2014 is the fortieth anniversary of women serving in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Shown are Drumheller detachment RCMP members (l-r) Constable Kelly Zacharkiw, Constable Sarah Boulton, and Constable Sara Rayat. Absent is Constable Rachel Pergunas. 

    2014 marks the fortieth anniversary of women joining the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as officers.
    It may have seemed unusual at one time, but for members of Drumheller’s  detachment, including the four serving female officers, they have never known an RCMP force that didn’t hire women.  
    “I’ve always grown up with women as authority figures,” said Constable Kelly Zacharkiw. “I never knew an RCMP force that didn’t have women in it.”
    Zacharikw has been with the Drumheller detachment since July, and was a former member of the RCMP Musical Ride. She has been with the force since April 2007.
    Constable Sara Rayat has been with the Mounties since February 2013. “We’re taught the history...the important point is you’re joining the job. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman. We all work together for the common goal - protection, and safe communities.”
    History of the RCMP shows that in May of 1974 the RCMP began accepting applications from women for regular police duties. The first troop of female regular RCMP, Troop 17, began training at Depot (RCMP training centre) September of 1974 and graduated March 3, 1975.
    “These first women undoubtedly faced many challenges in a previously male only organization,” said Corporal Rod Guthrie of Drumheller detachment. “There were restrictions on the jobs that females could do, and this was highlighted by a different uniform for females compared to males.”
    Once restricted, the field now seems wide open to female members of the force.     
    “General duty is kind of when you get your feet wet,” said Rayat. “You learn what you like. I’d like to get into forensics, IDENT - a property crime examiner.” This is similar to what the CSI shows display on television, but the time frames are realistic.
    Different opportunities afforded by the modern RCMP seem as varied as the backgrounds and interests of the women who serve.
    “For me, it was the fact that it was a challenging career,” said Constable Sarah Boulton. Boulton joined the Drumheller detachment within days of graduating training in September 2014. She had grown up playing varsity sports, and found there were a lot of opportunities with the RCMP she wanted to explore.
    Constable Rachel Pergunas worked for Canada Customs for four years in Ontario, joining the RCMP in 2006 and moving to Drumheller in 2011.
    “When you pick this job,” said Pergunas, “you have that personality that’s willing to run toward danger.”
     “There are times when a female is a better fit for a situation,” said Pergunas. “Some victims of crime respond better to the female presence.” That female presence may seem unsettling to some, however Pergunas notes:
    “The Commissioner, the RCMP, have a zero tolerance, and there are channels we can use if we feel harrassed or bullied.”
    She said women policing in the RCMP seems generally accepted, and she hasn’t found herself in a situation where she’s not taken seriously.
    The challenge and the drive to be involved in helping people at their most vulnerable were draws to the job for her. “You have to be as tough mentally as you are physically.”
    Pergunas went on maternity leave this summer, and said the force is extremely accommodating, with the switch to light duties for expectant mothers in the RCMP dependant on their comfort level.         The challenge of the job, the drive to assist their fellow humans, and the desire to help build safer communities seems to be something all four of Drumheller’s female RCMP constables have in common. It can be a long process from application to joining a police force, and the four constables encourage anyone interested to stick with it, and not give up, especially if it’s a dream to join the RCMP.
    “I would recommend if this is something you truly want to do, keep at it,” said Constable Boulton. She said those waiting to join the force can feel discouraged, and recommends those waiting use the time to their advantage.
    “Better yourself and do things that will help you gain confidence.” And as for keeping up the physical fitness end of it, “Find something you really like that doesn’t seem like a chore.”
    The constables welcome any women interested in joining a police force to take the time and speak with one of them.

Kevin Sorenson, MP Crowfoot and Minister of State (Finance).

    As all of Canada watched with horror as the events unfolded in the capital last Wednesday, Crowfoot MP Kevin Sorenson spent 10 harrowing hours surrounded by his caucus colleagues waiting.
    Sorenson arrived at Parliament at 7 a.m. that fateful day for caucus meetings at 9:30 a.m.  Just 20 minutes into the meeting, they heard shooting.
    That morning a gunman shot and killed a reservist guarding the Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial and then made his way to  the Parliament Building, where he was stopped for good  by Sergeant-at-Arms  Kevin Vickers.         What few realize is just how close many members of the government and opposition were to what transpired.  Sorenson recounted the incident.
    “We were right there, he (the gunman) ran right past outside the room,” he said. “He ran down the main hall and the NDP is on one side and we are on the other side of the hall, and he ran by our door.”
    He said if Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s security was not at the door where the caucus was meeting, the gunman could have run right in.
    He explains when he heard the first shot ring out, he thought it was construction noises because there was a project nearby where they were blasting.
    “But when all the gunfire opened up I knew this was an attack, and in those big marble halls, they echoed and it was unbelievable - the noise of the automatic weapons. We just all scrambled and headed to the doors, but  quickly realized we couldn’t leave, so we threw chairs up against the doors and  everyone moved away from the entrances.
    “With the amount of gunfire we expected them to come through the doors, there are four doors into the room.”
     He said after the initial shot, there was a barrage of about 40 shots. The gunman had passed right by the caucus meeting room and was killed near the library.
    While the incident lasted just a few minutes, Sorenson and his colleagues were locked in  for 10 hours, while police and security assessed the threat and security of the capital block.
    As the day went on members of the opposition as well as people working at the building were thrown together as the site was secured. Towards the end they were able to sit and have a bite to eat.
    “It was good, we weren’t concentrating on the things that divide us, we were realizing that we had been through this together, we had something in common,” he said.
    While the Prime Minister and MPs were literally feet away from a man with a gun who was intent on doing damage, Sorenson cautions that we don’t let it change how Canadians live.
    "I think we have to be cautious and don’t overreact. We don’t want to live in a police state, we don’t want to live being reminded of the dangers of this world,” he said. “However at this point in time, they are reviewing this and investigating, and security might be tightened up, you can’t have someone come that far into the parliament building with a weapon shooting at people.”
    “I was pleased that the Prime Minister and others said ‘this is “House of Commons, and the common person can come here and see what is going on.’”