In the winter, you'll often hear people talking about RCMP closing the highways due to a storm but that's actually not a true statement.  Believe it or not, the men and women with boots on the ground during a storm do not have the power to close a highway during inclement weather.

That fact was brought up at the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention this past week as delegates voted on a resolution to give RCMP the power to make that call. The resolution came forward after tow truck driver Courtney Schaefer was killed last March while responding to a crash.

Full scale highway closures are rare in Saskatchewan and most times only a "travel not recommended" warning will be issued by the Ministry of Highways, the only agency that can actually shut down roads.  It's believed that having the Ministry make the call, when RCMP are actually at the scene of an accident with first hand knowledge, takes extra time and could result in accidents.

The resolution will now be forwarded to the province for a final decision.