PORCUPINE PLAIN, HUDSON BAY — Rod Rudnisky has only been in Hudson Bay a few weeks but said he is feeling welcomed into the community as the new commanding officer of the Hudson Bay/Porcupine Plain RCMP detachment.
Rudnisky grew up in Swan Plain just south of Hudson Bay and has been with the RCMP for the past 16 years, moving mostly around Saskatchewan with a placement in Alberta.
Rudnisky has had a few different postings, from remote detachments like Sandy Bay and Southend to more centralized postings like Craik and Leduc. He said every community has its own challenges.
No matter where he is stationed, Rudnisky said working with the communities, meeting with elected officials, hearing from the community what challenges they are facing.
“I came from Southend, Sask. to Hudson Bay. Two different communities, there's different challenges, whether it be the types of crimes are different, how the community proceeds the RCMP, the amount of involvement, proactive work being done, and a lot of the consultation.”
Town halls are an important part of that dialogue with the community, and while the Hudson Bay RCMP couldn’t have one this past spring with COVID-19, Rudnisky hopes to plan one for the fall.
Whether through town halls or things like school presentations and impaired driving talks, this proactive work around education is a bigger part of the job than enforcing the law, Rudnisky said.
Recent consultation with town council has brought to light some traffic concerns, he said, including late-night speeders. Preventing these and other crimes is Rudnisky’s main goal as the new sergeant.
