North Bay police officer recognized for helping city's homeless
A North Bay police officer is being recognized by the Police Association of Ontario (PAO) for his charitable work helping the city's most vulnerable people.
Const. Matt Parker was nominated and was named a finalist for the PAO's Hero of The Year On-Duty Difference Maker award.
Parker believes policing is not just about catching criminals, but also about helping others.
"I joined the police so I could help people and make people's lives better," he said.
Parker has been instrumental in supporting the less fortunate in the city through his work of getting food to the homeless along with partners at Rebuilt Resources.
"I knew our police officers were giving out packed lunches and buying food for homeless people," Parker said. "I asked Maureen at Rebuilt Resources if there's anything that we can do and she came up with a whole bunch of Tim Horton's gift certificates for front-line officers to hand out."
Rebuilt Resources CEO Maureen Brazeau says Parker's caring nature is making a difference in the lives of the city's vulnerable.
"He is a hero in my eyes. When he approached us on some of the things that he was seeing on the streets, we knew we could work with him," she said.
The North Bay Police Association nominated Parker for the provincial award. He was recognized as one of the finalists.
"Matt's community work in what he does with his outreach program and how he assists members of the community clearly made a mark on this committee," said Police Association of Ontario Outgoing President Bruce Chapman.
Parker has been with the North Bay Police Service for 16 years. Throughout his years on the force, he has dedicated a lot of his off-duty and on-duty time to a program called the 'Community Closet'.
"Officers within the police service and the public were donating clothing items to people who we became aware of who were requiring clothing," explained North Bay Police Chief Scott Tod.
"As a chief, I was quite honoured one of our members would be nominated for that award."
Parker is encouraging other police officers and members of the public alike, to continue to support the city's vulnerable population.
"What I get is enjoyment and satisfaction from being able to help people that need it," concluded Parker.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
BREAKING Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.