REGINA - The newly formed Saskatchewan Marshals Service has filled its top job.
The province of Saskatchewan has announced the appointment of Robert Cameron as the Chief Marshal of the Saskatchewan Marshals Service. Cameron’s appointment takes effect on Jan. 1.
Cameron, a graduate of Thunder Bay's Confederation College in Law and Security Administration, started as a peace officer with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources as a peace officer before joining the RCMP in 1989. According to the province his experience includes conducting criminal investigations, acting as Officer in Charge of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit,mand overseeing Provincial Support Services including Emergency Response Teams and Police Dog Services. He rose to the rank of Superintendent, included tenures as Federal Policing Officer and as Critical Incident Command Coordinator.
After he retired from the RCMP in 2018, he joined the Saskatchewan Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety as Executive Director of Policing, and later became Assistant Deputy Minister of Policing and Community Safety Services.
Cameron now will take on responsibility for the 70-officer Marshals service, which will be fully operational in 2026. The province states the service will provide law enforcement across Saskatchewan, conduct proactive investigations and support RCMP and municipal police operations.
"We reviewed qualified applicants from across Canada for this position, and I want to thank all of them for taking part in the hiring process," Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Paul Merriman said in a news release. "We are confident, based on the breadth of his experience and his in-depth understanding of provincial and municipal policing, that Mr. Cameron is the best candidate to lead the Saskatchewan Marshals Service forward."
In speaking to reporters later, Merriman said there were 12 "very qualified applicants", three from outside of the province, and that a four person independent panel looked at the qualifications.
"With Mr. Cameron's experience with 30 years in the RCMP and the various duties that he's done at the RCMP including at F Division, he has a very good feel for what the needs of the Marshals service is in Saskatchewan and we're very lucky to have him."
Merriman added that he expects the first role for the new Chief Marshal would be to start looking at applicants for the Marshals Service. He said there was tremendous interest from current police members from not just Saskatchewan but across the country.
"People are very interested," said Merriman, adding a lot of Sask. ex-pats were interested. Merriman also emphasized the goal in recruiting will not be to poach resources away from other police services such as the RCMP.
The province cited support from police chiefs for the Marshals initiative in their news release.
"The Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police would like to congratulate the newly appointed Chief Marshal of the Saskatchewan Marshals Service," Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police President Richard Lowen said in a news release. "We look forward to working with the Chief Marshal to learn how this new service will enhance the work of existing law enforcement partners who are all members of the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police.
"We are happy to see this announcement today, as it's an important piece for progress toward this service becoming a reality," Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association Chair Keith Day said in a statement. "Rural crime is a growing challenge in the province and for our producers. We appreciate that this government is taking concrete steps to address the issue."
The opposition New Democrats have also weighed in with a less-than-enthusiastic response from their Justice critic Nicole Sarauer in a news release.
"One wonders how many people were interested in the Chief Marshal role if the position is being filled by a government official. This also raises concerns about how independent the Marshal Service will be from the Minister.
"As we have stated previously, these funds would be better spent staffing up the RCMP and providing much needed treatment spaces for mental health and addictions. This would better and more immediately address concerns around public safety."
In speaking to reporters later, Sarauer said there was still a lot of uncertainty from municipalities and those in policing "who don't know what the Marshals service is doing, where they will be, what their mandate's going to be."
Sarauer also expressed further concerns about how the province would be able to recruit the 70 officers for the Marshals service, and for proof pointed at the Chief Marshal hire.
"Well, they couldn't find an outside individual in policing to serve as the Chief Marshal, so that doesn't really detract from that concern as well."
In response to the NDP claim that this was an internal hire, Merriman said he was "disappointed."
"This is a very qualified individual with 30 years of experience across the country... I'm glad there was an independent panel, I was notified last week on who was the successful candidate, and again we're very lucky to have him."
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