Honourable senators, I would like to take a few minutes to acknowledge the presence here today of an exceptional police officer, Shawn Dulude, Chief of Police for the Akwesasne Mohawk Reserve.

Like me, Shawn is a former member of the Sûreté du Québec. He, however, comes from a large policing family. It started with his grandfather, and now seven members of his family have made a career in the police force.

Shawn Dulude has been a police officer for over 30 years. He started out as a municipal police officer in Dorion, west of Montreal. When he joined the Sûreté du Québec, he was a member of the Valleyfield detachment, where he became sergeant, then deputy director. In 2010, he chose to move to the remote Havre-Saint-Pierre station on Quebec’s North Shore, where he was called upon to work with and serve alongside members of the Mingan and Natashquan First Nations.

After wearing the Sûreté du Québec uniform for 15 years, Shawn decided to retire to pursue a new challenge. In 2017, he became Chief of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Services. With only 40 or so police officers and about a dozen civilian employees, this Indigenous police force is tasked with maintaining order, safety and security in a very unique community. The challenge is staggering. The Akwesasne reserve covers a vast territory bordered by Quebec, Ontario and New York State. It also includes more than 30 kilometres of navigable waterways and 57 small islands on the St. Lawrence River.

This geographic configuration significantly increases the police officers’ workload, as they endeavour to deal with organized criminals eager to take advantage of the border zone. The same goes for illegal immigration. In Akwesasne, police officers have to fight crime and protect the community on land and water.

My friend, Shawn Dulude, has taken up this challenge every day for the past 7 years. However, since taking over as chief of the Akwesasne police services, he decided to take his commitment to Indigenous police services a step further and so he became president of the Quebec Association of First Nation and Inuit Police Directors. There are twenty-two First Nations communities in Quebec that have their own police service. These independent and recognized police forces comprise some 400 police officers.

Last fall, as president of the association, he undertook a legal battle against the federal government to end the underfunding of First Nations police services, who have to work with a staffing shortage and not enough equipment. When I headed the Association des policières et policiers provinciaux du Québec, I can assure you that I never would have tolerated a situation where our officers had to protect themselves by wearing too-old bullet-proof vests or had to share vests because there were not enough to go around. Unfortunately, that is the case for some First Nations police officers.

Today I wanted to commend the policing career of Shawn Dulude and acknowledge his commitment to improving the police services dedicated to First Nations security.

Thank you, my friend.