[1] It was this council who is credited for the arrival of a functioning legal system, a local police force, and a militia to the vast wilderness that was the fur-trading territory of Rupert's Land.
Over its existence, the Council of Assiniboia transformed numerous times in an effort to bring law and order to a young colonial settlement that was rife with tension and hardship.
[2] The District of Assiniboia consisted of land that was in a 50-mile (80 km) radius around Upper Fort Garry,[3] including the Red River Colony—which, until his death in 1820, was owned by Lord Selkirk.
Both the Protestant and Roman Catholic clergy were represented on the council, and members had diverse ancestry including Scottish, Irish, Francophone, Métis, and Anglophone.
However, in 1835, the way the constabulary was organized shifted tremendously, as they were all dismissed and completely replaced with a group of 60 men who had all enlisted in the new Volunteer Corps style of authority.
"[6] To further empower this new authority, it was requested by the governor and the council that Assiniboia's military/police force be equipped with the guns and ammunition that was necessary to enforce both tranquility and respect.
The officers in London were quick to approve the request, even though Alexander Ross—a council member as well as the settlement's first historian—disagreed with the need for armed military-styled police.
The council also continued to restructure the police force as – in 1843 – they put an end to the role of sergeant-major in an effort to keep the Volunteer Corps both accountable and responsible.
It was through these changes that the council adopted the English common law framework in their courts, and completely abandoned the military-styled organization that the company was trying to create.
[8] When Louis Riel sought counsel with the Council of Assiniboia insisting that negotiations needed to be made with Canada, on behalf of the local Métis, his demands were rejected.