1 year after Edmonton security guard's death, province says updated training curriculum on the way
CBC
One year after the killing of Harshandeep Singh in Edmonton, the Alberta government says it plans to roll out an updated training program for security guards.
On Dec. 6, 2024, Singh, a 20-year old security guard and international student, was fatally shot while patrolling a building in Central McDougall by himself at night, after only a few days on the job. Police had responded to a shooting at the building a month earlier.
Evan Chase Rain, 31, is facing a charge of first-degree murder. Judith Saulteaux, also 31, has had her charge downgraded to second-degree murder. Their trials are scheduled to get underway in February 2027.
In the wake of Singh’s death, some security experts called for more robust training programs, better protection in the field and for someone to take a serious look at the increasingly complex situations security guards face.
On Friday, Arthur Green, press secretary for Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis, said the government plans to have the province’s 40-hour Alberta Basic Security Training course updated next year.
“The program is being updated to enhance content, strengthen preparedness and respond to industry needs, with a revised curriculum set to launch in 2026, which has been informed by broad consultation with the security sector,” Green wrote in an email to CBC News.
As the details of Singh’s death emerged last year, veterans of the security sector said the killing highlighted a need to re-examine the evolving role of the security guard post-pandemic.
Despite sometimes earning only minimum wage, unarmed security guards are often the first of the first responders, John McDermid, an Edmonton-based career security professional, said Friday.
He said he believes security guards are dealing with increasingly complex and dangerous situations due to overstretched police forces and the rise in homelessness, open-air drug use, mental health challenges and inflation-fuelled crimes.
Brian Phaneuf, the instructor for security services at Columbia College in Calgary, told CBC News that he had input on the province's new program and is confident it will “be a much more effective training system.”
It will put more emphasis on teaching basic protection skills for security workers, he said.
“There’s more enhanced focus on de-escalation, situational awareness, being aware of the influence of alcohol and drugs on people and, basically, a little bit more defensive techniques,” Phaneuf said.
After Singh’s death, the building at 107th Avenue and 106th Street where he was killed was shut down by the city over safety, maintenance and pest concerns.
“There are no toolbox meetings before going into this, identifying the hazards and what to do,” McDermid said.
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