A story in the media today has raised questions about some aspects of the response to the James Smith Cree Nation/Weldon mass casualty. As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency about this investigation, we want to clarify information about ERT-SAG involvement in it.
The sole ERT-SAG resource we requested was an asset that assists in locating individuals, which was not immediately available. It did later deploy from Ottawa to Saskatchewan to assist in the search for Myles Sanderson; it wasn't directly involved in his arrest on September 7.
Saskatchewan RCMP's Critical Incident Response Team, which includes our Emergency Response Team (ERT), deployed at approximately 7 a.m. on September 4 to assist, and was later joined by ERT Teams from Alberta and Ottawa.
Hundreds of officers and employees from Saskatchewan RCMP – as well as other RCMP divisions, municipal police forces and public safety partners – worked tirelessly to investigate the homicides and restore public safety in the aftermath of this tragedy. As part of our response, we also used many advanced policing technologies.
We remain committed to providing all information we are able to about this investigation, while being respectful of the integrity of the upcoming coroner's inquests.