Siksika Nation breaks ground on Crowfoot Public Safety Building
Siksika Nation has broken ground and construction is underway on its new Crowfoot Public Safety Building on the eastern side of the reserve.
Leaders say it will help improve safety by reducing response times, and the ultimate goal is to have the building also be the future home of its independent Siksika police force.
Currently, public safety and security officers dispatch from a building near Highway 547 on the west side of the reservation boundary.
"Starting from the beginning, I was one of the first. Seeing everything grow and build here is exciting," said Dustin Daniels, peace officer for Siksika.
He says since 2020, there's come to be a total of four peace officers that patrol a vast and rural landscape and he is eager for the new building, located 13 kilometres further east, to shorten the travel time for officers.
"From the west end to Bassano dam takes roughly 45 minutes for us, so being down here would cost us 25 minutes to half an hour, depending on which route we take," said Daniels.
The new public safety building will be adjacent to a former residential school site.
COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENTS
It's the latest building block for Siksika in self-determination.
Last summer, the nation settled a $1.3-billion land claim settlement with the federal government and committed to community improvements.
In October, Siksika established its own bylaw prosecutions office.
Leaders say they have two years left in the process to create a police service dedicated to the nation.
"Not having enough security is a problem that all reservations face on both sides of the border, and we wanted to make sure that doesn't apply here on Siksika. We want to make sure our people are safe," said Samuel Crowfoot, Siksika councillor.
With an estimated cost of $1 million, officials with MODUS, an Alberta-based modular construction company, say the building is 40 per cent complete in a pre-fabrication process.
"It will be durable, it will be solid, it will be highly functional and it will be a safe and secure place for people to congregate and be," said Allan Willms, president and CEO for MODUS.
Willms says the structure will be one-storey high and about 3,600 square feet.
Doors are expected to open this October.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.