Port Alice’s two new RCMP officers are currently going through the clearance process required for them to move to the village.
Port Hardy RCMP Staff Sgt. Wes Olsen noted they have identified two new members to replace the outgoing constables Dave Cerniuk and Elijah Parish. “These new members are currently undergoing the isolated post medical clearance process,” he said, adding, “If they are deemed medically fit for an isolated post then they will receive an official transfer notice. They then can begin the process of disposing of their old post residence and make the necessary arrangements to move to Port Alice.”
Olsen supervises both the Port Hardy and Port Alice RCMP detachment. The Port Hardy Detachment members back up the Port Alice members or respond to calls for service in Port Alice if the Port Alice members are unavailable to respond.
Mayor Jan Allen was pleased to hear the news that the officers are going through clearance. “The Village of Port Alice is looking forward to meeting the two new constables that are being posted to Port Alice,” she said, adding that it is “very important to have the Port Alice constables living within our municipality, as optics give the stability we strive for … Hopefully the two new constables arrive in the near future.”
After a lengthy period of lobbying this year by mayor and council, Allen proudly announced back at the end of May that the two RCMP officer postings would continue to remain in the Village of Port Alice.
The current two RCMP officers posted to Port Alice, Cerniuk and Parish, are both in the process of transferring out as their postings have officially come to an end.
Mayor and council had gone on record with The Gazette previously that they were extremely concerned about the possibility of not having their replacements residing in the village.
According to Olsen, the medical process can take several months to complete as there are several steps involved which pertain to the member themselves as well as any dependants accompanying them to the isolated post.