Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas has introduced a bill to recognize police officers who have died by suicide.
See: Families push for memorial to recognize police officers who died by suicide
At a press conference May 13, the MPP said she was approached in September 2020 by Amanda Robichaud, the sister of a fallen officer, who wanted to raise awareness about the mental health struggles of police officers.
Robichaud’s brother, Const. Chris Labreche of Greater Sudbury Police Service, died in July, 2019 in a head-on collision with a tanker truck on Highway 69.
Since his death, Robichaud has become involved with Canada Beyond the Blue, an organization that seeks to support law enforcement officers and their families.
“They explained the group’s focus on supporting police families,” Gélinas said. “When Amanda described the experience of watching her brother struggle with mental illness due to his experiences on the job, we decided to take action to shine a light on the mental health of the people charged with protecting us.”
Gélinas’ bill — Highway Memorials for Fallen Police Officers Amendment Act (In Memory of Officers Impacted by Traumatic Events), 2021 — would change provincial law to include police officers who died by suicide in memorials along the King’s Highway.
North Bay Constable Andrew Keating was one of those. He took his own life in May of 2014 at the age of 29.
Keating was a police constable for the City of North Bay for over four years
“Andrew was intelligent is the first thing that comes to mind, a very compassionate and caring person, very dedicated and just an all-around great guy, great police officer,” said his friend Constable Zach Dagg at a memorial in 2015.
See: Remembering officer Keating
Since then the North Bay police service has honoured the fallen officer with a plaque on the front lawn of North Bay Police headquarters.
Incidentally, the Highway Memorials bill was a private member’s bill introduced by former Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci in 2002.
Amanda Robichaud joined Gélinas for the May 13 press conference. She called the amendment historic.
“Our law enforcement officers have chosen a career to protect us, putting their lives on the line, but they’re not getting the support they need, internally and externally,” Robichaud said. “This is a historic first step in acknowledging the sacrifice of those who have died because of the line of duty.”
In a news release, Gélinas’ office provided statistics from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board regarding insurance claims by police officers. The data says claims for the Mental Stress Injury program have risen from 73 claims in 2012, when the program was introduced, to 425 in 2019.
