GUYSBOROUGH — Drawing at random from a handful of candidates, council for the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG) has named area residents Lois Ann Dort, Brent MacLeod and Catherine Marsden as their new citizen advisors on local law enforcement.
The three – all of whom accepted their appointments following their selection June 19 at the regular session of council, which received four applications – will now attend committee of the whole (COW) meetings when local RCMP present their quarterly reports, and provide advice on policing in the municipality.
Marsden (who was not available to comment before press time) and MacLeod will serve as council’s “local representatives,” while Dort will function as the province’s “ministerial appointee upon completion of the required application through the Agencies, Boards, and Commissions (ABC) process from the Office of the Executive Council of the Province of Nova Scotia,” according to the council motion.
The move – which provides a new level of both community input and provincial review of local RCMP functions – stems from a Department of Justice order earlier this year requiring MODG to establish “a Police Advisory Board or a Municipal Board of Police Commissioners” for the first time in at least 10 years.
“About 10 or 12 years ago, we advertised to have local representation and we had no one come forward saying they wanted to serve on a police advisory committee,” Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Shaw Andrews told The Journal in May, when MODG issued a public call for candidates to the new positions. “We were doing our COW thing, with the local RCMP coming in quarterly. And then COVID came in, of course.”
Last summer, MODG council argued that its existing process worked well enough and that it didn’t need the citizen advisors, mandated under Sections 44 (1) and 57 (1) of the Police Act of Nova Scotia. But in an email to The Journal on July 17, provincial justice department spokesperson Andrew Preeper insisted that the province’s position was firm on the subject of “civilian oversight on behalf of council.”
Dort – a former reporter for The Journal, who now works for the Guysborough Adult Learning Association – said the role is important. “I was interested in the position first because it was something I learned about as a reporter, and then because I wanted to see it here as a community member,” she told The Journal in an interview on June 23.
Added MacLeod – The Journal’s office manager, who moved to Guysborough from Calgary in 2022 – in an email: “One reason I volunteered was to get involved in my adopted home town. I love it and I want to see it thrive. I believe one way is to foster an amicable relationship with the RCMP in town, and I look forward to the opportunity to act as a liaison.”
According to the original job descriptions posted by the MODG in May, “Police advisory community members are responsible for providing advice in relation to the enforcement of law and the prevention of crime in the municipality. Members do not have jurisdiction relating to complaints, discipline or the internal management of the RCMP. We are looking for individuals who are passionate about improving public safety and building stronger relationships between the RCMP and MODG residents.”
The third community member selected will report directly to the provincial justice minister, as “a ministerial appointee.” Dort confirmed last week that she’s working though the ABC process, but is looking forward to getting down to business in the near future.
“I just think that the public really doesn’t know what the police are doing,” she said. “They also don’t know what they should be aware of in terms of potential crime in this area. Most people seem to think that nothing ever happens here. I don’t know why, given what has happened in Nova Scotia and in our area.”
