The RCMP now has its first Aboriginal female officer in charge of criminal operations for the province.
Chief Superintendent Brenda Butterworth-Carr is also the second-highest ranking member of the RCMP in Saskatchewan.
Butterworth-Carr previously served as Chief Superintendent in charge of National Aboriginal Policing and Crime Prevention Services.
She joined the force in 1987 as a 19-year-old single mother, and no one cut her any slack:
“You almost had to go above and beyond to prove that you had the capability — that it wasn’t just about your background or your heritage as to why you were hired. So there was challenges with that. And I was a very young parent. By the time I was 23, I was married and had three children.”
Butterworth-Carr began her RCMP career as a special constable in her hometown of Dawson City, Yukon.
She assumed her new duties last month.