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Regina-Wascana MP Michael Kram is demanding public transparency surrounding the sudden dismissal of Saskatchewan F Division Commanding Officer Rhonda Blackmore last month.
In a statement to media Monday, Kram urged Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree to exercise his authority over the RCMP to provide answers.
“After 30 years of dedicated service and accomplishments, Ms. Blackmore was pulled from her post and publicly humiliated over what has only been described as ‘anonymous complaints.’
“The RCMP and the federal Public Safety Minister have stonewalled any and all requests for further information,” Kram wrote.
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In early June, Blackmore shared she had been removed from her position as the commanding officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP following anonymous complaints.
She took on the top role at the Saskatchewan RCMP in April of 2021 after serving in various posts around the country. She first joined the RCMP in 1995, and spent the first seven years of her career in Saskatchewan, policing in Assiniboia, Regina and Buffalo Narrows before she was transferred to the RCMP’s national headquarters in Ottawa in 2002.
While in Ottawa, Blackmore worked with the RCMP’s Operational Policy Unit, National Division Emergency Response Team, Criminal Intelligence Directorate of National Security Investigations, National Use of Force Program and the Mounties’ Contract and Indigenous Policing Executive Team.
In 2013, she was appointed officer in charge of the National Police Intervention Unit, overseeing the implementation of a number of recommendations from the MacNeil Report after the deadly shooting of three Mounties in Moncton, New Brunswick.
Rhonda Blackmore was removed as head of the Sask. RCMP in June, because of anonymous complaints according to a letter she sent to RCMP workers. (CJME file photo)
“Ms. Blackmore has made tremendous contributions to policing in this province. She guided both the response to and the aftermath of the James Smith Cree Nation mass murders. She has spearheaded efforts to attract more First Nations individuals into policing and to help First Nations become more engaged in public safety,” Kram said.
“The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations has demanded her reinstatement. Even following her dismissal, the Prince Albert Grand Council and the Lac La Ronge First Nation honoured her with a star blanket ceremony. The provincial government has expressed strong support for her partnership with their policing efforts,” he said.
Kram also pointed out that Blackmore was dismissed during a state of emergency in Saskatchewan caused by wildfires, a time when the province needed stable leadership across emergency response teams.
