Manitoba Search and Rescue, a non-government organization that has been operating since 2001 providing search and rescue services to Manitoba with a focus on First Nations communities, is looking to have a bigger presence in Thompson.
The main office of the organization is located in Winnipeg in the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs building. It's been operating since 2001 and currently has 358 members, who conducted 197 search days last year. Manitoba Search and Rescue offers services including ground search and rescue teams; K-9 search and rescue teams; water search and rescue; dive team/water recovery; mounted search and rescue; aerial reconnaissance; CPR and First Aid training; search and rescue training; air search and rescue; cadaver K-9 recovery; Manitoba Emergency Response for Animals (MERA); and winter road patrols.
On top of these services Manitoba Search and Rescue also runs an elite K-9 therapy dog program - the largest certified program in Canada - dog bite prevention programs, a children's lunch and breakfast program, community safety programs, running shoe recycling programs, anti-gang and anti-drug initiatives, dog obedience classes, a youth positive role model program, training service dogs for the disabled, youth wilderness and survival and youth access programs throughout the province.
Capt. George Leonard, provincial search commander with the elite search and rescue division of Manitoba Search and Rescue, says the group is really focused on getting established in Thompson.
"We've already started training. We have a person from Thompson whose dog is being trained to do search and rescue and we've already started training some of the key people in Thompson on the new incident search and rescue protocol under international standards," he says, explaining that the organization had put on a training session in Winnipeg which several people from Thompson attended.
What the organization is looking for now, according to Leonard, is for more people from Thompson to undergo training to develop a larger base in the community.
"The great thing about Thompson is there are a lot of really well experienced woodsmen up there - people that know the bush, know how to get around in the woods. Those are the people we're looking for - people even with a military background, policing background or maybe even a fireman if they've got some training."
Leonard's plan is to have someone in Thompson so if anything happens and someone goes missing they can immediately start the search instead of waiting for people to be sent up to Thompson first. He says he's already been in talks with Mayor Tim Johnston about the training he is looking to bring into the community.
