Canadian Police & Peace Officers Memorial

It’s that time of the year where we are to give ‘thanks” for what we have. Some are not as fortunate and not only wonder where the next meal is coming from, but sleep outdoors.

The Men and Women in “Blue” patrol the streets, and highway’s helping make us safe. It takes a second, but lasts a life time!

Let’s remember those who work 365 day’s a year to make sure we are safe.

Today’s world is not easy given all the problems from “low-life’s” that want to do harm to individuals, family members or businesses in various communities, regardless of where you live.

This does not just happen on the street, but quite often spills over to sport. To get a true indication of this attend a game and see how “hyped” parents or fans get – just over a game.

Then think of how they might react away from the sport. Shocking to think, but it can and does happen, we just don’t hear about it.

Since 1977, a memorial service has been held on Parliament Hill honouring police and federal correctional officers killed in the line of duty.

The organizing committee of the memorial service was lobbied by “peace officer” organizations to include all members of the law enforcement family in the ceremony.

This would encompass all persons in Canada who are “Peace Officers”, reflecting the close and cooperative working relationships that exist within the law enforcement community.

On March 22, 1994, Prime Minister Jean Chretien gathered with more than 700 police officers and relatives of slain officers at a site behind the Parliament buildings.

The Canadian Police Association (CPA) and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) dedicated the new Canadian Police Memorial Pavilion and the granite stone at the base of the pavilion that contains the names of officers killed on duty.

When The granite stone was unveiled in the spring of 1994, it contained the names of 227 police officers killed in the line of duty since 1879.

In the Fall of 1994, two other stones were also erected — one for “peace officers” who had died in the line of duty that included the names of slain “peace officers” from Canadian law enforcement agencies such as Corrections, Ministry of Natural Resources, Customs and Excise, Fisheries and Oceans (Conservation and Protection) — and the second stone explaining the Memorial Pavilion’s history.

Also in 1994, a separate ceremony was held on Parliament Hill specifically for “Peace Officers”.

The ceremony was a large success, with a permanent stone engraved with the names of 53 fallen officers unveiled.

Still, it was the goal of the groups that worked on the “Peace Officer” ceremony to combine forces with “Police Officers” to create a combined memorial ceremony.

On September 14th, 1995, at a meeting of representatives of the various “peace officer” organizations, it was resolved to form a unified association similar to CAP and CACP to represent Canadian “peace officers”.

The coordination of the Memorial Service was turned over to the Canadian Police Association (CPA) and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) in 1996, the two associations that represent the total “police community”.

Finally, as a result of the combined efforts of “peace officer” organizations, CPA and CACP, the first fully unified “peace and police officer

Memorial Service”, commenced in 1996.Members of numerous departments are attending, including two officers from Delta.

Special “THANKS” for keeping us safe!!!  The memorial is situated in Ottawa.

For more info visit http://cpoma.ca/welcome.html