OLDS — Up to three Olds RCMP officers could be deployed to Kananaskis to help provide security during the Group of Seven (G7) summit in June, says Staff Sgt. Warren Wright, the detachment’s commanding officer.
Wright made that statement during town council’s Feb. 24 meeting, stressing that figure is his best guess, from earlier experience.
The G7 is an informal grouping of seven of the world’s advanced economies and the European Union. Its members meet annually at the G7 Summit to discuss global economic and geopolitical issues. This year's summit is in Kananaskis Country.
As the G7 is considered a major international event, the RCMP holds the mandate for the overarching safety and security of all world leaders attending. The RCMP is leading the Integrated Safety and Security Group (ISSG) that brings together law enforcement, safety, and security partners to ensure a coordinated and unified approach to the security of the G7 Summit.
Wright was responding to Coun. Darren Wilson who asked if the G7 summit will create “staffing implications” for Olds RCMP.
“I know that quite often they require some resources from the detachments, especially if it's occurring in Alberta and especially if it's occurring in Kananaskis,” Wright said.
“So I do expect that we will have be asked for resources, but not so much in far advance of the date. It'll be closer to the date.
“And I expect, although I haven't been told, I expect to lose maybe up to three members for about a week. That is an estimate, but I think it's a reasonable estimate based on my experience.”
Wright said if only three officers are seconded to that work, he believes staffing schedules can be managed to still provide relatively normal coverage.
Coun. Heather Ryan picked up on that answer, noting that currently, only eight of a possible 11 positions at the detachment, are staffed. Four officers are on special leave (three medical and one parental).
Wrights’ report said two of those positions have been backfilled, leaving one “hard vacancy.”
In light of those figures, Ryan asked if Olds officers would only be deployed if the detachment was fully staffed.
“Is there a level where, where you can say, ‘OK, we just cannot give those officers because we're already down three right now?’
“And so what happens then, if they take three more? That would leave you with a critical shortage, I would think. So is there a is there a certain tipping point,” she asked.
“Yeah, there is. There is absolutely a tipping point,” Wright said.
He said currently, the detachment is managing “just fine” with those absences. He noted that at one is expected back in April. Another has accepted a transfer, and efforts are underway to backfill that position.
“I feel that we will have sufficient resources if they come asking for three unless something else happens between now and then,” Wright said.
“And if that's the case, then myself and my operations NCO would be stating that we can't go (below a certain point), which I can't say what that is, but we know what that number is, just to ensure that the town of Olds or Mountain View County and related communities are adequately, properly serviced.”
Coun. Cummings asked how RCMP recruiting efforts are going nationally.
Wright said it’s “not really within my sphere of knowledge” to know exactly how recruiting is being done, but his observation is that those efforts seem to be paying off.
“I was recently in (RCMP training) depot in December, and I noticed that depot was probably more full than it had been in a long time. So I think the recruiting efforts are working,” he said.
“I feel that watching other detachments, that the cadets seem to be coming faster than they were maybe a couple years ago.”
Coun. Dan Daley noted that according to Wright’s report, RCMP has a Real Times Operations Centre which takes advantage of new technology to assist RCMP in the field 24/7 from a centre in Edmonton.
Daley wondered if that can help Olds RCMP.
“Let's say there's nobody available in a certain area, this service can then dispatch somebody from a different area to come in to cover,” he asked.
“Correct,” Wright said. “It's based on the closest car. Yes, exactly.
“So if for whatever reason, say our members are on the extreme west side of the detachment area and we need to go to the (incident) quickly, they will know where the Three Hills member is, and they can ask the Three Hills member to attend, and they'll get there first.
“So yes, they can see everybody on their on their screens, and they can coordinate the closest car until the Olds members are able to get in place.”
