Thank you for inviting me, Mr. Chair.
Kinanâskomitin.
Merci beaucoup.
My name is Lloyd Yew. I'm an ex-member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. I'm presently CEO of TIPI, Turtle Island Private Investigators.
TIPI was formed in February 2022 and since then has been working in first nations and Métis communities in northern Saskatchewan. As of this date, TIPI has worked in nine different communities. TIPI is made up of indigenous ex-RCMP members and ex-military. Each RCMP member brings different attributes to the team. Some were in the RCMP drug section, the special “O” section, the traffic services section, or in NCO i/c positions.
The TIPI team has two elders—one male, who is Cree, and one female, who is Dene. We have legal counsel, a K-9 unit, ex-pro hockey players and ex-university volleyball players.
TIPI utilizes technology to conduct its work, including top-end drones equipped with infrared, speakers and spotlights; vehicle surveillance cameras and body cameras; handheld infrared, high-end binoculars and cameras; and handheld and truck radios that work globally. TIPI was designed to help indigenous communities deal with social issues and challenges.
In northern Saskatchewan, communities and their leaders are overwhelmed with illegal drugs, gangs, prostitution, violence and suicides. The regular good people, especially elders and single parents, are scared and feel threatened. In one community, there were two separate occasions when elders were attacked in their own homes by people under the influence of drugs and alcohol. One of the elders ended up in the hospital with a broken arm.
TIPI responds to a variety of complaints, including attempted suicides. Just last week we dealt with a young lady who was trying to commit suicide. TIPI was called to the complaint as the RCMP was not available. When TIPI arrived at the scene and eventually broke into the residence, the young lady was found in the basement inside a furnace room. She had blocked the entrance door to it with a mattress. She had hanged herself. TIPI officers immediately grabbed the young lady, lifted her up, held her up while untying her, and then revived her. There are other examples where TIPI has saved lives.
TIPI creates partnerships within communities, with elders, leaders, rec directors, school health officials and the RCMP. The daily routines of TIPI involve patrolling streets 24 hours a day with fully marked security vehicles and drones. TIPI is regularly in contact with the RCMP to help locate people on warrants, respond to complaints with them and, at times, respond to their dispatch calls. TIPI assists them with searches, clearing buildings, guarding scenes and much more.
TIPI also monitors illegal activities, drug dealers and gang members, documenting and forwarding information to the RCMP. We respond to emergencies, and we also respond to missing people. We attend all community gatherings. We coach hockey, host volleyball clinics, mentor the youth, assist community nurses and ambulances, teach self-defence to frontline workers and assist band leadership with serving legal documents and whatever else they need. TIPI creates files and keeps stats for all the clients.
TIPI arrived in one northern community and responded to approximately 100 complaints per month for the first few months. Last month, the complaints went down by nearly 50%. One can see that TIPI's presence in the community is working. As part of this, we are working with the Métis Nation–Saskatchewan, the RCMP, the marshals and other groups to develop a province-wide community safety officer program to address what MN–S earlier this year called a state of emergency due to the crisis of drugs, violence and alcohol.
In closing, a comment we received as feedback from the RCMP who are stationed in the communities we work in was, “It's nice to know we can count on you guys having our backs.”
Thank you Mr. Chair.