Based on coverage from CBC, CBC, The Peterborough Examiner, and CJME.
Pelican Narrows, a remote community in northeast Saskatchewan, has brought in sweeping emergency safety rules after a string of violent incidents, including a recent homicide and the discovery of a missing teen’s remains. Local leaders say fear has become part of daily life and they need more help than they can muster on their own.
Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Chief Peter Beatty put it plainly at a news conference in Prince Albert: people should be able to go for an evening walk without feeling like they’re taking their chances.
Pelican Narrows bans private gatherings
Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation leadership announced a ban on all private gatherings, effective immediately. They are also re-establishing security checkpoints and prohibiting the use of ATVs and other off-road vehicles within the community.
The ATV rule is tied directly to what leaders say happened in the latest killing: 26-year-old Jaden Custer died Thursday in what they described as a drive-by shooting involving someone on an ATV.
Pelican Narrows is about 420 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon and is part of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. Leaders say the scale of violence is out of proportion for a community of just over 2,000 people, and that it’s affecting everything from how people move around to how safe they feel at home.
RCMP charge laid in Jaden Custer death
Saskatchewan RCMP said 31-year-old Brett McCallum, who also goes by Nigel McCallum, has been charged with second-degree murder in Custer’s death.
A day after community leaders announced the new measures, RCMP said McCallum was arrested May 23 in the Edmonton area by Edmonton police. RCMP said he will be transported back to Saskatchewan for his first court appearance.
Before that arrest was announced, RCMP had issued a public request for help locating him, along with a physical description and identifying tattoos and scars.
Community grieving Jay’siiah Webb-Long discovery
The community is also grieving after the remains of Jay’siiah Webb-Long, a 16-year-old from Ontario, were found May 13 during a planned search. Leaders said it was more than a year after he travelled to Saskatchewan and then went missing.
In a statement, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation said the deaths of Webb-Long and Custer have deepened existing grief and fear in Pelican Narrows, which has also seen multiple drive-by shootings in recent weeks, Molotov cocktails thrown at a home, and numerous incidents involving firearms and bear spray. Leaders said one shooting injured two people and another shattered the windows of a home.
Chief Beatty also suggested the violence is being influenced by people and networks beyond the community, including criminals tied to Canada’s coasts and the United States. He said he believes Webb-Long may have arrived in Pelican Narrows under the influence of organized crime.
Police staffing and policing vacancies questioned
A big part of leadership’s message is about capacity: they say the community cannot keep responding to crisis after crisis without sustained staffing and funding.
Beatty said Pelican Narrows should have 15 RCMP officers, but only eight positions are currently staffed. Leaders also said there are now fewer officers in Pelican Narrows and nearby Sandy Bay than when a previous state of emergency was called two years ago, because vacancies have gone unfilled.
RCMP did not confirm specific staffing numbers, but acknowledged broader recruitment challenges across Saskatchewan.
If those police positions can’t be filled, leadership said they want the funding redirected into things that still improve safety, including youth programming, bylaw enforcement, and local security services. They’re also asking for a school resource officer and a stronger focus on drug investigations.
Calls for provincial and federal support
This isn’t the first time Pelican Narrows has raised the alarm. The community declared a state of emergency from late 2022 into 2023, and another in 2024, with calls for help from both provincial and federal governments. Leadership says things tend to improve when extra resources arrive, then slide back when those supports are pulled.
They’ve taken steps locally, including developing a community safety plan, hiring a drug-detection dog, adopting an intervention model, and building a shelter for people experiencing domestic violence. Their message now is that local fixes aren’t enough without consistent outside support, including addictions treatment and mental health services.
Leadership also pointed to practical gaps that make safety harder, like unreliable cell service, which they say limits the ability to run an alert system. They want Pelican Narrows prioritized for cellular infrastructure, and they say a partnership with Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Justice is needed to support planned surveillance infrastructure.
For its part, Saskatchewan RCMP said it shares the community’s frustration and stressed that police enforcement alone won’t solve issues tied to addiction, gangs, and mental health. RCMP said specialized units have been deployed to focus on illicit drugs, illegal weapons, and dangerous offenders, and that Major Crimes investigators were recently in Pelican Narrows for both the missing person investigation and the homicide. RCMP also said it’s consulting with Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and the Prince Albert Grand Council on policing models to strengthen police presence, though no public changes have been announced.
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