REGINA, Sask. — Russell Mirasty has been appointed as Saskatchewan’s 23rd Lieutenant-Governor.
The announcement came Wednesday morning from the Prime Minister’s office.
Mirasty served for 36 years in various roles with the RCMP across Canada, first joining the force in 1976. He became the first Indigenous person to command a division of the national police force in 2011, when he took over the role at the service’s Saskatchewan or “F” Division, based in Regina. He retired from that role and the force altogether in 2013.
He is now the province’s first Indigenous Lieutenant-Governor.
“Known as a relationship-builder, Mr. Mirasty is an outstanding leader who paved the way for Indigenous peoples in the national police force,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a news release issued Wednesday.
“As Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, I know he will continue to make a difference for the people of his province and all Canadians, and inspire others to create change in their communities.”
Mirasty succeeds former Lt.-Gov. Thomas Molloy , who passed away after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer July 2.
In an interview with the Leader-Post in 2011, Mirasty reflected on his upbringing in a northern Saskatchewan community, where he grew up without a father, who passed away when Mirasty was young. He noted he could have easily found trouble and ended up on the wrong side of the law.
But he veered right instead, joining the RCMP and ascending the ranks, becoming the top Mountie in Saskatchewan.
“Some of it is luck, but I guess fundamentally it’s believing that you don’t have to live a certain way … a way that’s on the other side of the law,” said Mirasty, who explained he was raised in his La Ronge home with an emphasis on good values and principles. “But it’s more than that. It’s about believing that I need to have a career. I need to be in position to support not only myself but eventually the family I’m going to have.
“It that kind of thinking that motivated me,” he said.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
