ATHABASCA - He is a hometown Athabasca boy, kind of — at the very least he's been an adopted son of Athabasca for the last 20 years — who has gone to a solid and fulfilling career in law enforcement, and is now celebrating a promotion to a new rank, a new job and new responsibilities as the St. Albert RCMP Detachment's new commanding officer.
When Ryan Comaniuk, 48, graduated from the RCMP Training Academy in Regina Feb. 12, 2000, his first post was to the Athabasca detachment where he learned the general-duty ropes and established roots that still exist to this day by both maintaining friendships, and with wife Marcie working as a student advisor at Athabasca University in the Faculty of Business.
“The Athabasca River is like a tractor beam,” said Comaniuk in a recent interview. “I got anchored to the banks of the Athabasca River throughout my career.”
That career saw him rise in the ranks from a cadet in Regina, to a fresh constable in Athabasca, then back along the mighty river to Hinton, then to Whitecourt, where he was commander for both the Whitecourt detachment and Mayerthorpe, but this new move to command in St. Albert, starting Jan. 4, 2021, comes after a promotion, and it is a much larger detachment than he's ever been a part of.
“Because of my promotion to inspector, I move into the what's called the commission ranks of the RCMP,” he said. “So, there's the non-commissioned ranks and the commissioned ranks. The commission ranks start at inspector and go all the way up to the commissioner of the RCMP. So, it is a jump in the sense that I am now, as of January 4, a commissioned officer and I have almost 70 officers. It's a much bigger operation than what I was accustomed to as a non-commissioned officer.”
In Whitecourt, as the staff sergeant commander, he had 20-22 officers, plus administrative staff to shepherd, but the move brings over three times as many officers to worry about and lead as the Officer in Charge, with help on the administrative side.
“Unique to St. Albert is I actually have a city manager, a civilian, that in his title he's the policing services manager,” said Comaniuk. “So, he manages all of the municipal employees; all of the administrative staff as well as the enforcement services like their bylaw program."
The unique model will allow Comaniuk to focus on working with his two staff sergeants who manage and provide oversight on operations and all of his regular officers as they navigate the pandemic world, and the added policing it brings, while trying to maintain community relations.
“I think the elephant in the room right now is COVID-19 and that's putting a lot of pressure on policing services,” he said. “People are finding themselves in crisis with mental health and financial stress and then all that bleeds into the protective services under that umbrella. So, whether it be policing services or ambulance, Alberta Health (Services), we all kind of bear that extra workload. So, I think that'll probably be something that I have to be very mindful of going into this new position.”
Comaniuk said as detachment commander he will reach deep into the community to try and identify the important issues and where the greatest need is, whether it is with seniors, or minority groups, or another demographic.
“Making sure that we're not just meeting the needs of the mainstream community, but also not overlooking some of the smaller community groups to provide that 360-degree service,” he said. “I think the biggest obstacle is making sure for those minority groups there is a healthy, good relationship with the RCMP.
"It's just understanding them and giving them a voice so that they know that they are not being overlooked, that they are a part of the community and that their local RCMP detachment and certainly the detachment commander is willing to take the time to learn about their about their group and their cultures or their religions and making sure that they're included in the overall policing service model.”
And while the move to St. Albert brings him back to where he grew up — his father, a 35-year RCMP veteran, was also in charge of operations at the St. Albert detachment for several years — it is Athabasca that holds up as that special place where it all started.
“Our kids growing up (in Athabasca), they've still got lots of friends that they've remained close to through the years; they have kids of their own, but still strong ties to the community,” said Comaniuk. “I still keep in touch with lots of friends and colleagues that I met.”
He also acknowledged that his career path, completing in 20 years what typically takes 23-27 years, is due do his colleagues and supervisors.
“I consider myself to be very fortunate in the sense that I've had great, great supervisors, great colleagues," he said. "From my coach in Athabasca to my supervisors and detachment commanders over the years, I believe that they've really paved the way for guys like me to have success.”
