There are now special days to honour the work and sacrifice of RCMP officers and first responders in Okotoks.
Town council approved two proclamations at its Jan. 27 meeting – one to mark Feb. 1 as RCMP Appreciation Day and another to make May 1 First Responders Day. Both proclamations will be celebrated annually.
“They are certainly very important functions or services in our community, ensuring the safety of all citizens,” said Mayor Bill Robertson.
The recognition of Feb. 1 as RCMP Appreciation Day is especially important this year, as 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the creation of when the Dominion Police Service and North-West Mounted Police amalgamated to form the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, he said.
There is a ceremony Feb. 1 at Southridge Emergency Services building at 11 a.m. to honour 100 years of RCMP in Canada, he said.
Recognizing the RCMP was an initiative that originated with letters written by St. Mary’s School Grade 6 students in spring 2019, he said. After meeting with those students, Robertson brought the idea to the rest of Okotoks council and the Town sponsored a resolution at the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association conference in September to have Feb. 1 made RCMP Appreciation Day province-wide.
“Unfortunately, the Province wasn’t very quick. I thought they might have been a little faster in dealing with this,” said Robertson. “They haven’t done it yet, but we’re going to go ahead and have our day.”
Protective services director Kelly Stienwand said it’s a cause worthy of a local proclamation ahead of any provincial direction.
“This is an effort to recognize the steeped-in tradition and pride we have as Canadians in our national police service,” he said.
In conjunction with recognizing RCMP members, Okotoks council also passed a proclamation for First Responders Day to be May 1.
Robertson said it’s just as important to honour men and women serving their communities in all first responder roles.
“Firefighters in particular, they have a dangerous role and there are a number of things like smoke, toxins in the air, that they are exposed to,” said Robertson. “Their incidents of different types of cancers is higher than the average population because of exposure to these toxins.”
Stienwand said First Responders Day is currently celebrated on May 1 in Ontario. It allows for all those serving the public in emergency situations to have a light shone on them, he said.
“This basically broadens the approach to ensure all first responders, which would include RCMP members, firefighters, protective services, staff, bylaw officers, dispatchers, paramedics,” he said. “All first responders and support staff are being recognized on this day for their commitment and contributions to public safety and for putting themselves, in a lot of cases, in harm’s way as a part of their regular duties.”
Coun. Matt Rockley moved to have both proclamations approved. He said the services provided are invaluable and recognition is well-warranted.
“I think the work done by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and first responders in Okotoks and in our society at large is instrumental to keep us safe and the work and sacrifice made by people doing these jobs can be strenuous and it’s something that we really can’t say thank you enough for,” said Rockley. “I think proclaiming these two days is a small gesture to say thank you to these groups.”
