The RCMP is continuing their investigation into racist comments posted on Facebook last week.
An RCMP officer allegedly posted a comment referring to a Sucker River First Nation incident as “all drunk animals shooting at each other.”
RCMP superintendent Grant St. Germaine says they put a priority on internal investigations like this to get them done quickly.
“We look at all the things we need, we look at statements and materials that need to be seized to substantiate the investigation to give us all the information we need and then it goes through the process,” he says.
Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson has called for an apology from the officer who allegedly made the comments.
St. Germaine says he has been in communication with Chief Cook-Searson to address her concerns.
“I’ve known Tammy for a long time and I would say we have a strong working relationship with her,” he says. “Incidents like this put a damper on everything and it makes us sometimes have to go back and almost kick start and restart things.”
St. Germaine says although the incident is unfortunate it can be used to strengthen the relationship between the RCMP and First Nation communities in the north.
“And that’s what my goal is in this incident is that we strengthen our relationship and we look at this as something bad that happened and we can move on from it and make our relationship stronger from it instead of poorer.”