The “Queen of Canada” continues to divide the population of Richmound

Nearly nine months ago, the self-proclaimed Queen of Canada, Romana Didulo, and her followers settled in Richmound, a village in southwest Saskatchewan. Since then, their presence has continued to sow concern within the community.

Last September, a group which proclaimed itself kingdom of Canada moved into a former village school, at the invitation of the building’s owner. Led by conspiracy theorist Romana Didulo, this movement is known for its links with the far-right conspiracy organization QAnon.

Since her arrival, the queen of canada notably called for the public execution of local elected officials in the region. Richmound residents say the community has never been more divided.

Some people seem to feel entitled to mistreat others. We are losing the sense of mutual aiddeplores Gordon Ziegler, a resident of Richmound.

We know [le rôle du groupe] in the convoy of truckers to Ottawa. We know they tried to take over the Peterborough police station.

We are afraid that the volcano will explode. We live with this fear every day.

With the municipal elections approaching, Gordon Ziegler now fears that members of the movement will present their candidacy and succeed in getting elected.

Another Richmound resident, who agreed to speak to CBC/Radio-Canada, speaking on condition of anonymity because she fears for her safety, says she is deeply concerned for the region’s seniors.

According to her, some of them paid sums of money to Romana Didulo, donations which would have put them in a precarious financial situation.

I don’t think our village will ever recover from all the damage caused by their presence, their agitation and the destruction of relationships hereshe says.

More support from authorities demanded

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) say they maintain an increased presence in the village of Richmound.

There is nothing GRC can do to stop them”,”text”:”They undoubtedly have the right to live and reside in this community. There is nothing the RCMP can do to stop them”}}”>They undoubtedly have the right to live and reside in this community. There RCMP can’t do anything to stop themrecognizes the head of the southern district of RCMP from Saskatchewan, Tyler Bates.

However, police are monitoring any criminal acts and investigating any evidence of online threats made against Richmound residents.

I can assure you that hundreds and hundreds of hours have been devoted to this analysis in an attempt to establish and develop grounds to support criminal charges. And so far, these efforts have not borne fruitsays Tyler Bates.

For his part, Richmound Mayor Brad Miller said he consulted lawyers to explore different possible remedies, but had to forego their services due to costs.

We found out who really wanted her to leave and who wanted her to stay. And there are a handful of people who fight us every step of the waysays the mayor.

Our council meetings have been interrupted. For a small village like ours, there are a lot of things that are wrong, like the infrastructure and the wastewater treatment plant. Unfortunately, those things kind of get pushed to the background.

Brad Miller also regrets that MP Doug Steele slowed down its measures to dismantle the “kingdom of Canada”.

The MP for Cypress Hill recognizes that the village of Richmound is in a difficult situation.

They have never dealt with this sort of thing before, but I can confidently say that the government and I are here to help them. They say we haven’t done enough, and I respect that. But I won’t turn my back on themhe maintains.

With information from Laura Sciarpelletti