblay. But I sure am impressed by him.
That's because in recent weeks, each morning I, along with other Saskatchewan media outlets, get a daily report of goings on for the Battlefords RCMP detachment, often purported as one of the busiest in the country.
For today, Nov. 12, the email covered the period from 6 a.m. Nov. 8 until Nov. 12.
"In excess of 100 calls for assistance/investigations recorded. Twelve calls relating to nuisance or misuse of 911 system, including a 911 call for assistance because subject was looking for an address in town and another 911 call by the same person to tell police she had found the address. Six Alarm calls, three noise bylaw, six persons in custody for public intoxication," was today's introduction, followed by a detailed report of the long weekend's activities.
What's remarkable is how open and candid this is. From 2004 to 2008, I was the courts and cops reporter for the Battlefords News-Optimist. During that time, typically the only time the local Mounties put out a press release was when someone had died, or had been in danger of dying. Other towns' detachments put out releases on gas or tractor theft.
My experience is now dated, since it has been five and a half years since I sat in a North Battleford or Battleford courtroom. But while I was there, I would spend anywhere from two to four days a week in court, more than anyone else who was not formally part of the justice system.
Here was the sad reality: on any given week, 80 to 90 per cent of the people appearing before a judge were aboriginal, despite the fact that the local aboriginal population was, I'm guessing, about one-third of the populace, depending on where you drew your borders. A very large number of those people were not from the Battlefords proper, but rather one of the numerous surrounding First Nations. These included Sweetgrass, Poundmaker, Little Pine, Moosomin, Saulteaux, Red Pheasant and Mosquito Grizzly Bear's Head. In many cases these people floated between the Battlefords and the local First Nation.
Monday morning, the docket day for all the nefarious activities over the past weekend, was sure to be busy. If I wanted to, I could have filled the paper with it.
The other thing most people may not realize is that a very, very large number of the victims in these cases were also aboriginal. No one seems to mention that fact. The saddest case was when one brother accidentally killed another when, during a party, he punched his sibling. The second brother's head got hit as he went down, and he died.
In the past year, the community has become up in arms regarding a supposed increase in crime. I don't know if it is actually more intense, or whether people are just noticing it more, compared to when I covered the court beat.
If you want to address this issue, you can't do it without addressing the dramatic overrepresentation of aboriginal people in the criminal justice system. If you don't want to touch that subject, nothing will come of your efforts.
It is in this manner another story from the region brings hope. It is that of Little Pine First Nation, west of Battleford. In an effort that has made national headlines, the local band has been supplying work boots and buses to get band members to work, primarily in Lloydminster. The First Nation has invested heavily in the Lloydminster realty and business developments, and now is investing in its people.
The turnaround has been significant. Welfare rates have plummeted from around 40 per cent of its membership to 10 per cent. People are proud to be able to support their own families.
Little Pine's success goes to prove the best social program is still a job. I would suspect the number of people from Little Pine appearing in North Battleford provincial court has plummeted in direct correlation to the welfare rate.
In a way, this drives me crazy. Back when Premier Lorne Calvert was still in power, I pointed out to him that the local Maple Leaf bacon plant had brought in 50 temporary foreign workers from China to fulfill their staffing needs. It was totally ridiculous that they had to go to the other side of the planet to find workers, and yet there was desperately high unemployment, and the commensurate social problems, on the local First Nations 40 miles away. Neither he, nor later Premier Brad Wall, gave me an answer addressing this issue that I found satisfactory.
While I'm not familiar with recent developments, Battlefords Tribal Council over the years has done a good job in building businesses and creating opportunities for aboriginal people. It simply hasn't been enough.
The late North Battleford Mayor Julian Sadlowski made it his mission to reach out to local First Nations to address these concerns. Unfortunately, his progress was largely stymied through lack of engagement.
If the Battlefords truly wants to address its crime issue, the answer is not with more RCMP, but more work boots and buses.
- Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News. He can be reached at [email protected].
