ot idence,” THERE'S NO question . ihe ROMP Musical Ride remains as the West Mounted Police. The first known riding display was given In most prominent symbol of Ganada’s national police force. Its origins 1876 and the first musical ride performance was held in Regina in date back: ta the founding of what was then Known as the North 1897. There are 32 performing riders and they stay for three years, Onwari past 125 years RCMP change with times | CHANCES ARE pretly good nowadays you're going | fo find that the person behind the wheel ofa police car has a post secondary education of _somekind. And chances are the person will be a woman ora visible minority. It’s ‘part of the changing dimension and face of the RCMP as Canada’s national police force _celébrates its 125th anniversary this year. Along with a different kind of police officer .. thén the historical image of a white male comes ~a different kind of policing. “Twenty years ago it was enough that a per- son be a Jaw enforcer,” says RCMP Sgt. Russ ‘Grabb who handies media relations for the force in B.C “Now we're looking for people who have “people skills and leadership abilities to find creative solutions to complex problems.”’ “The law enforcement model that we once ‘had, as we have seen, wasn’t working all that “-well,”” said Grabb, ; “The Mountie we're looking for will be able to solve problems collectively to stop crime in “dhe fi inst place | so we don’t have to investigate crime in the first place.”’ Encouraging women, visible minorities and aboriginals. brings different insights and dif- + ferent. skills to modern policing, adds the sergeant bee ae . Grab is 41, has been in the RCMP for 21, ~ years, ‘and admits the change in policing has been difficult for officers such as himself. “T was not unlike any other 19 or 20 year old ' who thought law enforcement itself was aii that _ ditwas about,” he said. “Ts, make sure that older model worked we would constantly need more officers on the stree! and would have to ask for stiffer sentences.” “Passing Jaws and then enforcing them to” change social behaviour didn’t work all that ‘well on criminals.’ Hiring more officers and stiffer sentences re- quiring more prisons meant ever higher budgets: | and that collided with government spending cuts in the early 1990s. With the law enforcement model not working and moncy tight, a new system developed called community policing. And it's more than having officers ‘becoming involved in various com- munily activities, <"Tv’s getting the community to work more tlosely with the police,’’ notes Grabb. ~ * “*All across Canada there’s been a decline in crime for the past five years and that’s no coin- he continued. People are now becoming more involved ‘and have a direct say in how things are done,”’ gald Grabb. There are some officers who don’t like this but it’s true, we look at people we serve as ws PARA-MILITARY origin of the RCMP are evi- dent in the uniforms of these staff sergeants ‘and sergeants. This picture was taken at clients.”’ _ The new Mountie who fits into the new polic- ing model comes from all areas of the popula- tion base, The average age of the officer coming out of training is now 27 with either a post secondary education or significant prior work experience. Minimum recruiting age is 19 and a minimum Grade 12 or equivalent is required as is the ability to pass the force’s physical and medical requirements. Recmits also need a keyboard or typing certif- icate from a recognized institution, a St. John Ambulance first aid certificate and a certificate in cardio pulmonary resuscitation from St. John Ambulance or the Canadian Heart Foundation. There’s an extensive 28-week basic training course followed by a six-month field training program. An average 650 to 700 cadets come out of training each year to feed into the force which has 21,400 members. Female officers receive 17 weeks matemuity leave at 93 per cent of their salary. Grabb calls the diversifying of the force’s members as good business as it recognizes that 50 per cent of the population is female and there are Visible minorities and aboriginals in Canada, Along with the changes has come a relaxing of the force’s historical para-military structure. Gone are regulations which, for instance, re- quired that officers wear their hals whenever outside of their patrol cars, Christmas 1894 in Calgary. The force was then called the North West Mounted Police. RCMP women ‘IN THESE next few years your performance, your attitudes and your successes and failures will be analyzed by your adherents and detrac- tors alike, for you may be assured that both ex- jst.’ The comments were made in 1975 by Warren Alimand, Canada’s solicitor general at the time, to the 32 RCMP praduates in Troop No. 17 at the Regina depot. The troop’ s members were the first women to ever join the force as regular police officers. Before 1975, women served as civilian mem- bers, working as fingerprint and Jab technicians, in other support duties, or as matrons. These matrons were hired to deal with female offenders arrested by the force as early on as the days of the gold rush. Since then, women in the force have come a loug way. Originally, men were disuaded from marrying atall in the first five years of service. Now married RCMP couples are more and more common and receive the support of the force, which tries to ensure they are stationed at the same, or nearby, detachments. In 1981, the first female was promoted to cor- poral and the first women served in the Musical Ride. Women now fill various roles in the RCMP, including several high-ranking positions. ~ RCMP history full of highlights The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 19, 1998 - AS Treaty vote policy never took shape DISCUSSIONS ABOUT holding referenda on nalive land claims were never explored fully by provincial of- ficials involved in the first days of sctling policy on the issue, says a former cabinet minister. Jack Weisgerber, the first-ever minister for aboriginal affairs in 1988 in Bili Vander Zalm’s Social Credit government, said it was assumed the process of ratify- ing treaties would come as negotiations got closer to a conclusion. That feeling continued into 1990 when the province joined land claims talks with native groups and the {cd- eral government and into 1991 when it signed a frame- work agreement on how talks with the Nisga’a would proceed. “Tt is fair 10 say that in 1990, when we agreed to join in, the government was pretty much in a pre-clection mode and there was little involvement with ratification after that,’’ said Weisgerber last week, There was no clear widerstanding of what the ratification process should look like.’ But the Socreds were defeated in the fall of 1991 and the NDP, under Mike Harcourt, was elected. One of Harcourt’s main platforms was the recogni- tion of native title and self-government, which soon be- came government policy. As the Nisga’a talks accelerated in the mid-1990s there was still no clear outline of how treatics were to be ratified except for provincial statements that setile- ments must have wide public support. The framework agreement, establishing the Nisga’a talks and signed by the Vander Zalm government, did mention ratification but never spelled it out. Federal negotiators on the Nisga’a trealy were more clear, saying several times that a referendmno wouldn’t be held. The main reason then was the same being given today — since all federal taxpayers would bear the costs of settlements, a Canada-wide vote would be needed. And that was unwork- able, said federal negotia- tors. . Weisgerber, who by the = ——an mid-1990s was the leader Jack Weisgerber of the provincial Reform party, did say on numerous occasions there was a necd for a referendum on the Nisga'a treaty. Just as important, said Weisgerber, was the need for public acceptance of the issues to be negotiated. Mandates for negotiations stating, for example, that private property was not on the table and that there would be access to hunting, fishing and recreational areas, were published but never became part of att overall public policy issue. free Weisgerber’s themes were adopted by the provinctat Liberals under Gordon Campbell. 4 They became central after the Nisga’a agreement in principle was signed in 1996 and were put on paper after an all-party committee of provincial MLAs toured the province to discuss thal agrcement in principle. “If treaties are to be accepted as fair and workable, they must have the stamp of legitimacy that can only be gained through a democratic debate and vote by ail cilizens on the basic values and clements they are in- tended to reflect,” noted a report filed by four Liberal MLAs and Weisgerber who sat on the committee. Their minority report opinion differed sharply from the majority approach taken by the NDP MLAs who sat on the committee. The prospect of what Weisgerber calls “a looming referendum” on the Nisga'a treaty would bave shar- pened negotiators’ efforts to reach an agreement ac- ceptable by all parties, he said. The Liberals and the Reformers took the referendum and principles for negotiation themes into the 1996 provincial election but they never arose as a major is- sue. That’s a shame, said Weisgerber, as yet another op- ‘portunity for a wide-spread public debate was missed. “The voters weren’t interested in it,” said Weisger- ber. He believes that wasn't unusual for people tend to never react to something until it becomes a reality. Today, with the Nisga’a treaty being inilialled and the federal and provincial govenuments preparing legis- lation lo bring it into force, Weisgerber says il still i isn’t too late for a referendum. “Despite what the governments are saying, this par- ticular Nisga’a deal isn't a one-off,”? Weisgerber con- tinued, “This will have an effect with the others under the B.C, Treaty Commission, particularly with self govern- ment, and it needs to be ratified by a referendum to show there is broad public support,’” THE RCMP has had a lot of ‘notable moments, both lo- cally and nationally, in its 125 year history. . BF 1873 The original Northwest - Mounted Police is created, ‘with a force of 300 men. ‘1901 ';The stetson replaces the - pill box hat as an official part of the RCMP uniform. m 1904 The King of England grants the force the title of “royal” in recognition of “both the NWMP’s service to ‘Canada and the service of “many of its members in the ‘Boer War. The force’s new 4itle is Royal Northwest ‘Mounted Police. "| WORLD WARI “*! ‘The RNWMP serve in a ’ Special volunteer regiment in Siberia and France, “f 1920. _f After’ debate about the continued need for a west- em police force, the RNWMP absorbs ihe na- tlonal ‘‘Dominion Police’? force and becomes Canada's new national police force. To reflect its new role, the word ‘Northwest’? — Is dropped from the name and the RCMP is bor. fm i934 A police dog section is es- tablished to aid in searches. mg WORLD WARTI The RCMP again serve as a special force in. the war . and develops an internation- al reputation. m 1950 The RCMP comes to Ter- mee, The force replaces the British Columbia Provincial Police, taking over its detachment office and polic- ing duties on Aug, 15. The detachment had a strength of two officers, both of whom were ab- sorbed from the provincial force. The RCMP rented the detachment building for $98.30 a month from the federal government. The building still stands on the corer of Lakelse and Kalum, @ 1960 The first highway patrol section is established in the area. _ That made for a detach- ment strength of eight of- ficers and a growing need for more space. m 1964 The Terrace detachment moves into the lower por- tion of city hall and the space grows according to “need, wg 1974 The force annovnces it will accept women into. the ranks as regular officers, Officers also no longer have to ask the force's permission to marry. 1984 A seperate security ser- vice, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (C.S.L5.), is created. m 1986 The local detachment, now including 25 people, outgrows its home at city hall and moves into its cur- rent quarters. 1990 The RCMP uniform is standardized for all regular members, doing away with seperate service uniforms for male and female mem- bers. Uniform modifications are also approved for members of specific religious and cul- tural backgrounds, wm i998 In the spring of this year, the entire force was redesigned along regions, instead of provincial divi- sions, The RCMP is still also the provincial police force for all provinces but Ontario anid Quebec. Acknowledgements MATERIAL FOR this page was provided through the as- sistance of Constable Tom Kalis of the Terrace RCMP detachment and The Terrace Standard’s community cor- respondent, Yvonne Moen. Try the RCMP’s website at www.rcmp-gre.ge.ca MP should quit SKEENA REFORM MP Mike Scott should resign be- cause he didn’t go to the Nisga’a treaty initialling in New Aiyansh Aug. 4, says a bed and breakfast owner who lives just outside the village. Robert Miles, also an associate Anglican priest and a nurse who has tived in the Nass for cight years, said Scott represents all of his constituents, not just those witb whom he agrees, “It's fine if he doesn't agree with the treaty, but he should fulfil the mandate of his office ina non-partisan fashion,”” said Miles last week. Scott’s absence at the initialling ceremony also dis- played bad judgment and bad maniers, he continued. “He's the aboriginal affairs critic for the Reform party. If that’s the best the Reform’s got, we're in trouble,”’ Miles said he doesn’t feel threatened by being ex- cluded under treaty provisions from voting for candl- dates to be chosen for new Nisga’a governument entilies. *'There has been and will be opportunity to have our voices known on the’ education board and health board. The Nisga'a have always had those imcellngs open and have welcomed everybody,” he said.