His first posting as an RCMP officer was in Frobisher Bay, near Baffin Island, as a 20-year-old fresh out of depot training in Regina. Now, Steve McVarnock is returning to Canada’s Arctic for a fourth tour of duty. The newly named superintendent of the Vernon/North Okanagan RCMP detachment is leaving to become chief superintendent and commanding officer of the RCMP’s V division in Nunavut. McVarnock will be based in the territory’s capital, and its only city, Iqaluit, where he began his policing career. “It’s ironic, I started my career up there 28 years ago, and now, here I am coming back in charge of operations up there,” said McVarnock, who turns 48 later this month, from Cape Breton, N.S. Wednesday, where he was visiting family after attending a police conference in Halifax.“It’s a nice feeling (to be going back). I can’t stress enough there will be a lot of challenges up there in the north. But I look forward to those challenges, and hope I can make a bit of a difference in the lives of the people and the members who live and work up there.” McVarnock, who has been posted in Canada’s Arctic on three previous occasions, came to Vernon as interim inspector in 2006. The interim label was removed several months later.
In an RCMP news conference only two weeks ago, McVarnock related how his promotion to superintendent had become official, and that he was very happy in Vernon. He did say, however, when asked by a reporter if he was staying, that he was at the mercy of the RCMP, and that if he was called to another posting, he would be gone. “This (Nunavut) was a very sudden revelation,” said McVarnock. “As soon as my promotion was announced, I received a call that same afternoon from Ottawa, and they asked if I would let my name stand as a candidate for the top job in the north.” McVarnock went to Edmonton for the interview and was short-listed along with two other candidates. He received a call this past Friday informing him he had gotten the job. The superintendent admits it will be hard to leave Vernon for a second time (he was posted in Vernon as a constable in the mid-1980s). “It’s going to be very sad,” said McVarnock. “I’ve been in Vernon twice and I have a lot of fond memories, especially the last couple years. I believe we’ve advanced policing in the area. For me to leave at this point, it’s going to be difficult.”
Vernon mayor Wayne Lippert said McVarnock will be difficult to replace, and isn’t surprised that his friend is moving up the RCMP ranks. “With his skills and his attitude, he’s bound to keep moving up and being promoted,” said Lippert. “I’m certainly sorry to see him go because we’ve become friends, and I don’t expect that to change. “It’ll be a loss for the City of Vernon, for sure.” Lippert praised McVarnock’s efforts in helping clean up and making the streets of Vernon safer, and for his work with the other communities under his jurisdiction. A process to find another superintendent to replace McVarnock is under way, and, if a candidate has not been named prior to McVarnock’s departure, an interim commander would likely be assigned from Kelowna until a successful candidate is found. McVarnock expects to begin his new posting in six-to-eight weeks, and vows, one day, to return to the valley. “I’m not selling my home, I’m keeping it,” he said. “The promotion is a two-to-three-year camping trip, that’s how I’ll view this. It’s an adventure with lots of challenges, but I’m looking forward to it.”
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Don Quixote Note: Then Inspector McVarnock was the subject of a expose back in 2006 that revealed his true identity. vernon-police-masquerade-uncovered
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