STANDING TALL

Peguis Residents Mark Line In Sand Against Drugs

PEGUIS -- A community that stands resolutely against the illicit drug trade
can win the battle, Ralph Sutherland told an April 28 meeting in Peguis.

Sutherland was born and raised in Peguis, the province's largest First
Nation community. He would go on to a career in policing, returning to his
Interlake roots as commanding officer of the Fisher Branch RCMP detachment.

Sgt. Sutherland, while a police officer, is understandably passionate about
the growing problem with illicit drugs -- cocaine, crack cocaine and
methamphetamine -- in Peguis, Fisher River, Jackhead and Fisher Branch. The
dealers must be stared down by communities resolved to stand together, he says.

"It's difficult for one person to stand up and take a stand," he told a
jam-packed meeting that attracted 200 people to a local gymnasium. "But if
all the community -- the elders, the band council, the social agencies, the
young, the old -- stand as one ... the people who are dealing drugs don't
stand a chance."

Sgt. Sutherland notes this first meeting attracted a fervent new group,
calling itself Mothers Against Drugs (MAD). This group is "frustrated, fed
up and angry," Sutherland said.

And police have their own set of frustrations.

Sutherland notes that charging and prosecuting suspected drug dealers is
difficult because people are often not prepared to come forward.

"What we have found in the past is that many people will call the police,"
the sergeant explains. "But they don't want their name mentioned. 'I don't
want to go to court,' they say. 'I don't want to testify.'

"That is information, then, that we can't document. We're not able to
obtain a search warrant [based on what amounts to hearsay.]" That may
change, as a community's rage turns to a conscious, organized effort to
eradicate drugs.

"That's what I'm hoping for," said Sutherland. "I am really standing in
support of this MAD group."

Sutherland says he hopes to work with Peguis band members to conduct
another meeting. This meeting would feature presentations from an RCMP drug
expert out of Winnipeg. People need to recognize the signs of drug abuse
and its effects. In the meantime, Sgt. Sutherland notes the detachment does
have a drug strategy. Officers have arrested and charged dealers, including
three earlier this year who were openly selling drugs at Charles Sinclair
School in Fisher River.

Sutherland says organized crime is likely involved in the recent upsurge in
drug dealing in the detachment area. He declined to speculate whether
Native gangs or other street-level crime associations are involved.

The drug problem, in any case, is not unique to Peguis.

"It's becoming more and more prevalent in communities across Canada,"
Sutherland said.