RCMP says Saskatchewan commanding officer away, interim head in place
Assistant commissioner Rhonda Blackmore, commanding officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP, speaks during a news conference in Regina on Thursday, June 6, 2024. A report into how Mounties responded to a mass killing and manhunt in Saskatchewan has found some communication problems but nothing that significantly impacted the outcome. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards
REGINA — RCMP say Saskatchewan's commanding officer will be away for an undetermined period of time effective immediately.
Mounties didn't provide details on Rhonda Blackmore's absence but say assistant commissioner Robin McNeil will serve as interim commanding officer.
They say the decision won't affect front-line policing and that they have confidence in all officers in the province.
Blackmore took command of the Saskatchewan RCMP in April 2021, after serving various posts across Canada for 30 years.
She spent her first years as an officer in the Saskatchewan communities of Assiniboia, Regina and Buffalo Narrows.
In 2022, she launched the RCMP's first unit aimed at recruiting Indigenous people to ensure Mounties represent the communities they serve.
She was also the public face of the force after the mass killings on James Smith Cree Nation in 2022.
-This report was first published by The Canadian Press on June 4, 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Post
32 minutes ago
- National Post
Mia Hughes: Canadian Medical Association wants to force Alberta to ignore science on gender care
Article content The entire field is built upon research out of the Netherlands that has been shown to be methodologically flawed, and the diagnosis of gender dysphoria is shaped by political lobbying intended to reduce stigma and distress. Article content What's more, the Canadian Pediatric Society bases its recommendations on the field's standards of care which are set by the discredited World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). In a recently withdrawn legal challenge to Alabama's youth gender medicine ban, WPATH was forced to disclose over two million internal emails that revealed the organization blocked independent systematic reviews that showed low-quality evidence, consulted 'social justice lawyers' when drafting its medical guidelines, and, at the Biden administration's request, removed almost all lower age limits from its adolescent chapter to avoid undermining state-level legal battles. Article content Reimer also stated, without irony, that medical decisions should be based on 'the best science.' Yet the best science — specifically the systematic reviews from Sweden, Finland, England, and a team of researchers in Canada — has all concluded the evidence base for paediatric medical transition is of very low certainty. Alberta's Bill 26 reflects that consensus. The CMA's position contradicts it. Article content This isn't the first legal challenge to Alberta's legislation. Late last year, Egale Canada — originally a gay rights charity that expanded into trans advocacy in the early 2000s — teamed up with the Skipping Stone Foundation and five families to contest the law. That move is surprising given early research conducted by leading figures in gender medicine, Psychologist/Sexologist Kenneth Zucker and Psychiatrist Susan Bradley, found that most children with early-onset gender dysphoria would grow up to be gay or lesbian if left untreated, and same-sex attracted teens are overrepresented in the adolescent patients who began flooding gender clinics in the 2010s and among detransitioners. That a gay rights group would back medical interventions that have the potential to sterilize homosexual adolescents is a tragic reversal of purpose. Article content In an interview, Dr. Jake Donaldson, one of three Alberta doctors who filed the challenge alongside the CMA, inadvertently highlighted the questionable rationale for these extreme medical interventions. He believes that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones help gender-distressed youth blend in better as members of the opposite sex, which makes them 'safer and happier.' But even if that were true — and there is no high-quality evidence to suggest that it is — this approach only offers a superficial, short-term fix that ignores the deeper psychological struggles of these youth. And it can come at such immense long-term cost in the form of sterility, sexual dysfunction, and lifelong medical dependence. Article content 'Medicine is a calling,' explained the CMA president in her statement. 'Doctors pursue it because they are compelled to care for and promote the well-being of patients.' Article content Yet noble intentions are no safeguard against harm. History is littered with medical scandals. At the centre of each one, there were well-intentioned doctors who left a trail of devastation in their quest to help patients. The doctors who prescribed thalidomide didn't do so with the intention of causing major birth defects; the obstetricians who sent expectant mothers for prenatal X-rays didn't deliberately set out to cause childhood leukemia, and Walter Freeman famously believed his prefrontal lobotomies were a humane alternative to the deplorable conditions in insane asylums. Article content At this point, there is little doubt that paediatric gender medicine is destined to take its place in history alongside these medical catastrophes. Therefore, Alberta is not acting unreasonably; it is acting responsibly. By restricting unproven and irreversible treatments for minors, the province has commendably joined a global wave of governments re-asserting evidence and ethical principles in the face of medical groupthink. It is the CMA — not the Alberta government — that must reckon with its conscience. Article content Mia Hughes specializes in researching pediatric gender medicine, psychiatric epidemics, social contagion and the intersection of trans rights and women's rights. She is the author of ' The WPATH Files,' a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, and director of Genspect Canada. Article content
CTV News
32 minutes ago
- CTV News
Popeyes accused of using ‘unsafe' chicken allegedly stored in residential garages in Ontario
A lawsuit filed against Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is accusing the fried chicken chain of buying 'unsafe' meat from an unauthorized seller that was allegedly storing and packaging raw chicken in residential garages in Ontario. The lawsuit was filed at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on May 26 by ADP, a former raw chicken supplier to Popeyes. The company alleges they lost their contract with Popeyes after bringing forward its concerns about the 'unsafe supply' of products. Popeyes, Restaurant Brands International (RBI)—the Toronto-based company that owns the fast-food chain—and Restaurant Services Canada Inc. (RSCI), the supply chain manager, are all named in the lawsuit. Popeyes, for its part, said in a statement to CTV News that the claims from ADP Direct Poultry Ltd. are unfounded and that it found 'no evidence' to support them following an investigation. The lawsuit also names another company as the unauthorized supplier that allegedly provided, at times, 'rotten or expired' chicken deemed 'unfit for human consumption' to various franchisees across Ontario. The documents continue to say this chicken created a public health risk because it was delivered in vehicles that did not have the proper refrigeration to prevent it from spoiling. The statement of claim alleges that these tainted products were bought by various franchisees—both known to ADP and not, all named in the suit—due to their lower prices. The lawsuit also alleges the franchisees continued to sell the chicken to customers, even after ADP brought forward its concerns that the products did not adhere to food health and safety standards. The allegations have not been tested in court. As laid out in the documents, Popeyes had a system of authorized suppliers and distributors who adhered to the company's specifications and standards, meaning franchisees were required to purchase from within their approved list of vendors. Any restaurant looking to purchase ingredients outside of the company's list of vendors had to write a formal request, after which the supplier in question would have to submit to an inspection to ensure it meets the requirements as well as health and safety standards. ADP claims the chicken sold by the unauthorized company was not inspected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) or any other inspector. CTV News Toronto contacted the CFIA for comment. The supplier claims RSCI, meanwhile, did not investigate the unsafe supply of chicken as they promised and instead conspired to 'manufacture a rationale for removing ADP' from their authorized vendors list. In turn, the filings further allege franchisees were 'upset about the reporting of the unsafe supply' and worked with the RSCI to lodge 'false or misleading' complaints about the quality of their products. CTV News has reached out to Restaurant Services Inc., parent company to RSCI, for comment but has not yet heard back. 'We believe this former supplier is lashing out after losing our business for a variety of legitimate reasons,' Emily Ciantra, Popeye's director communications, told CTV News Toronto in a statement. 'We have always been committed to rigorous safety standards, including regular inspections by third party auditors who verify our strict standards are being followed.' ADP seeks $35 million in damages from Popeyes, RBI and RSCI, citing breach of contract and breaches of the Competition Act. The documents state that $30 million is to cover ADP's loss of profits after their contract—which was expected to continue until 2027—was prematurely terminated. An additional $5 million is to cover the costs the supplier incurred after boosting its production facilities to meet Popeyes' increased production demand, the documents state. ADP also seeks $1 million in punitive damages. The supplier adds it also lost out on business opportunities, such as providing products to other fast-food chains like Wendy's. Additionally, the raw chicken supplier is seeking at least $10 million in damages from the unauthorized company, who it deems liable for 'unlawfully interfering' with ADP's economic relationship with Popeyes, as well as $500,000 in aggravated damages. ADP also seeks $150,000 from each franchisee and an account detailing the quantity of 'unsafe supply' they bought from the company as well as how much they profited from the unauthorized products. 'The defendants' conduct was malicious, high handed, intended to cause harm to ADP, endangered the public, and warrants aggravated and punitive damages,' the filings state.
CTV News
32 minutes ago
- CTV News
Crash closes Spring Creek Road in South Bruce Peninsula
Spring Creek Road in South Bruce Peninsula closed after serious early-morning crash. Fri., June 6, 2025. File photo An early-morning serious collision has forced the closure of Spring Creek Road in South Bruce Peninsula. Grey Bruce Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a call shortly after 3 a.m. of a single-vehicle collision on Spring Creek Road. Due to the ongoing investigation and the presence of emergency personnel, Spring Creek Road is currently closed between Legion Road and Allenford Road. Police ask motorists to avoid the area and seek alternate routes.
