The province’s Legislative Assembly unanimously passed Official Opposition Leader Carla Beck’s motion to oppose the closure of the RCMP Depot.

Beck’s motion stated that the Assembly opposes any plan for changes to RCMP training that involves the closure of the Depot Division in Regina and the loss of more than 500 jobs.

“The RCMP Depot has been an important job creator in our province for decades,” she said. “We can’t afford to see it phased out. There’s already a shortage of officers, and our province is dead last in Canada in terms of job growth. This would be a devastating loss to the City of Regina and to the province.”

Beck said that they accept that changes need to be made, but not at the cost of seeing the Depot phased out.

“The tragedy in Portapique, Nova Scotia led to a necessary and thoughtful review of the RCMP,” she said. “While we oppose the closure of Depot, we welcome improvements that lead to more transparent, open and honest policing, including training that sets up RCMP officers for better relationships with the communities they serve and, in particular, with Indigenous people.”

“It’s clear from the report that the RCMP are not perfect and that changes to training are needed to ensure that a tragedy like this never happens again,” she continued. “The need for changes in training is no need to move that training out of Regina.”

It came in response to the final report of the Mass Casualty Commission, which recommended that the RCMP phase out Depot training by 2032.