News
RCMP report status quo in calls over past year

June 28, 2023, Guysborough, N.S. – The regular monthly council meeting in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough on June 21 hosted a delegation from the RCMP consisting of District Commander for Guysborough County Corporal Marc Michon and Cpl. Mike Wilson, who is based in the Canso detachment.

Wilson reported that, statistically, calls to the RCMP within the MODG have not changed much from last year, from April 2022 to March 2023. “The types of calls we’ve responded to, basically, haven’t changed.”

Compared to other districts, Wilson added, the rate of Criminal Code charges in Guysborough are probably the lowest.

He also said the priorities of the RCMP in the area were still focused on crime reduction, road safety and community outreach.

Councillor Mary Desmond asked what progress was being made by the Guysborough District RCMP on the Wortley Report recommendations regarding the relationship between police and Black communities.

Wilson responded that a meeting had been set up, but did not occur due to extenuating circumstances, “We just haven’t rescheduled it. But as far as where we are with the report? I don’t know enough to tell you the answer to that off the top of my head.”

Councillor Neil DeCoff asked about staffing in the district and was told that the Guysborough District RCMP was fully staffed, on paper, but one member was currently on leave.

Council hopes to return to the practice of hearing a quarterly report from the RCMP; a flow of information that was disrupted in part due to COVID.

In other business, DeCoff gave a waste management committee report noting that new guidelines have been created for green fund applications. The fund stands at $20,000 per year, and applications will be reviewed throughout the year. A cap has been adopted, at $3,000 per application. Successful applications for $500 will be granted, in full; others will be allotted percentages of the amount asked for as follows: less than $1,000, granted 75 per cent; between $1,000 and $2,000, granted 50 per cent.

Councillor Paul Long reported that the community health board had awarded wellness grants to eight organizations, amounting to approximately $12,000. He once again put the call out for new board members from across the municipality.

– Guysborough Journal