A mass killing. Another RCMP manhunt. Has Canada’s police force learned from past mistakes?

As the RCMP lead a search for the remaining suspect in a grisly series of killings and attacks in rural Saskatchewan, a shadow looms over their efforts.

It's the spectre of other difficult manhunts in recent years that have seen Canada's national police force criticized for what some have called its missteps.

The Mounties are an internationally recognized symbol, with a history dating to the 1870s. But the image of the force has been tarnished amid controversy over sexual harassment and systemic racism.

Against that backdrop have come major manhunts - high-pressure and high-profile cases - that have led some critics to question the force's mandate and capabilities.

Wanted this time is Myles Sanderson, charged in some of the stabbing deaths of 10 people and further stabbings of another 18 across the James Smith Cree Nation and village of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon, over the weekend. His brother, Damien Sanderson, the second suspect, was found dead on the James Smith Cree Nation, police said Monday.

One expert said the RCMP in Saskatchewan seem to have made mistakes similar to those made in the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting.

Paul Palango, a journalist who has written four books on the RCMP, said there are remarkable parallels" between the situation unfolding in Saskatchewan and the previous cases, particularly the Nova Scotia killings.

Much like in Portapique, N.S., the attacks took place at a number of scenes over time and distance.

The killer started his rampage in Portapique then fled the initial nighttime crime scene and resumed killing the next morning. Twenty-two victims died before the gunman was shot dead by police at a gas station 100 kilometres from where he started.

Palango questions how the Saskatchewan suspect was able to evade police.

Although there are multiple crime scenes, the RCMP seemed incapable of locking down the highways," he said, pointing out police suspected the men could be in Regina on Sunday. That they got three hours away (to Regina) during that period of time is again sort of sickening because that shouldn't be happening."

Palango said the situation once again shows the RCMP is understaffed.

Myles Sanderson had already been the subject of a police warrant for months and Palango questioned why he was at large for so long.

It shows RCMP may not be involved enough in the communities they police, he added, saying lessons clearly weren't learned from the previous searches.

The RCMP's handling of the Nova Scotia shootings drew criticism over communication and tactics, issues front and centre during the ongoing Mass Casualty Commission's public inquiry.

Wayne MacKay, professor emeritus at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University, was one of several law professors who demanded an inquiry into the force's response to the 2020 shootings.

MacKay said the response so far in Saskatchewan appears to be better co-ordinated.

The RCMP also took criticism in 2019 for their handling of the search for Vancouver Island's Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky, who killed three people in northern B.C. before leading the police on a three-week search across the northern Prairies, where they then killed themselves and left a video admitting to the homicides.

The RCMP was slammed for not releasing information quickly, or completely enough. Others questioned why it took so long to determine they were the killers.

In 2019 Kevin Bryan, a former detective now a professor in the school of public safety at Seneca College, criticized the RCMP's communication with the public when McLeod and Schmegelsky were at large.

But Bryan said the RCMP's ability to get information to the public has clearly improved since the 2019 and 2020 tragedies. He said in Saskatchewan the police got information out quickly by comparison.

We all learn from every investigation," he said. Nobody does a perfect investigation."

On Aug. 23 the head of the RCMP told the Mass Casualty Commission there was a problem with communication within the force during the Nova Scotia shootings.

Commissioner Brenda Lucki said stern communications she had sent to Nova Scotia RCMP came after frustration with the provincial contingent's handling of communications around the 2020 shooting, particularly regarding the weapons used.

It was just yet another example of the miscommunication of the past eight to 10 days," Lucki said.

In the present case, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore issued a news release Monday meant to ensure the public that police are using every human, investigational and technological resource we have available."

The manhunt

The job of hunting for the suspect is a resource-heavy one, experts say. Mounties have said the vast prairie could make things more difficult as there are many places Myles Sanderson can hide.

Monique Rollin of Canadian Critical Incident Inc., an organization that trains police and first responders in critical incident response, said security camera footage and aerial and grid searches could come into play.

Any of those reconnaissance resources that could pinpoint them to last known location, then they'll build out from the last known location," Rollin said.

Meanwhile, she said, intelligence gathering will search social media footprints, determine relationships and seek other information to get into the world of the suspect.

As police search, the intelligence gathering acts as a giant machine" in the background, Rollin said. Getting information out to the public will also be key.

It takes as long as it takes," she said. It's all intelligence-based, so they have to focus their resources and their efforts on information as it comes in."

Lenny DePaul, a retired commander of the U.S. Marshal Fugitive Task Force, said the police will likely pore through the digital footprint of the suspect and look at his social circles, trying to anticipate moves.

They're running, they're dark, they're off the grid," DePaul said, prior to Damien being found deceased. Where are they getting their provisions from, where's the money trail?"

He said in such violent and high-profile cases the police will likely find and arrest the suspects.

You can run but you can't hide and when you run, you only go to jail tired," he said.

I've seen it go down a million different ways," DePaul said. It's a matter of time, you just don't want to see anyone else get hurt."

In the meantime, MacKay said there is pressure on the RCMP as an institution

They've had pretty bad press lately, so doing a good job and dealing well with this tragedy, I think, is extremely important for them," MacKay said.

It's important obviously for all the people concerned."

With files from Steve McKinley

Jeremy Nuttall is a Vancouver-based investigative reporter for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @Nuttallreports