Tuesday was a sad day for Canada. Three of our countries bravest; Const. Dave Joseph Ross, Const. Douglas James Larche, and Const. Fabrice Georges Gevaudan were honoured at a funeral in Moncton, New Brunswick and laid to rest. These three RCMP officers lost their lives at the hands of an individual who allegedly was targeting police officers. It is a sad reality that in our world there are those who will target police officers because of the work they do protecting all of us.
Our officers, at the national and municipal level, leave their homes each day knowing that they may have to put themselves at risk to protect others. It is a reality that they live with, and their families live with as well. That is why police officers, like others who protect society, rely on the support of their friends and their family. But they also rely on the support of the communities in which they serve and our country as a whole.
And while Tuesday was in many ways a tragic day, it was also heartening to see the incredible support that Canadians, across the country, offered to our RCMP officers specifically and to our police officers generally. In New Brunswick the flowers have surrounded the local RCMP office. On the day of the funerals of the three officers, local residents wore red and lined the streets as a parade of officers marched to the service. Across Canada, Canadians wore red on Tuesday as a show of solidarity with our police officers.
Those expressions of support speak well of how highly Canadians value our police officers and the difficult work that they are called upon to do every day. They are expressions that need not be limited to times of tragedy and mourning. We can, when we see our police officers in our community, offer them our thanks for their service. Those expressions of thanks will help them know that they have the support of those that they protect. While we are not able to be with our officers physically when they are performing their duties, by offering our thanks when we can they will know that they have our support.
Protecting Officers
Days before the tragic events in Moncton took place, I was pleased to co-sponsor legislation in the Manitoba Legislature that will offer a small bit of comfort and hopefully protection for police officers in the City of Winnipeg. Currently, these officers’ names are listed in public documents annually. Police officers have indicated to us that this listing of the names of officers can be used by those who would like to target police officers to obtain information.
The legislation, which will become law on Thursday, will exempt the police officers from having their names printed in the annual report. It’s a small measure but one we hope will eliminate a means for individuals from targeting these police officers.
