GUYSBOROUGH — With RCMP statistics showing stable call volumes and increased community outreach, the Municipality of the District of Guysborough’s (MODG) police advisory board is turning its focus inward – calling for stronger African Nova Scotian representation within its ranks.
At MODG council’s regular meeting on Sept. 17, Lois Ann Dort, one of the committee’s two sitting members, reported that they have agreed to recommend two new members – a youth and an elder – from the community to fill their vacancy and increase representation.
“We had one seat open and two applicants for the position,” she said. “At the last advisory meeting, we thought it would be best to accept both, since they’re both from the African Nova Scotian community, but of different ages. One is a senior, and the other still has young kids in the community. We weren’t sure what council’s take would be, but our recommendation as the committee is that we’d like both to join us.”
The group was established in June 2024 under provincial order, following direction from the Department of Justice that MODG form a police advisory board or municipal board of police commissioners for the first time in more than a decade.
Members were selected by council from a call for applications and included Dort – the province’s designated ministerial appointee – along with Brent MacLeod and Catherine Marsden, who later resigned. That resignation, confirmed by Warden Paul Long during a council session in May, created the vacancy.
At that same meeting, Dort and MacLeod raised concerns about the structure and effectiveness of the board, citing the format of delivering reports during quarterly RCMP presentations to council and the scheduling of meetings during regular work hours, which makes participation difficult for volunteers. They also noted the absence of training or orientation for new members.
Since then, Dort told council, the group has held meetings separately from regular council sessions and extended open invitations to all councillors to attend. Two – Mary Desmond (District 2) and Susan Cashin (District 6) – have already taken part.
Dort told councillors last week that in addition to recommending new members, the board continues to welcome all MODG councillors to attend its meetings. She said broader participation would help avoid overloading any one local representative. “If you can make it, great,” she said. “Happy to see you.”
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Shawn Andrews confirmed that any change to the board’s three‑member structure would require policy review. “If the committee wants to go to four members, that’s outside of policy, so we’ll have to take that back to look at.” he said.
Also at the meeting, Sergeant Natasha Farrell, district commander of the Guysborough County District RCMP, presented the detachment’s report for the first quarter of the fiscal year.
“Our calls for service are very similar to the first quarter of last year,” she said. “We had 16 Criminal Code charges versus 17 from last year. Our traffic tickets were 17, and last year they were 32. Mental health calls were at 17, compared with 16 last year.”
Farrell said the detachment remains at full strength and continues to prioritize public engagement through school visits, town halls and a growing slate of community programs.
She also highlighted a summer initiative in which RCMP officers handed out positive tickets to youth “observed being good citizens,” including those wearing helmets while biking, helping neighbours or crossing the street safely.
Each ticket could be brought to the detachment and redeemed for a treat. “That way, there’s a positive spin and interaction,” Farrell said.
Council voted to receive the board and RCMP reports for information.
