2023 Spring Newsletter : simplebooklet.com

INTERNATIONAL POLICE ASSOCIATION - CANADA REGION 6 OTTAWA - WWW.IPAOTTAWA.COM 4 President’s Message It is with great sadness having to report the passing of two members and friends. Tom Bird Tom joined IPA Ottawa in 2016 and he and Sharon have attended several brunches throughout the years. The last time I spoke to Tom was at our 2022 Christmas dinner and just one a month later, on Jan 23, 2023, he passed away at the Queensway Carleton Hospital with his family by his side. Tom retired from Canada Customs (Canada Border Services Agency) where he was employed for thir-ty-five (35) years. During his career, Tom served on numerous International and National special task forces with other law enforcement agencies and he was the recipient of many prestigious awards and was a dedicated community Volunteer. Tom was also a Provincial appointee to the Police Services Board and was the organizer of the local youth vs. First Responders Day. Any one that knew Tom knows how passionate he was about having Border Services Officers being permitted to join the Legion as Ordinary members. I’m sure the matter is on his agenda when he meets his maker. Sharon has decided that she would remain a member and we’re happy to have her. William (Bill) Leverington Bill joined the IPA in 1972 in London, Ontario (Region 1) and after being posted to Ottawa in 1973, he joined the former Region 6 Ottawa/Carleton. For those newer members, Region 6 Ottawa/Carleton was formed in 1972 and was disbanded in 1981 because no one was willing to step forward to fill vacant positions on the Regional executive Committee. I met Bill, by chance, at a Military Police Retirees breakfast in Orleans and learned he was a member of the former Region 6. Bill was amazed that Region 6 started up again and he rejoined Re-gion 6 in 2017. The photo on the right shows Bill and I displaying our new and old membership cards. Bill joined the Provost Corps (Military Police) in 1951 and served for 32 years, retiring as a Sergeant. Region 6 is starting to bounce back after a couple of miserable ‘pandemic’ years. Attendance at brunches is returning to pre-pandemic levels and international travel is also starting to pickup. New member applications are also starting to trickle in and so far this year, thirteen (13) new members have joined. If you have a colleague who you believe might be interested in becoming a member, please forward them a link to this newsletter. Past newsletters are always available on our website under the Member heading. Membership Applications are available on our website under the Join tab. Anyone wishing for addi-tional information about the IPA or Regions 6 may send an email to https://www.ipaottawa.com. I hope to see each of you at a brunch sometime in 2023. Remember, family and friends are always wel-come.

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Region 6 has been fortunate enough to partake once again in our Regional Monthly Brunches, where members are able to get together to enjoy each other’s company, share stories and delight in the scrumptious meals of various restaurants in Eastern Ontario. Of our 120+ members, we are usually fortunate to receive approximately one quarter turnout for each brunch. In the past year we went as far West as Rockport and as far East as Hawkesbury, where we were joined by some Region 15 members. One of our first brunches after the re-opening lasted three hours! With 15 members in attendance, there were many jovial survival stories, jokes abounded, and good ole walks down memory lane. Nobody wanted to leave. Luckily, the restaurant wait staff were very generous with their time and coffee. As commonly known now, the COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented social distancing environment to prevent the spread of the virus. The associated downside to quarantine and restricted/no visits created acute, at times, severe sense of social isolation and loneliness with some mental and/or physical health consequences, more so for single people. Prior to the pandemic, loneliness and social isolation was described as a behavioral epidemic in some major countries, such as the USA, China and throughout Europe. Both lone-liness and social isolation have been associated with an increased risk for coronary artery disease-associated death, even in middle-aged adults without a prior history. One of the main purposes of our Regional IPA brunches is to reach out to all of our members, hence the reason we constantly change the locations of our brunches. It is always great to catch up, share news, brag a bit, spin some yarns and show off our pictures of family, children, grandchildren and our fur babies. Family and friends are also welcome to tag along. One of the author’s best friend grew up in a small Nova Scotian town close to our president, Len MacPherson. She has attended many brunches and plans are underway to travel (with the author) to a European IPA House. Future upcoming brunches will be the Ottawa/Gatineau area as as the weather turns nicer we will be planning brunches in the other areas of the region. We hope, this Summer, to plan a dinner cruise along the St Lawrence Seaway from Brockville/Rockport/Kingston and we will invite other regions to attend. Be on the lookout for emails from IPA Region 6 and don’t forget to RSVP. We are also open to any recommendations for locations or restaurants within the Region and are looking forward to more co-hosting with other nearby IPA Canadian Regions. Teresa Holmes It is also with great sadness to note, that since our last newsletter, nine (9) police officers have lost their lives in the line of duty: Sergeant Maureen Breau - Sûreté du Québec, Constables Travis Jordan and Constable Brett Ryan – Edmonton Police Service, Constable Grzegorz Pierzchala – Ontario Provincial Police, Constable Shaelyn Yang - Royal Canadian Mounted Po-lice, Constables Devon Northrup and Constable Morgan Russell – South Simcoe Police Service, Constable Travis Gillespie – York Regional Police Service, Constable Andrew Hong – Toronto Police Service. May They Rest In Peace. In Memoriam INTERNATIONAL POLICE ASSOCIATION - CANADA REGION 6 OTTAWA - WWW.IPAOTTAWA.COM 6

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INTERNATIONAL POLICE ASSOCIATION - CANADA REGION 6 OTTAWA - WWW.IPAOTTAWA.COM 14 This song was recently composed by Ellis Craig, an 83-year-old resident of a retirement home in Perth, Ontario. Even though he had never before written a song he decided to write one when he discovered that Canada has not really had a singalong patriotic song for public events since Bobby Gimby’s “Ca-na-da!” in our 1967 centennial year. He believes that at this point in our history Canada needs a song capa-ble of inspiring a modern Canada Day crowd to sing along with the chorus, wave small Canadian flags and openly celebrate being Canadian. Australia Day has “I Am Australian!” – Canada Day should have “We Are Canadian!” According to the composer, the reactions of those who have been exposed to the lyrics or the video to date have been “over the top”, including a “pretty darn good!” from Anne Murray. The song seems to awaken a latent patriotism that we all possess but were reluctant to express until now, with the exception of the patriotic fervour recently generated by the success of the Toronto Raptors! He is actively endeavouring to bring the song to the attention of an established Canadian performer or group well enough known to attract an invitation from Heritage Canada to perform it on the national stage on Canada Day 2020 and/or beyond. Dream big or go home! With its emphasis on unity, diversity and individual pride in being Canadian its time could be now! The music for “We Are Canadian!” was composed by Carey Blackwell. On the video, the music tracks and the vocal are by Alan Sandeman. The following excerpt is from the Canadians At Arms webpage and reproduced with the consent of Ellis Craig. Ellis Craig is a retired RCMP Superintendent and Region 6 member. For additional songs composed by Ellis, please visit https://canadiansatarms.ca/ and under the REMEMBRANCE tab, select MUSIC AND SONGS. For addional details, visit hps://www.easvisa.com/

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In September 2022, Region 6 decided to continue the Activity Challenge, which began in 2021, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the prolonged quarantine periods and lack of public/team physical activity events, Region 6 challenged its members to traverse our regional circumference of approximately 719kms. Throughout the year we had 12 members participate and in total managed to traverse half the circumference of the world. A major feat by few. Brian Sullivan, our far-away regional member, based in Ecuador was our first-place achiever, followed by Bill Murrell. The author unwittingly challenged Bill and lost miserably… Bill beating me by a mere 1,000kms! So, as promised the winner got a free lunch Region 6 is now eight months into our new year of the Activity Challenge, begin-ning in September. A shout out to our original members who have committed to carrying on the challenge. Again, the ma-jority have surpassed our re-gional circumference and all are committed to obtaining that elusive world circumference goal of 40,075kms. As of the end of March, col-lectively we are at 14,755kms…only 25,320kms left to go! Having coming in second place last year, Bill Murrell has dug his heels in and commandeered first place, obtaining a record 3,247kms so far. In March alone, Bill clocked in over 600kms! Vehe-mently denying he is the bionic man, or outfitted with bionic knees, Bill modestly reported he commits himself to training on his station-ary bicycle and rowing machine, in order to maintain peak form and prepare himself for his summer Ottawa Police Service dragon boat races and his favorite team sport of basketball. Bill does admit he gives the younger players a run for their money. Huge Kudos Bill! The author, Teresa Holmes is in second place, up from the previous year’s standings. She attributes this to a warmer winter and being Master Dog Walker for Mary Blois’ 3 dogs. She is gearing up for kayak and swimming season. Special mention goes to our Regional Deacon Bill, who has managed over 500kms after undergoing knee replacement surgery. Total devotion and commitment. Deacon Bill has even suffered a nasty fall late last fall, is still recovering, but determined to continue walking. INTERNATIONAL POLICE ASSOCIATION - CANADA REGION 6 OTTAWA - WWW.IPAOTTAWA.COM 15

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Gilbert Antcil and Doug Morris have immensely enjoyed partaking in the Activity Challenge by hiking and walking throughout several countries, mostly warmer and tropical countries during our nasty winter months. Gilbert hiked throughout Portugal while Doug enjoyed a Caribbean cruise and visits in some warmer, Southern countries. To all 11 members this 2022-2023 year, we salute you and good luck on the ultimate world circumference goal. The Activity Challenge will run from 01 September 2022 to 31 August 2023. It is not too late to join us on our quest to traverse the cir-cumference of the world. Don’t wait. Sign up today for our Activity Chal-lenge and let’s see what our region can accomplish. The Activity Challenge is to traverse our approximate regional cir-cumference of 719 kms. You may accumulate distance by walking, hiking, running, bicycling, swimming, paddling, golfing, indoor on exercise machines, or outdoors. Like last year, once you have achieved our regional circumference, you are encouraged to keep going to assist in the accom-plishment of the world circumference. INTERNATIONAL POLICE ASSOCIATION - CANADA REGION 6 OTTAWA - WWW.IPAOTTAWA.COM 16 To join, send an email to: ipar6challenge@gmail.com “only 25,320 kms left to go!”

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INTERNATIONAL POLICE ASSOCIATION - CANADA REGION 6 OTTAWA - WWW.IPAOTTAWA.COM 17 Lech Reliszko – Region 6 Social Media Coordinator Lech has graciously agreed to do a follow up with his extensive European travels. As soon as the skies were cleared for vacation flying, Lech basically beat the doors down of the international aircraft. A legendary traveler, Lech was more than ready to carry on with his exploration of the European continent, the sixth larg-est continent in the world with forty-four countries and only a slight bit bigger than Canada. Lech has visited almost every European country except seven, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Crete, Ice-land, Greenland and Norway. Lech even found himself working as an exceptionally young, 19 year old mer-chant marine in Novorossisk, Russia, on the Black Sea, serving aboard a tanker! (he promises this will be an-other story, and we will most certainly hold him to it). In the past, Lech visited his family in Belgium about once a year. Currently, since his enrollment as a member of the IPA, he has extended his annual travel to twice a year so he may attend various IPA events, which he is actually doing now. Lech’s favorite mode of travel while in Europe is mainly with budget airlines such as Wizzair and Ryanair. He finds they provide much cheaper tickets and their destinations are to places that major airlines do not cover. Taking advantage of these prices and destinations, Lech has immensely enjoyed numerous IPA pro-grams in vast regions such as Charleroi (Belgium), Tarragona (Spain), Rimini (Italy) La Rochelle (France), etc. Our monthly Regional executive committee meetings are always interesting as we are playing “Where is Waldo/Lech?”… what country is he in now, and what time zone is he in. True to form, Lech rarely misses the meetings, even though they occur at 2:00 – 3:00 AM his time!!!! Train travel is Lech’s second choice. It's slower than a plane but they are not finicky about the number of suitcases you lug aboard compared to the policy of Via Rail in Canada. In fact most European railways permit you to drag your bicycle or trotinette (electronic scooter) in specially designated wagons without charging you extra on the ticket. More importantly and beneficial to the traveler, the European railway sys-tems are so well connected between major cities and even have stations in the immediate vicinity of major airports, such as Frankfurt, Germany. You don’t even have to go outside, you simply walk across the pedestri-an covered bridges from the airport to the train terminal. Another example is the Schiphol airport (Amsterdam), where you can purchase your national and international ticket at the arrival/departure lev-el. Taking the trains to various destinations, you just take the escalator one floor below "et voila" you're on your way.

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INTERNATIONAL POLICE ASSOCIATION - CANADA REGION 6 OTTAWA - WWW.IPAOTTAWA.COM 18 Before hopping on a train ride, no matter the distance, Lech strongly recommends you get your provi-sion of liquids, fruits and sandwiches, which again, you can purchase at the train station or airport food kiosk for a reasonable price. If your schedule permits, take the daytime train. Traveling by train. During daylight hours affords you the chance to view the fascinating scenery and it's safer to travel. When it comes to the cost of a train ticket Lech warns potential travelers that a train ride in Germany, France and Switzerland could burn a hole in your wallet. From his recollection, they offer no special rates whether you're a tourist or a senior citizen visiting their country. Yet, in Belgium, when you request for a sen-ior rate, they do not hesitate to offer you about a 50% discount, provided you travel after 9 a.m. during the week and any time during week-end and holidays. They never asked Lech for proof of age (so he guesses he looks old) or whether he has a residence in Belgium. This discount ticket is good for travel from any point in Belgium to your destination and return to your point of departure on the same day. Poland is another country you might consider exploring by taking the railways. They offer the seniors 30 % without proof of age or residence card. Lech strongly discourages anyone from travelling in this manner during the summer season. Since approximately 8 years ago, Poland has since a high speed rail system called "Pendolino" that can zoom through the countryside at 200+ km/h. Nowadays, they connect from Gdynia on the Baltic Sea to Krakow (via Warsaw) and Wroclaw. Seated in this train, you feel like you are gliding over ice. They have only 1st class accommodations and it's recommended to book in advance. In October 2022, Lech took a train ride from Bratislava to Prievidza in Slovakia. He was on the train for 3 hours to cover 150 km and only paid 1.60 Euros, which is about $2.50 Canadian (senior rate). The bottle of soft drink at the train station cost me 2.00 Euros which was more than his train ticket! The train ride was great and so was the seating...just slow. Lech was in no hurry and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Taking a bus between major European cities is an alternative and a slightly cheaper mode of travel, however, on long journeys, this could be a problem for senior citizens due to cramped seating arrangements and limitation of movement…then you pray that the toilet is not locked by the driver as it has happened to Lech on several occasions.

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INTERNATIONAL POLICE ASSOCIATION - CANADA REGION 6 OTTAWA - WWW.IPAOTTAWA.COM 19 Region 6 Online Store The items below are kept in stock for members to purchase and are usually used as small tokens of appreciation to those people who provided assistance or showed a courtesy during a member’s trav-els Other items such as polo shirts & hoodies are purchased individually for members using a pre-order method. If you can think of an item you believe we should offer for sale, please let us know by sending an email to ipaottawa@rogers.com When selecting suppliers, quality and cost are the two biggest decision makers. All items sold are priced just above cost to cover administrative fees. Region 6 has adopted a ‘buy local’ protocol whenever possible. To place an order, visit www.ipaottawa.com/store

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INTERNATIONAL POLICE ASSOCIATION - CANADA REGION 6 OTTAWA - WWW.IPAOTTAWA.COM 23 Outdoor Adventurist R6 Member—Rick St-Onge Motorcycle Road Trip from Kingston, ON to Key West Florida, USA On 10 April 2023, our very own regional extreme outdoor en-thusiast, Rick St-Onge embarked on a solo road trip with his BMW R1200 GS. Rick had been a member of the Canadian Forces Military Police for 20+ years and retired in 2009. He joined the International Police Association in the early 90’s but let his membership run out after one of his postings. He then joined again a few years ago when IPA Region 6 was created in the Ottawa region. Rick began his journey when left his home in Kingston, Ontario and drove 6,421 kilometers (kms) to Key West Florida. When queried as to why he chose this road trip, Rick classically replied “Off the Florida Keys, there's a place called Kokomo, that's where I want to go, to get away from it all…” (Beach Boys – Ko-komo). In all seriousness, Rick sought out the elusive and delectable Key-Lime Pie, but, ultimately, it was real-ly for the challenge, adventure and he always wanted to make that beautiful drive to the Keys. It took Rick 14 days to complete the road trip. Seven days down, with a 2 night layover rest at the campground in Key West before heading back, travelling 7 to 8 hours each day. Rick crossed the Canadian/American land border at the 1000 Islands international bridge, beginning in New York State, then onto New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and finally Florida and then, the Keys. He came back-up to Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York State and back across the international bridge in the 1000 Islands to Kingston. Rick traveled 13 different USA States in all. Several years ago, Rick stopped in Key West while on a cruise and always thought it would be amazing to return by road. So, about a month ago (March 2023), he started planning his trip. First, he had to convince his partner Laura that this was a good idea. Luckily, she is very supportive. Then, he mapped-out his route using his laptop and motorcycle GPS, figuring out the best places to stop. He booked all his hotels and campground, prepared a Kit-List of things he needed to bring, such as his camping gear; clothing; first aid kit; tire repair kit; tools; and all his electronics such as GPS; Laptop; GoPro; and can never forget, chargers. Aside from the Key Lime Pie, first and foremost, Rick would have to say driving the Florida Keys and the 193kms string of tropical islands, surrounded by beautiful turquoise waters, connected by a series of bridg-es was the absolute highlight of his road trip. https://floridakeys.com Another highlight on his return trip was driving the famous “Tail of the Dragon” in North Carolina. This road (US-129) is bordered by the Great Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee National Forest. It boasts 318 curves in over 17kms, which is considered “the destination” for motorcycle enthusiasts around the world. https://tailofthedragon.com/ Lastly, meeting all kind of people along the route, who would come-up to chat and ask where Rick was from and where he was going.

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INTERNATIONAL POLICE ASSOCIATION - CANADA REGION 6 OTTAWA - WWW.IPAOTTAWA.COM 24 The only Oops moment Rick experienced was missing his first waypoint on his GPS and having to drive an extra 2-hours that day. Luckily, he was able to cancel his hotel without penalty and rebook another at his new destination. He found the traffic wasn’t bad at all, except when he went right into downtown New York City to visit Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero. Rick can honestly say that he will NEVER drive in New York City again. Rick mentioned the most challenging experience was driving 7 to 8 hours a day for 2 straight weeks. Af-ter the long drive he would arrive at his hotel or campground, having no choice, but to unload all his gear from his motorcycle and lug it all inside, charge all his electronics, edit his videos, and get everything ready for the next day’s trip. Some nights, he would not get to bed until midnight. Then, the following morning, he would load everything back up again on his motorcycle, and do it all over again. Rick has a BMW R1200 GS, which is the perfect motorcycle for this type of adventure riding. This is what they were built for so he was not afraid to load it up with all his gear and equipment for the road trip. As for comfort, travelling over 6421kms in 14-days, there is no motorcycle out there that will make your “behind” feel any better. His motorcycle jacket has elbow, shoulder and spine protection and his pants have knee and hip protection, as well as being lined with Kevlar. He never rides without these, no matter what the temperature. These, along with his helmet are his lifeline in the event of a mishap. Luckily, he has never had to test that out. Other than the essentials, he layers his clothes for the cold or warm weather. For rainy days, he has a one-piece rain suit and boot covers that will keep him dry as a bone. Rick wanted to do this trip by himself rather than with other motorcyclists for a couple of reasons. The first is because he wanted to video record his journey and would often have to stop at the last minute when he saw something he wanted to capture, such as the alligators on the side of the road. When other riders are with you, this can be very difficult to coordinate, especially if they are in front and you need to let them know you are stopping. The second reason is that occasionally he ran into equipment issues with his GPS, Microphone or GoPro, which would create delays. This would be frustrating for other riders who just want to get going. So, it just made things so much easier to be by himself. He rode when he wanted and stopped when he wanted. Rick does enjoy riding with other people, however, when videotaping a trip of this distance and time, he finds it eas-ier riding solo. Being an outdoor enthusiast, Rick decided to create a YouTube channel as a hobby a few months back, which he called “Moose Tracks”. He posts videos, not only of his motorcycle trips, but of all his outdoor ad-ventures. The videos also include: Scuba Diving; Snorkeling; Canoeing; Kayaking; Camping; Hiking; Snow-shoeing; Skiing and travelling to exotic places. You can find Rick St-Onge’s channel on YouTube at the fol-lowing link: https://www.youtube.com/@moosetracks8888 Rick also has a Moose Tracks “Facebook and Instagram” account, which you can find be found at these links: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087355101070 https://www.instagram.com/moosetracks8888/

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INTERNATIONAL POLICE ASSOCIATION - CANADA REGION 6 OTTAWA - WWW.IPAOTTAWA.COM 25 Rick hopes and future plans are that his videos will inspire other people to get out and reconnect with nature more. After 20+ years as a police officer, this is what Rick found he needed and it has been Life-Changing for him. Rick adds that he is only doing these videos as a hobby and not for any financial gain. If, however, he did start making money down the road from the number of subscribers, it would be donated to a charitable organization such as the Canadian Military Police Fund for Blind Children or the Canadian Soldier-On Program. So, feel free to subscribe to Rick’s YouTube channel to get notified when he posts new videos, give them a “Thumbs-up” if you liked them and share them with your colleges/friends. They are varied and entertaining. Rick wishes to extend his thanks to all in advance for any support and insists the Key Lime pie was absolutely amazing and so worth the 6,421km road trip.

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JOIN THE IPA The International Police Association is the largest friendship organization for law enforcement in the world with over 369,000 members in 68 countries across the globe. The IPA is strictly a Non Prot Organization that does not have any political, religious or employment afliations or objectives. The IPA is solely an inclu-sive friendship organization that welcomes all eligi-ble members. Membership is open to: • all serving and retired police ofcers or sworn peace ofcers whose primary functions are the prevention of crime, enforcement of municipal, provincial or federal law and the preservation and maintenance of public peace. • any serving Auxiliary Police Ofcer, Reserve Constable or Military Po-lice Reservist or any former Auxiliary Police Ofcer, Reserve Constable or Mil-itary Police Reservist who has served a minimum of ve years and has left the their service in good standing. • full time civilian employees of a police service who have completed ve (5) years of service and who work directly with front line ofcers receiving and/or dispatching calls for service or on the scene of crimes / forensic investiga-tions. Region 6 Ottawa has a membership of over 130 members and is governed by a volunteer Executive Committee. Our membership consists of former and serving members of municipal, provincial, federal and international law enforcement agencies. Region 6 is bounded by the Ottawa River to the North, the Province of Quebec to the East, the St Lawrence River and Lake Ontario to the South and the Western boundaries Lennox & Addington and Renfrew Counties to the West. To Join, visit: https://www.ipaottawa.com/join If you have a question, please contact us at: ipaottawa@rogers.com INTERNATIONAL POLICE ASSOCIATION - CANADA REGION 6 OTTAWA - WWW.IPAOTTAWA.COM 27

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The International Police Association is a friendship organization for members of law enforcement, whether in employment or retired and without distinction as to rank, position, gender, race, language or reli-gion. We have around 372,000 members in nearly 100 countries, of which 65 are affiliated National Sections, and we are represented on 5 continents. The purpose of our organization is strictly cultural, social and recrea-tional. At no time does the Association take part in any matter of de-partmental policy, discipline or unionism. The IPA creates an opportunity for cultural exchange and contacts on a local, national and international level. The IPA is a tremendous organ-ization for members and their families who wish to travel anywhere in the world. Want To Become a Member? Visit our webpage www.ipaottawa.com/join and submit an application today.

2023 Spring Newsletter

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