The UCCM Anishnaabe Police Service is excited and proud to welcome the first ever full-time Canine Unit on Manitoulin Island.
UCCM would like to send out a Chi Miigwetch to Sault Ste Marie PS and in particular Chief Hugh Stevenson and Deputy Chief Brent Duguay for making this transition seamless. It was truly appreciated. UCCM would also like to thank the OPP for their continued support in making this Canine Unit a success through continued ongoing training within their Canine program. UCCM would not have been able to establish our Canine Unit without the support from both SSMPS and OPP in making this a reality.
UCCM are grateful to be able to continue to establish specialized units that will benefit the safety of not just our Mnidoo Mnising communities, but all of Manitoulin Island. Specialized Units were previously not permitted for Indigenous Police Services under tri-partite agreements with the Federal and Provincial governments. However, UCCM Police is part of an ongoing Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) complaint that was filed by the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario (IPCO) against the Federal government. A Federal court ruling by Judge Gascon in June 2023 allowed for these specialized units to be established as 2
it was ruled there are discriminatory clauses in section 6 of the Terms and Conditions of the FNIPP. The eventual goal of the CHRT complaint is to change the First Nation Inuit Policing Policy (FNIPP) that governs Indigenous Police Services, so we can run our organizations to meet the needs and demands of our communities and offer equitable services that align with mainstream policing.
Cst. Nick Beaudry comes to UCCM with a wealth of past and current experience that includes the military reserves, summer student with the OPP Marine Unit, Wikwemikong Tribal PS as an Auxiliary Constable, as well as close to 10 years of experience as a Constable with both the Greater Sudbury PS and Sault Ste Marie PS where he was currently working as a full time Canine Officer. Nick was born and raised on Manitoulin Island and is excited to be back home with family, friends and familiar faces.
The Police Service Dog (PSD) is a Belgian Malinois named ‘Ben’. Handler, Constable Nick Beaudry and PSD Ben, previously graduated from the Ontario Provincial Police Academy Canine Training Centre in Orillia, Ontario after a grueling 18-week training course that included suspect apprehension and searching for evidence. Nick and Ben also took a five-week training course in drug detection.
Canine Units are an immense asset to law enforcement. Police Service Dogs, such as Ben, have a keen sense of smell which can assist in quickly detecting suspects or evidence that a regular officer could miss.
Manitoulin Island will see Nick and his PSD Ben out and about working and training in our communities and attending schools and community events to offer educational presentations on what the UCCM Canine Unit has to offer.
