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In the wake of a fatal shooting and subsequent dangerous person alert in Pelican Narrows, Sask., on Monday, some leaders are planning for policing improvements.
In another update on the ongoing investigation, police noted that violence is growing fast in the area.
“Obviously, we have significant challenges in those communities, and we need to work with the community to address them,” Saskatchewan RCMP Chief Supt. Murray Chamberlin said.
“Those are big picture issues that require a combined response from a number of agencies, not just policing.”
Following the shooting, one woman died and one man is in hospital with serious injuries.
One person has been arrested and is awaiting charges. The alert has been lifted.
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“The entire community of Pelican Narrows is grieving following several recent tragedies,” Murray said.
The killing comes after a violent few weeks in the area.
RCMP say the Pelican Narrows detachment area has seen a 49 per cent increase in violent crime over the past decade.
“Those are big-picture issues that require a combined response from a number of agencies, not just policing,” Murray said.
Prince Albert Grand Council and Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation held an emergency news conference just 10 days before the shooting.
They demanded support in addressing escalating violence following the homicide of Jaden Custer.
The push for policing improvements is long-standing in northern communities, including from the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, Meadow Lake Tribal Council and James Smith Cree Nation.
“We understand these issues exist out there; now we’ve got to put our collective heads together, because someone’s got to be done soon,” said Buckley Belanger, the Liberal MP for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River.
Belanger says he will be meeting with community leaders in Pelican Narrows alongside the ministers for public safety and Indigenous services in the coming weeks, following Saskatchewan Community Safety Minister Michael Weger’s meeting with them this past weekend.
RCMP say they are also continuing work with the community to make policing improvements, including introducing a rotational model for staffing to fill vacancies in the fall.
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