An internal RCMP email says a specialized national RCMP team was not available to respond to the mass stabbings on James Smith Cree Nation and in Weldon because the Emergency Response Team-Special Activities Group, also known as SAG was “in between contracts”, according to CTV Saskatoon. It was reported that the National Police Federation, which is the union that represents RCMP officers, said there was no collective bargaining underway at the time and it would not compromise public safety over bargaining. In the emails going back and forth that day, Deputy Commissioner Brian Brennan emailed colleagues including the then RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki and mentioned deploying SAG. Blackmore responded that the team wasn’t available because they were in between contracts.

A statement from the Saskatchewan RCMP says, “the sole ERT-SAG resource we requested was an asset that assists in locating individuals, which was not immediately available. It did later deploy from Ottawa to Saskatchewan to assist in the search for Myles Sanderson; it wasn’t directly involved in his arrest on September 7th.”

Here is the full statement: “A story in the media today has raised questions about some aspects of the response to the James Smith Cree Nation/Weldon mass casualty. As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency about this investigation, we want to clarify information about ERT-SAG involvement in it.
The sole ERT-SAG resource we requested was an asset that assists in locating individuals, which was not immediately available. It did later deploy from Ottawa to Saskatchewan to assist in the search for Myles Sanderson; it wasn’t directly involved in his arrest on September 7.
Saskatchewan RCMP’s Critical Incident Response Team, which includes our Emergency Response Team (ERT), deployed at approximately 7 a.m. on September 4 to assist, and was later joined by ERT Teams from Alberta and Ottawa.
Hundreds of officers and employees from Saskatchewan RCMP – as well as other RCMP divisions, municipal police forces and public safety partners – worked tirelessly to investigate the homicides and restore public safety in the aftermath of this tragedy. As part of our response, we also used many advanced policing technologies.
We remain committed to providing all information we are able to about this investigation, while being respectful of the integrity of the upcoming coroner’s inquests.”