The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the government to review how it allowed a former school in the province to be occupied for two years by a cult, but the province says it doesn’t direct the RCMP or get involved in police investigations.
Romana Didulo, who refers to herself as the “Queen of Canada,” and her supporters set up base two years ago in Richmound, Sask., a village about 365 kilometres west of Regina.
They stayed there until last week, when RCMP raided the decommissioned school after they said they received a report that one of the occupants had a firearm.
“People in Richmound and every community in Saskatchewan deserve to feel safe in their homes and their businesses,” NDP MLA Brittney Senger said Tuesday. “We need to make sure this never happens again.”
Police said they seized 13 imitation semi-automatic handguns, ammunition and a large number of electronic devices in last week’s operation.
Police arrested 16 occupants, but then released them all without charges before rearresting Didulo and the owner of the building, Ricky Manz. They are both charged with failing to comply with an undertaking and intimidation of a justice system participant.
The self-proclaimed ‘Queen of Canada’ was granted bail on Monday and ordered to stay in Regina until her trial. Romana Didulo was given several conditions, which include staying away from Richmound, Sask., the village where her cult has lived for the past two years; not having any contact with several specific people, including Ricky Manz, who owns the former school where the cult was living; and not possessing weapons.
After a hearing in Swift Current provincial court on Monday, Didulo was granted bail and ordered to stay in Regina until her trial.
Her release conditions include staying away from Richmound, not having any contact with several people including Manz and not possessing weapons.
At the news conference on Tuesday, Senger said she was speaking out on behalf of people in the province questioning why the cult was allowed to operate for two years in a former school.
Senger said these kinds of situations are something that affects multiple ministries and agencies including the Ministry of Justice, Intergovernmental Affairs, Municipal Affairs and the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA).
On Friday, the SHA deemed the building unfit for habitation and posted an order to vacate the school, after it found the building was not connected to a municipal sewage system. Senger said she has been told that was the case for months, and questioned why the health authority didn’t act sooner. CBC has reached out to the SHA for comment.
In a statement on behalf of Justice Minister Tim McLeod, the government said it does not direct RCMP or any other police agencies in their daily operations or enforcement activities. It also said it does not directly get involved in police investigations.
“Political interference in policing operations should be unequivocally condemned and the NDP’s unrestrained instinct to interfere in independent police matters is not only lost and reckless, it’s particularly shocking,” the statement said.
The government said it will continue to support police officers, while respecting the independence needed to carry out their duties.
