"[3] The ERT is also mandated to assess the situation and determine whether extreme danger or the presence of small arms cannot be easily resolved by RCMP officers on general duties or by other police forces throughout Canada.

[6] Because of the problem in geography, which prevents the RCMP from pooling their resources to respond to a Canada-wide incident, the Canadian government initially mandated the creation of the Special Emergency Response Team or SERT on January 22, 1986.

[5] 51 officers were trained for SERT duties as the unit would operate in circumstances where local police forces do not have enough resources to resolve the incident.

[5] The SERT was eventually disbanded in 1993 as they were not suited for quasi-military operations with problems on whether lethal force is necessary or not, given its RCMP status.

[7][8] The Marine Security Emergency Response Teams were created as a part of the ERT in 2006 with initial training in the waters of British Columbia as a key component of the Critical Incident Program to ensure ERT operators are fully prepared to respond to calls when a situation develops in the marine environment.

In September, 2007 the RCMP ERT rescued a three-year-old child from a man who had fired numerous shots in a house in Chilliwack, British Columbia.

In March, 2011 the RCMP ERT responded to a residence in Surrey, BC where a 13-year-old girl had been shot in the back and the house set on fire.

Believing the shooter and additional young victims were in the residence, ERT officers forced their way into the house while it was still on fire.

ERT was deployed to the area on November 13, 2006 due to reports of Pelletier being armed with a gun while acting irrational and suicidal.

[29] ERT operators were involved in the shooting death of ex-Canadian soldier Gregory Matters in 2012, who was reported to be using a hatchet before he was shot in Prince George, BC.