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Recent incidents surrounding the self-proclaimed "Queen of Canada" have Saskatchewan's political parties trading words.
The Saskatchewan NDP is calling for a major, multi-agency review in response to what they call "widespread failures" to act quickly against the occupation of the former Richmound School by Romana Didulo and her followers.
"To learn why this woman was able to terrorize a community for two years with her followers," said Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Minister for Ethics and Democracy Brittney Senger. "It's unacceptable, and we need to understand where the government was in all of this.
"Where was the (Cypress Hills) MLA Doug Steele? Why did this occur for two years? Where was the SHA in all of this? And why was no action taken by the government?"
Steele countered that he had been involved from early on in the process.
"It's unfortunate that the NDP have to turn it political," Steele said. "As far as me and myself not being involved, I've been there since day one with my local constituents."
He noted the process had to go through the proper channels.
"When you're dealing with issues that are illegal and different things, there's many ways you have to be cautious in how you move in a timely fashion," Steele said. "I've been involved with the community from day one when the first time we went and monitored when she was going to have her meet and greet. We were over there. I talked to the community leaders continuously.
"This has to be dealt with professionally with the law. I wish things sometimes would move in a timelier fashion, but it just doesn't happen that way. Now they've found the reasons and issues that they needed to make the move. I'm very proud of our police force, and they're very professional about how they do things. Their expertise will take care of it."
As for the NDP's call for a multi-agency review, Steele didn't have a clear position.
"I don't have the expertise to understand totally what that means," Steele said. "If it's necessary. I feel pretty confident in how the legal system handled this."
Senger feels a review could answer why the people in Richmound had to wait two years as "this woman terrorized the community."
"We need to look into all of the agencies that were involved," Senger said. "Starting with the Ministry of Justice, the Saskatchewan Health Authority, Government Relations, Public Safety, and those are just to name a few. This needs to be conducted by a third party to ensure that it is thorough and unbiased."
Didulo and her "Kingdom of Canada" followers moved into the decommissioned school in 2023.
The RCMP conducted a raid on September 3rd.
Didulo and school owner Ricky Manz were each charged with one count of failing to comply with an undertaking condition and one count of intimidation of a justice system participant.
Manz also faces other charges from incidents in July.
Both are out of custody with conditions, but the SHA has evicted everyone from the old school, and Didulo has been ordered to stay with a colleague in Regina.
"This woman terrorized the community for two years, and no community should ever have to go through that," Senger said. "Everybody should feel safe. So, of course, we have concerns about her being in Regina."
Didulo returns to court on September 17th to set a date for her preliminary inquiry.