Yukon RCMP 'not going anywhere,' says commanding officer, responding to PM's proposed reforms

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's proposal for bold reform of the RCMP — including a shift away from boots-on-the ground policing they provide in provinces and territories — is getting mixed reaction Yukon. 

On Monday, Trudeau released a white paper outlining a vision for the RCMP to focus solely on federal policing priorities. 

"My reaction was one of surprise," said Chief Supt. Lindsay Ellis, commanding officer for Yukon RCMP, about Trudeau's proposal. "We're not going anywhere. I'm very, very confident in that." 

Policing in the Yukon has changed since 19 North-West Mounted Police were sent to the territory in 1895. Today, RCMP has around 150 people working in the territory and serves as the territory's only active police force. 

The Yukon RCMP saw a steady annual increase in calls for service between 2016 and 2021, the most recent years for which data is available. The increase slightly outpaced population growth in the territory over that period. 

Ellis said the question of RCMP reform isn't new to the Yukon. She called Trudeau's proposal an "opportunity to have a conversation…about where we've been, where we are and where we're going." 

'We have to find a model that works'

The Yukon should be headed toward more community policing, says Gina Nagano. She's the president of House of Wolf and Associates, an organization that works with Yukon First Nations communities on safety. She also served in the RCMP for 21 years. 

House of Wolf was involved in setting up community safety officer programs with the Kwanlin Dün First Nation, Selkirk First Nation, Teslin Tlingit Council and Carcross/Tagish First Nation. 

"The days of the colonial police and approaches are over," Nagano said. "We have to find a model that works with everybody today, and we have a great model. The community safety officer program is a great model."

Safety officers are unarmed citizens who patrol their communities. They already have relationships and trust, Nagano said, which leads to better outcomes like early intervention, referrals to community services over law enforcement, reduced violence and improved community wellness. 

She said there are challenges reconciling her ideas with the 152-year old institution that is the RCMP. 

"It would be great for the higher-level leadership within the RCMP to have a look at this model, and let's see how we can come together." 

Ellis said the RCMP has evolved from its roots as an "occupier-type role." She agrees that engagement, trust and respect are crucial to effective policing today. In Yukon communities, "we're welcomed in and we're invited," she said, "and that's really special."

When asked if she could see the RCMP moving toward unarmed community officer roles, she said that "it's important that we're in the communities to fulfil that role of preserving life, protecting property — that is within our act of the RCMP." 

Police still necessary

Nagano said there is still a need for armed police in the territory to handle drug problems and criminal activity. Right now, First Nations aren't ready to fill that role within their communities, she said. 

Under the territory's Umbrella Final Agreement, Yukon First Nations with a settled land claim have the right to administer their own justice programs. But taking over policing is a huge ask, Nagano said.

"I think one day in the future, absolutely," she said.

Trudeau's white paper suggests 2032, when current RCMP policing contracts with territories and provinces are set to expire, as a transition point and calls on the provinces to start thinking of their needs and solutions "now."

"That's not very far off," Nagano said.

She said she'd like to see another policing model introduced, whether that's a re-imagined RCMP working more closely with community safety officers, a new territorial police force, or another version of policing that hasn't been explored yet.

What's most important, she said, is to stop accepting what's not working. Community safety programs are working, she said, and don't need to be restricted to First Nations. 

"Why can't all of Yukon embrace this model?" Nagano asked.