'The right steps': Sask. RCMP pre-cadet program offers glimpse into policing for Indigenous students
Every year, the Indigenous pre-cadet program at Depot Division in Regina offers a glimpse into the profession of policing. The program’s three week session attracted many Metis, Inuit and First Nations students.
"I knew I wanted to be police officer from a very young age,” Desmond Hunt, a pre-cadet from Pasqua First Nation, told CTV News.
Hunt is one of this year's 25 graduates from the Indigenous pre-cadet training program.
“It's one of our longest running recruit initiatives for Indigenous people,” Maureen Greyeyes-Brant, a corporal with the RCMP, explained.
“It's been around since 1994 ... it’s a way for us to increase the Indigenous representation within the organization."
Greyeyes herself was a graduate of the program all the way back in 1999, and now she works in Ottawa.
Experiences for the pre-cadets include staying in the dorms at Depot Division, dining in the mess hall and all-day training, much like the actual cadet program.
“I want them to have a really good view from many different Indigenous mentors about our careers,” Greyeyes explained.
“So when they do go on to our website and download the application, they know what they're up against."
Truth and Reconciliation and diversification are priorities for the RCMP and the program as a whole.
It’s a factor that Hunt recognizes.
“They're making the right steps and they're really trying and pushing to get those numbers up for Indigenous candidates," he said. "Because nobody knows how to be there for Indigenous peoples on reserve than other Indigenous people who have gone through the struggles of inter-generational trauma."
Inuit throat singing, drumming and singing were all featured at the session’s closing ceremony. As for Hunt, he see’s himself joining the cadet program very soon.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.