Nishnawbe Aski Police Services loses their police chief to cancer
Aboriginal police chief Trivett dies
By: John Slykhuis, Staff Writer - August 29, 2008
A funeral service will be held Saturday on Georgina Island for Paul Russell Trivett, the chief of police of the largest aboriginal police service in Canada and second largest in North America.
Mr. Trivett, 52, died Tuesday at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket after battling cancer.
Visitation will be held tonight at the Forrest and Taylor Funeral Home in Sutton, then in the Georgina Island Native United Church Nam’ewigamig tomorrow from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
The funeral service will be held at the Georgina Island Community Centre beginning at 11 a.m. with cremation to follow.
Mr. Trivett is survived by his wife Mavis (Charles), children Alicia, Brent and Kelsey, grandson Noah and father Don Trivett of Sutton.
He is predeceased by his mother Pauline.
Mr. Trivett headed the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service (NAPS) in Thunder Bay.
He had 134 sworn officers under his command in addition to 30 civilian employees at 35 detachments across a huge area of Northern Ontario.
Mr. Trivett began his employment with the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service as chief of police in 2005 after 24 years of community-based policing primarily in the service of Aboriginal communities, including his home of Georgina Island.
He received national recognition for his commitment to teach others about First Nations issues and cultures and was the recipient of the Ontario Bicentennial Medal for Outstanding Volunteer Service to the Community and the Ontario Amethyst Award for Excellence in Public Service.
He received two OPP Commissioner’s Citations for Lifesaving and an Award of Excellence from the Canadian Professional Police Association for ice and water rescue.
His passion for the development of strategies for youth empowerment and healthy lifestyles made him a dynamic role model for Native youth.
He worked tirelessly to try to improve NAPS in the face of enormous challenges, stating recently,
“No other police service in Ontario has the same infrastructure challenges as experienced by NAPS, adding the police service has been in negotiations to address these challenges with provincial and federal representatives since its inception in 1994," he said recently.
“Even in isolated communities, municipal police services, the OPP and RCMP are provided with safe, quality facilities for their officers to work out of, while very few of the 35 NAPS detachments meet minimal national building code standards.”
Memorial donations in Mr. Trivett’s memory can be made to the Canadian Cancer Society.