To the Premier of Manitoba, Minister of Justice, Public Safety Canada, and RCMP National Headquarters, and all others whom this may concern:

On the night of May 4th, 2025, a young man named Devkarn Singh, full of promise and dreams, drowned in Pinawa Dam. His last moments were not met with swift rescue or heroic effort. Instead, his family watched helplessly as the RCMP, who arrived first, refused to enter the water.

The officers told his parents coldly:

“We are not trained for water rescue.”
“He is likely already dead.”
“The dive team will come soon.”

Those critical minutes slipped away in unbearable silence. At first, the family clung to hope—relieved to hear that the RCMP Underwater Recovery Unit, the only team authorized and equipped to act, would soon be arriving. But that hope was shattered when Devkarn’s parents were informed that the team would not come until sunrise.

Even that promise was broken.

The unit did not arrive until nearly 14 hours later, at 10 a.m. the following day, long after the chance to save Devkarn had passed, and his family had been left to endure an unthinkable night of helplessness, grief, and unanswered questions.

When they finally came, their recovery operation was slow, with constant breaks, while a family shattered by grief looked on, desperate for answers, for action, for their son.

This is not just a tragedy—it is a failure of the system meant to protect us.

Manitoba has one of the highest drowning rates in Canada.
Each year, hundreds of lives are lost in our lakes, rivers, and dams. Devkarn’s death is one too many, yet the RCMP’s official policy reveals the root of the problem: officers are trained not to rescue, but only to recover bodies.

How many families must endure this horror?
How many young lives must be extinguished by bureaucratic inaction?

We demand urgent, transformative change:

• 1. Rapid Response Water Rescue Teams
  Deploy fully trained, fully equipped emergency water rescue units across Manitoba—ready to act within minutes, not hours. These teams must be empowered to perform live rescues, not just recover bodies after the fact.
• 2. An Independent Public Inquiry
  Launch an impartial investigation into the RCMP’s actions in Devkarn Singh’s case—examining not just the delay, but the decision-making, communications, and systemic failures that contributed to this preventable tragedy. Findings must be made public, with direct input from the family.
• 3. Provincial Water Rescue Standards
  Legislate clear, enforceable standards for water rescue response—defining response time targets, mandatory coordination protocols between agencies, and consequences for non-compliance.
• 4. Permanent Oversight and System Reform
  Establish a dedicated oversight body to audit water rescue operations across the province. Require annual public reporting, and enforce reforms based on data, community needs, and lessons from this and other tragedies.

To the Citizens and Government of Manitoba, and Canada:
This is a moment of reckoning. We ask you; how many more must die before you act? How many more families must suffer unimaginable loss?

This is about life and death.
This is about trust in those sworn to protect us.
This is about humanity.

Sign this petition if you believe:

• Every life is worth fighting for: No family should be forced to wait helplessly while trained responders stand by and do nothing.
• Emergency response must mean rescue, not recovery: Our system must prioritize saving lives, not retrieving bodies after it’s too late.
• Real standards save lives: We need laws that demand faster response, better coordination, and real accountability for such situations in which things such as "after 3 hours, he will have died" are said.
• No parent should ever have to ask, “Why didn’t they try?”: Our province must never again allow its citizens to drown while those with the power to act stand idle.

Devkarn Singh’s life was precious.
His death was preventable.
His story must spark change.

Context:

CTV News: Family “so mad” over RCMP inaction

Lifesaving Society Manitoba Drowning Report (2024)

RCMP Underwater Recovery Policy