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The holidays are often a joyous time but we know they can also be a difficult and lonely time for many individuals, couples and families. The Encompas Mental Health Wellness Program is here to provide support to sworn and civilian OPPA Members and their families over the holiday season.

Over this holiday season, be sure to practice self-care and take advantage of the resources available on the Encompas website, some of which include:

Encompas also offers a Members-Only portal that includes many more resources such as a 1-year subscription to Muse – a meditation app, a variety of different courses, blogs and more. OPPA Members – to sign up for Portal access, contact an Encompas Care Manager today at 1-866-794-9117.

Thank you from the OPP Association to our members who are working tirelessly around the province on the 2021 Festive R.I.D.E. program. Our police officers, volunteer Auxiliary members, OPP Communicators, community stakeholders, and the public are an integral part of keeping our roads safe. Together we can make a difference. 

On Friday December 17, 2021 OPP Association President Rob Stinson was honoured to join the Huronia West OPP Detachment on their 2021 Georgian Bay RIDE Initiative.

“I want to thank each and every officer involved in this initiative. They go above and beyond the call of duty. While most of us are enjoying our families and friends during the holiday season, our members are out there in all kind of weather keeping us safe. Remember, if you see an impaired driver, please call 911. Driving high or drunk is impaired. Please, everyone do your part to ensure our roads are safe.” said Stinson. 

Click on MADD.ca for information on the MADD Canada Red Ribbon Campaign. 

Click on player below to listen or on the image above or this link to listen on Google, Apple, Spotify and more

OPP Association President Rob Stinson and OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique join the 10-5 Podcast to highlight some of the significant items from 2021. This includes staffing, fleet vehicles, mental health, police memorials, the COVID-19 pandemic and ball caps.

The Encompas Mental Health Wellness Program is available to eligible active and retired OPPA Members:
Telephone – 1-866-794-9117 (Available 24/7)
Email – info@encompascare.ca
Website – EncompasCare.ca

The OPP’s Healthy Workplace Team (HWT) can be reached at 1-844-677-9409. This number is answered 24/7 by a care navigator or mental health clinician. Callers can request information, connection to a peer supporter, or support. Please note that this is not a crisis line. The HWT can also be reached by email at OPPHealth@opp.ca (not monitored 24/7).

For more information on the Canadian Police and Peace Officers’ Memorial, please visit CPPOM.ca

For more information on the Ontario Police Memorial, please visit OPMF.ca

If you have any questions about this episode of the 10-5 Podcast, please email us at communications@oppa.ca

OPP Association President Rob Stinson with OPP Communicator Lee Matthieu and members of the Simcoe County Suicide Awareness Council in Alliston, Ontario on recording day for the 11 Second Challenge.

OPP Communicator Lee Matthieu has written a song called “11 Seconds” for the Simcoe County Suicide Awareness Council’s 11 Second Challenge sucide awareness campaign that runs from December 10, 2021 for eight weeks. Members of the public are encouraged to post a short video of themselves celebrating kindness, hope, inspiration and mindfulness to their own social media on a public setting and tag the Simcoe County Suicide Awareness Council on their social media (HopeEqualsLife on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Youtube). The Council will share the videos on their social media in hopes to create awareness and prevention of suicide. 

Lee has now 31 years experience with the OPP, starting in Mount Forest in November, 1990. For twelve years she was a dispatcher and call taker in Mount Forest, until transferring to the Orillia Provincial Communicaitons Centre, when she has spent the balance of her career. In November, 2020 Lee retired, but returned part time to help out with staffing shortages in June, 2021, and is working as a valued OPP Communicator to this day. 

Over the years Lee has had to deal with a number of personal and professional experiences surrounding suicides. This led her to write some songs in hopes she can inspire people with hope and save lives.

I got involved with the Simcoe County Suicide Awareness council approximately 10 years ago. 

It was after I lost my cousin 2 weeks before Christmas and my best friend lost her daughter 1 week after New Years that I knew I wanted to try to help, make a difference. It started with me writing a song for my friend, “Hands of Time”, when I submitted it to our Chairperson Bernadette Copeland, hoping she would want to use it somehow with her Council to hopefully help anyone that was struggling with the loss of a loved one from suicide. Since joining the council, I’ve lost 2 other family members to suicide. My entire career as an OPP Communication Operator, I’ve experienced firsthand calls for suicide. Taking calls from people finding their loved ones, or taking calls from others that are struggling with mental health and wanting to take their life. It always made me just wish I could do more to help. This is my way of trying to make a difference.

The Simcoe County Suicide Awareness Council regularly does bench dedications to increase awareness. The OPP Association and the OPP have been invovled regularly in supporting these initiatives. In 2021 OPP Association President Rob Stinson attended a bench dedication in Gravenhurst, Ontario. He ended up knowing two families who were present at the event from dealing with suicides in his role as an OPP Sergeant over the years in the Wasaga Beach area. President Stinson engaged a partnership with the OPP Association Communications Team, which resulted in social media being set up for the Council and a number of Council members filming videos to help with the campaign. 

OPP Association President Rob Stinson stated, “The members of the Simcoe County Suicide Awareness Council are doing very important grass roots work in our community to save lives. The OPP Association supports this work and we are honoured to collaborate on the 11 Second Challenge. We encourage our members and the public to post a video of kindness, caring, hope and inspiration and tag the “Hope Equals Life” social media accounts. Together we can save lives. Thank you to all involved in this campaign and for all being done to help families who have experienced suicide.”

Media and the public can reach out for more information on this project by sending an email to communications@oppa.ca

Provincial Constable Eva Ratnakumar from Highway Safety Division, Mississauga discusses life a rookie officer in the Ontario Provincial Police, including what went into the decision to join the OPP, work-life balance, tips for shiftwork with a family, a typical shift for a Highway Safety Division (HSD) officer, opportunities for advancement and the recent “First Responders Hot Sauce Challenge.”

Click on player above to listen here on the OPPA blog or on the image above for links to listen on Google, Apple, Spotify and more platforms. 

If you have any questions about this episode of the 10-5 Podcast, please email us at communications@oppa.ca

OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique and OPP Association President Rob Stinson were joined by OPP Recruits at Ontario Police College graduation on December 9, 2021 to formally add the name of OPP Provincial Constable Marc Hovingh to the Honour Roll in the front lobby at the Police College in Aylmer, Ontario. 

Provincial Constable Marc Hovingh was shot and killed in the line of duty November 19, 2020 in Gore Bay on Manitoulin Island. Read OPP Association Honour Roll. 

OPP Association President Rob Stinson was joined by OPP Recruits at Ontario Police College graduation on December 9, 2021 to formally add the name of Provincial Constable Marc Hovingh to the Honour Roll in the front lobby at the Police College in Aylmer, Ontario. #HeroesInLife pic.twitter.com/JfUfpyH6cc

— Ontario Provincial Police Association (OPPA) (@OPPAssociation) December 9, 2021

Thursday December 9, 2021 was graduation day at he Ontario Police College.

Ontario Provincial Police Association President Rob Stinson was honoured to address the 419 police graduates from police services across Ontario, and present recruit awards. 

Congratulations to the our OPP graduates and welcome to the OPP and the OPP Association. 

Read official news release from Ontario Governement on today’s graduation below.

NEWS RELEASE

419 Police Recruits Complete Basic Constable Training

AYLMER — The Ontario government is honoured to recognize the most recent 2021 graduating class from the Ontario Police College (OPC).

December 09, 2021

Solicitor General

To learn more about a career in the OPP please visit OPP.ca/Careers. 

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(L to R) OPP Association President Rob Stinson, Marcie Hawranik, Anisah Phillips and Gwen Carr

he OPP Association hosted Unconscious Bias training in person and online led by Anisha Phillips and Marcie Hawranik of Canadian Equality Consulting on Wednesday December 8, 2021. The training was coordinated by our OPP Association Training Coordinator Gwen Carr, and was well received by participants.

There are a number of resources for reference on the Canadian Equality Consulting social media ~ Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. 

Thank you to all the trainers, organizers and participants. 

Commissioner Thomas Carrique and Commissioners Command Team and OPP Association Rob Stinson and Board of Directors of the OPP Association December 8, 2021 at OPP GHQ (photo by Jayne Van der Veen)

The name of OPP Manitoulin Detachment Provincial Constable Marc Hovingh has been added to the OPP Association’s Honour Roll located in the lobby of OPP General Headquarters in Orillia, Ontario. OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique and the Commissioner’s Command Team joined OPP Association President Rob Stinson, and the OPPA Board of Directors to mark the installation of the name plate on Wednesday December 8, 2021.

OPP Provincial Constable Hovingh was shot and killed in the line of duty November 19, 2020 in Gore Bay on Manitoulin Island. Read the Honour Roll for PC Hovingh. PC Hovingh is the 110th name of OPP officers who have died in the line of duty to be added to the Honour Roll.

Marc Hovingh name on the memorial plaque
Name of OPP Provincial Constable M.A. Hovingh on the OPP Association Honour Roll at OPP GHQ lobby
(photo by Jayne Van der Veen)

Over three decades ago, a gunman entered École Polytechnique de Montreal, killing 14 promising engineering students – because they were women. Today we remember these women and raise awareness as the issue of violence against women and girls still remains in our society.

December 6th is The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Please consider taking the White Ribbon pledge to end all forms of gender based violence, promote gender equity, and healthy relationships.