Mounties urged to work in Manitoba on two-week stints to ease staff shortage

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This article was published 23/01/2025 (256 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The shortage of RCMP officers in Manitoba is so dire that the national force is asking officers in other provinces to consider working here for two weeks to bolster the ranks.

RCMP sent a message titled “National Call Out for Temporary Assistance in D (Manitoba) and F (Saskatchewan) Divisions” to Mounties across the country, saying they need to “immediately manage the serious staffing challenges” in the two provinces.

“As such, we are asking all members and active reservists across the country to consider a temporary placement for a two-week rotation to D or F Division between February and May 2025 to help cover general duty resource shortages,” says the message from Deputy Commissioner Jodie Boudreau and chief human resources officer Jasmin Breton.

The message was obtained by Global News and reported Wednesday.

It says any officer’s deployment, which has to be approved by the member’s line officer, can be between Feb. 1 to 28 or April 1 to 15, and they should indicate their relevant skills and experience, including general duty and contract policing, breathalyzer operation, or work on an emergency response team.

It says deployment locations will be chosen by the RCMP based on operational requirements in each province.

The force said it would post RCMP cadets to Manitoba and Saskatchewan when they graduate from its training facility in Regina, also known as Depot Division.

Breton and Boudreau said in the message they wanted to also thank the members who already have “volunteered for immediate transfer.”

“We are truly grateful for your commitment to serving Canadians through ensuring our organization provides the necessary supports to divisions currently experiencing critical staffing shortages.”

University of Manitoba criminology professor Frank Cormier said staffing shortages have been an issue for the force in recent years.

“They are the Swiss Army knives of police services,” said Cormier.

“They do everything from political VIP protection, like the Secret Service (in the United States), to terrorism and organized crime, right down to local policing in small towns.

“It’s past time and overdue to having a discussion about what we want the RCMP to do.”

Cormier said a key issue is the force’s decision to allow recruits to say where they want to be posted. It has also resulted in fewer of them working in Manitoba.

“It has come back to bite them,” he said.

Bobby Baker, a regional director for the National Police Federation, the union that represents RCMP members, said the force amended that policy after realizing it was problematic.

“Now they can, more or less, pick where you want to go, but if there is a priority somewhere they will send you where the need is,” said Baker, who is based in Manitoba.

“We are asking all members and active reservists across the country to consider a temporary placement for a two-week rotation to D or F Division between February and May 2025 to help cover general duty resource shortages.”–Message from RCMP Deputy Commissioner Jodie Boudreau and chief human resources officer Jasmin Breton.

“I know we are short in Manitoba now, but the reinforcements are coming from Depot. Human resources said by September we would be up 100 officers here so it is a gap.”

Baker said the officer shortage has become more acute by the high number of investigations in Manitoba.

“It has been a really tough year (with) 58 homicides,” he said. “Our members are burnt out.”

He said there is no sign fewer people want to be a Mountie.

”We have 19,000 applicants in the queue right now. They can’t process them fast enough.”

In a statement, the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, which represents communities with RCMP detachments, admitted “Manitoba municipalities are increasingly concerned about rising crime rates, rapidly escalating costs, and insufficient police presence in their communities.

“While Manitoba currently has the second-highest RCMP vacancy rate in the country, these unfilled positions are putting additional pressures on existing resources, particularly in detachments that cover large geographic areas.”

The association reiterated its call for measures to boost the recruitment of front-line officers and immediate assistance to municipalities faced with unsustainable policing expenses.

In its message to members, the RCMP also said “relief to the North continues to be a priority,” amid a shortage of officers there.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca