St. Albert’s mayor hopes to help choose the city’s next RCMP detachment commander – again.
Mayor Cathy Heron said at a council meeting Tuesday that she and the previous chair of the Policing Committee, Dr. Kristopher Wells, were involved in the selection of Insp. Ryan Comaniuk, who earlier this month left the role he had served in since Jan. 4, 2021.
Staff Sgt. Dwayne Moore took command on an interim basis Sept. 9.
A statement issued by the city Sept. 12 indicates Comaniuk has taken a position with “RCMP Central Alberta District.”
Comaniuk's father was also a Mountie, who finished his career at the St. Albert detachment. A Paul Kane High School graduate, the younger Comaniuk began his journey with the RCMP as an auxiliary constable in St. Albert in 1997.
Moore also took over the detachment when Comaniuk went on a three-month leave at the end of 2023. When he returned at the beginning of this year, Comaniuk said he took time to deal with stress stemming in part from an on-duty near-death experience in 2017.
There’s nothing to indicate Comaniuk’s departure is connected to that leave of absence.
“The City of St. Albert and the St. Albert Policing Committee would like to thank Inspector Comaniuk for his service and wish him all the best in his career with the RCMP,” the statement read, expressing the city’s full confidence in S/Sgt. Moore.
“In the coming weeks, the city, policing committee and the RCMP will be discussing the process and timelines on when a new permanent Detachment Commander will be selected and announced.”
The Gazette reported in Nov. 2023 that Moore was in command of the RCMP’s Breton and Thornby detachments in the south of the province when he took interim command of St. Albert last year. The 20-year Mountie has also served in Maskwacis, Leduc and Edson.
Heron said her office is drafting a letter to K Division to request that she and current policing committee chair Ian Sanderson take part in the hiring process again this time around.
Sanderson, who had just presented the committee’s annual report to council, said they only found out about Comaniuk’s departure last week.
Coun. Ken MacKay, who sits on the policing committee and is a retired police officer, said there should be a conversation about whether to promote a new commander from within the detachment ranks or to find someone with experience in the role from elsewhere, a “lateral” as he described it. He said it’s something to consider since St. Albert’s approved strength is 75 and the detachment is one of the largest in the province.
“I think that’s an important discussion because of the value of bringing in a seasoned detachment commander, or somebody with detachment commander experience, even if it’s slightly smaller,” he said. “I think there are complexities of coming in as a new promotion coming into that role … if you’ve never done it before.”
