In 1869 William McDougall, sent out as first Canadian lieutenant-governor of the North-West Territories, carried instructions to organize a police force under Captain D.R. They would maintain order through the difficult early years of settlement, then, having served their purpose, they would disappear. The police for the North-West Territories were to be a temporary organization. Macdonald therefore adopted the Royal Irish Constabulary as the model for Canada. The British government had some experience with centralized police forces in India and Ireland, however, and the forces there were unquestionably effective. In these areas the burden of maintaining public order fell upon the courts, backed up in emergencies by the military. The larger cities had primitive local constabularies small towns and the countryside had no police at all. The government also feared that violence and lawlessness in the new territories might provide American expansionists with an excuse to move in.Ĭanada in the 1870s, like most jurisdictions whose legal systems were based on English common law, had few police forces. Apart from the cost in lives on both sides, the Canadian government could not contemplate the expense of a major "Indian war," which might easily bankrupt the country. At worst, the tensions generated by this process might erupt into the kind of settler-Indigenous warfare experienced in the American West. Thousands of settlers would arrive to occupy the lands where Cree and Blackfoot hunted buffalo without restraint. The Canadian takeover of Rupert's Land, soon to be called the North-West Territories, meant the imposition of a government that would systematically interfere with Indigenous customs for the first time. The company made no effort to govern the Indigenous population. There were few traders, and their livelihood depended on economic co-operation with the Indigenous people. The Hudson's Bay Company had ruled this frontier (what is today northern Quebec and Ontario, all of Manitoba, and parts of Saskatchewan, Alberta and the northern territories) for almost two centuries without serious friction between fur traders and the Indigenous population. MOUNTY MEANING HOW TOAfter Confederation, when the newly formed nation was negotiating the purchase of Rupert's Land, the federal government faced the problem of how to administer this vast territory peacefully. Policing the FrontierĬanada’s national police service had small, temporary beginnings. MOUNTY MEANING SERIESDespite a series of scandals in recent decades, the RCMP remains one of Canada's most iconic national institutions. The "Mounties" have a long and proud history dating back to Confederation and the opening of the Canadian West. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is Canada’s national police force – providing an array of services from municipal policing to national security intelligence gathering. I’ll leave the reason why to your own imagination.The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride. MOUNTY MEANING PROFESSIONALLot lizard: A girlfriend, of the professional variety, available to, um, rent for a few minutes at a truck stop parking lot or rest area. Riding a cradle: Tucking in between two trucks on the highway Georgia overdrive: Coasting down a hill to save gas Toothpicks: Lumber, because those huge trees look like tiny toothpicks when stacked on a truckĬhicken lights: All those extra lights on the side and top of a trailer Wiggle wagon: A truck with multiple trailers connected to each other Gators: Busted tires on the side of every highway. trucksĬare Bear: Cop or patrolman at a construction site directing trafficīear in the air: Aircraft enforcement of the speed limit is in the areaīrush your teeth and comb your hair: Get ready, there’s an officer shooting his radar gun up ahead Flickr/Alan Starkĭouble nickel: 55mph, which used to be the speed limit on interstatesįog line: The white line on the side of the highway, used as a guide when you can’t see anything else Kojak with a Kodak: An officer (Kojak) with his radar gun out and pointed at traffic, like a camera (Kodak)ĭiesel bear: Officer specializing in commercial-vehicles enforcement, i.e. MOUNTY MEANING DRIVERSAlso called getting an invitation.īear bait: A speeding four-wheeler that drivers hope bears latch onto come feeding time Often shortened to bear.įull-grown bear: Also a state trooper, usually used to denote one taking the formality of his job (uniform, hat, car, mustache) way too seriouslyįeeding the bears: Getting pulled over. Smokey Bear: State trooper, so-called because of the big hat.
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