RCMP asks for patience over ‘Queen of Canada’ in Richmound

While people in the village of Richmound are trying to make their frustration known, the Saskatchewan RCMP is asking for patience over the presence of the woman calling herself the “Queen of Canada” as well as her followers.

Romana Didulo and her followers moved into a building last month after being kicked out of Kamsack, and people in the village near the Alberta border were quickly interested in her leaving.

There have since been reports of suspicious persons to the RCMP and threatening letters sent, and an assault charge was laid. The Mounties also have installed a mobile detachment in the town.

On Saturday, the village held a rally to express its displeasure at the presence of the group.

Chief Supt. Tyler Bates, the commander of the Saskatchewan RCMP’s South District, said the weekend went well.

“We were there ahead of time to assist planners with respect to their planned events and in order to help them manage a safe demonstration and that’s exactly what happened this weekend,” Bates told Gormley on Monday.

“There were a variety of opinions (and) a variety of folks that were there to express their opinions and to demonstrate and we just made sure that we were able to mediate and that we were able to ensure that there was no conflict or clashing of opposing perspectives with respect to the events that took place this weekend.”

Bates said every citizen has a right to peacefully demonstrate — with the key word being “peaceful,” he said. And he said the RCMP has a lot of resources that can be called upon to make sure that happens.

“There’s a lot of elements to making sure that everybody has a peaceful day, one where they can gather and have freedom of association and enjoy the day without any disruption,” he said.

Bates said the RCMP is mindful of people’s concerns in the village. The officers are analyzing the calls they’ve received and are trying to use the intelligence they’ve gathered from those.

“What I would like to do is just to acknowledge and recognize the frustration and the anxiety of these citizens of Richmound, Saskatchewan. It’s a peaceful, beautiful community that clearly is in the midst of a situation that they didn’t foresee,” said Bates.

He’s also asking for patience from the people involved, saying they need to give the RCMP the time and space to fully investigate what’s been brought forward.

“We clearly don’t condone taking matters into one’s own hands. My belief is that would compromise the safety of all involved. If there’s matters that citizens are concerned about, I would urge them to continue to report these matters to the police so that we can investigate them fully,” said Bates.

Richmound is located about 200 kilometres west of Swift Current.