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
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
BREAKING Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.