For societies to thrive, citizens need to have safe and secure environments to send their children to school, to walk to a market, and to thrive economically. They need to have confidence in the institutions mandated to ensure their safety and security. Policing is a partnership with the citizenry. This is the basis of community policing.
Canada, like many countries in the world, has adopted the community policing style for decades. It is part of our brand. We also recognize that while we “police locally” we need to “think globally”. Canada has been deploying serving law enforcement officers to United Nations Peacekeeping Missions for over 25 years now. Our first mission was to Namibia in 1989. Today, more than ever, there is an increasing recognition of the role policing plays in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and as a path to building capacity for long-term peace.
Chief Superintendent Fleury will speak to the role of Canada’s contribution to International Policing efforts.
Chief Superintendent Fleury was born and raised in Québec City, Québec, Canada. After completing a college degree in social sciences, she attended Simon Fraser University where she graduated with a Bachelors degree in criminology.
She joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 1981. After completing her training in Regina, Saskatchewan, she was posted to Surrey, British Columbia, where she performed general policing duties and completed a Master’s degree in criminology.
She spent a number of years working in British Columbia and at the RCMP Headquarters in Ottawa where she performed a variety of policing roles in operational, operational support and administration. This included working in the Marine Drug Interdiction Unit in Vancouver, work as an undercover operator, as well as other assignments in the field of human resources in Ottawa. She was promoted to the rank of Corporal in 1992 and to Sergeant in 1997. After studying Spanish for four years, she was assigned a liaison position at the Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles from 1995 to 1999. Following this international assignment, she returned to Vancouver to work in the Internal Investigations Unit and promoted to the rank of Inspector in 2002.
In 2004, she transferred to Montreal to work as an assistant to the Criminal Operations Officer. Her duties included oversight of the undercover program, the source witness protection program as well as the Aboriginal liaison program.
In 2005, she was promoted to Superintendent and became the Officer in Charge of Protective Services Branch in Montreal, which oversees the protection of all diplomatic missions in the Province of Quebec as well as visiting dignitaries. This position also served as the program manager for the Canadian Air Carrier Program resources assigned to the province of Québec.
In 2007, she was transferred to Québec City and assumed the role of Eastern District Officer. Her role included oversight of seven detachments as well as a number of federal program resources. In June 2007, she completed the Executive Development in Policing Program offered at the Canadian Police College.
In 2009, she was promoted to Chief Superintendent as Director General of the RCMP’s International Policing program, at the RCMP Headquarters in Ottawa. She oversaw the International Peace Operations Branch, the International Operations Branch, the Interpol National Central Bureau, the International Travel and Visits Branch, as well as the International Affairs and Policy Development Branch. In 2010, she was assigned the role of Silver Commander at Whistler, British Columbia during the Winter Olympic Games.
In 2012, she completed the United Nations Senior Mission Leaders Course. She was transferred to New York in 2013 and is currently the senior police adviser at Canada’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations as well as the International Vice-President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. She is a recipient of the RCMP Long Service Medal, and both the Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals.