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
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Wildfire near Fort McMurray more than triples overnight, several evacuation alerts remain in place
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Putin replaces Russian defence minister in rare cabinet shakeup
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Edibles, armchairs and adapters: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.