The Assiniboia and District Chamber of Commerce held its Lunch and Learn on September 13 where the community had an opportunity to meet Assiniboia’s new RCMP Sergeant Donnie Duplissea. He has a unique perspective having seen much of Canada. He was born and grew up in the Maritimes and served in such postings as the Northwest Territories and Vancouver.
Duplissea commended Assiniboia for its relatively low crime rate, but noted that there are still some areas to address. He spoke of crime situations that he encountered in Vancouver with the many gangs in B.C. lower mainland. As for policing rural communities, he stressed the importance of having a rural crime watch program. “It’s all about information gathering in 2017,” Duplissea stated. He added that the members of the community are the eyes and ears of the community. If they see something out of the ordinary and pass that information on to local police, they can assist in keeping their community safe.
The members of Assiniboia’s business community had an opportunity to ask questions. One of those topping the list was the legalization of marijuana that the government plans to pass soon. The group was concerned about some issues like recognizing drug impairment of drivers that will require a drug recognition expert. Duplissea noted that this training is not easy to obtain. He noted that the onus is on police to prove that a person is impaired. The meeting pointed out that legislation will need to designate where marijuana can be consumed, such as in public places.
The Saskatchewan Government is looking for public feedback on the Marijuana Survey and there is a limited time to comment. Each province will be regulating the market its own way. “There is a bigger picture” Duplissea noted about marijuana regulation. “In the interest of public policy, it has to be done right.” The community members had a lot of concern about the speed of its implementation.
The Chamber members had questions about the timeliness of legal cases. It was noted that the RCMP works independently of the courts. There are new measures about getting cases resolved faster in the courts. Regarding crime prevention, he recommended that people not leave keys in vehicles, that they reduce speed in speed zones and not drive after drinking. Speed and alcohol are factors that people control.
