Family and career are important to Mark Svaren.
And as sergeant of the Creighton RCMP detachment, Svaren feels fortunate to have a family that understands the realities of his position.
“It’s a job where it’s exciting that you never know what’s coming from one day to the next,” he says, “but it also does impact your family when any given day you might not be home for hours after the end of your scheduled shift, or you get called out at night. It’s things that like that, that without the support of my family would be extremely difficult to manage.”
Svaren has been at the helm of the Creighton detachment, his sixth RCMP posting, since the fall of 2010.
He was no stranger to the North, having spent time in various parts of Saskatchewan, many of them northern, since earning his badge in 2001.
Among Svaren’s previous postings was Fond-du-lac, Saskatchewan, a fly-in community on Lake Athabasca.
Since arriving in Creighton, he has built a home for himself and a family that includes wife Tabitha, whom he married in 2014.
In his blended family, Svaren is the proud father of six children: Brenden, 18, Emma, 10, Lacey, 9, McKenna, 6, Ethan, 6, and Bentley, 4.
“I am very lucky to have the support of my family and wife,” says Svaren.
Footsteps
Svaren knew from an early age that he wanted to follow in footsteps similar to those of his father, who worked in corrections.
“All throughout high school I had been interested in the justice field,” he says. “My dad was in corrections and policing just seemed to be the area within justice that was most appealing to me.”
Svaren graduated from Loreburn Central School in Loreburn, located in southern Saskatchewan, in 1995 before moving on to the University of Saskatchewan. There he earned a bachelor of arts in sociology, with honours, in 1999.
He worked various jobs for about a year before beginning training for the RCMP in September 2000. By February 2001, he was in search of his first post.
Though he is eligible to retire in six years, after 20 years of service, Svaren says that’s not even on his mind right now.
“I have no intentions of retiring…anytime soon,” he says. “It’s not something I’d be interested in.
“I like my job and I enjoy coming to work. Until that changes or family circumstances change and something else would be better for our family, I plan on working for many years to come.”
Outside of work, Svaren spends his spare time watching his children participate in various activities.
He enjoys popular seasonal activities, playing slo-pitch in the summer and hockey in the winter, schedule permitting. He also likes spending time with his family camping and boating in the summer months.
And just as Svaren has no plans to retire any time soon, he also has no plans on leaving the community.
“We’re really hoping to make the Flin Flon-Creighton area our home for the foreseeable future,” Svaren says.
Svaren says the RCMP isn’t as rigid as it once was with postings. With shared custody of two of his daughters, he says his personal life becomes part of the equation for where he lives.
“[RCMP] staffing does try to work with members and try and not only meet the needs of the organization, but of the employees as well,” he says.
Presence
Outside of the typical police duties, Svaren says the Creighton detachment tries to have a positive presence in the community.
To that end, the detachment participates in the bike rodeo at Creighton Community School and parades on Canada Day and Remembrance Day, and supports programs such as CADAC.
Having worked in six postings over the past 14 years, Svaren has witnessed a variety of different situations, both good and bad.
“As much as some days you see people on their worst days, other times you get to help people and make it one of their good days,” he says with a smile. “It’s those rewarding times that kind of outweigh the harder times.”
