Memorial park planned for murdered Spiritwood RCMP officers

It has been nine years since two young Spiritwood RCMP officers were shot and killed while on duty, and a group is working to make sure their legacy doesn't fade.

Const. Robin Cameron, 29, and Const. Marc Bourdages, 26, were investigating a domestic dispute when they were both shot in the head on July 7, 2006. A week later, they both died in hospital.

Three years later, their killer, Curtis Dagenais was sentenced to life in prison.

Last year, three officers in Moncton, N.B., were killed in a shooting while on duty. Rochelle Duret, the wife of a Spiritwood, Sask., RCMP officer, was watching the media coverage when she began to wonder what was being done to honour the lives of Cameron and Bourdages. 

"As a wife, I would be so disappointed that nothing was done," Duret said.

"We didn't want their stories and their sacrifices to be forgotten because they have amazing stories that need to be told."

A rink in Spiritwood was named after the officers, but it is set to be replaced and renamed.

Duret and her husband decided to ask around town to see if anyone else felt the same way as they did.

Last fall, they and a number of other RCMP members, their spouses, and other community members formed the Cameron and Bourdages Memorial Society Inc.

Cameron and Bourdages Memorial planned

The town donated a plot of land to the group and they are currently raising money to build a memorial park in honour of the officers.

Duret said she took inspiration from a park dedicated to the officers who died in Mayerthorpe, Alta., in 2005.

"As soon as you hear these names, the first thing that jumps out is that there was a shooting in the community," Duret said. "But we're hoping that by creating this park it will allow the community to grieve and will help overcome this tragedy. We'll have something wonderful come out of such a dark part of our community's past."

The plan is to install two bronze statues built in Cameron and Bourdages likeness, a Canadian flag, a Saskatchewan flag, a gazebo with benches, and a walking path with lighting.

But all that is going to cost quite a bit of money.

The group plans on hiring the same bronze sculptor who made the statues of the officers who died in Mayerthorpe. Each statue costs more than $100,000.

They estimate the total cost of the project will be about $350,000.

Duret is well aware the group has to do a lot of fundraising if they want to try to meet their goal to have the park on its way by next year for the 10th anniversary.

A dinner and auction will be held in the Academy Drill Hall at Depot in Regina on Sept. 26. Tickets are available on their Facebook page.

The group is still waiting to be approved for charity status, but they have started to take donations online.

Duret said it is important to her and other community members to make sure there is a space where people can go to honour Cameron and Bourdages.