A retired Cornwall Community Police Service (CCPS) veteran has traded his badge and service revolver for a robe and gavel.
Brian Snyder, a Cornwall native who spent 39 years as a city police officer before retiring in January as staff sergeant in charge of the east end station, is one of 17 freshly-minted Ontario justices of the peace sworn in this week by the provincial attorney general’s office. He will be working in SD&G.
He is the just the second former city police officer to become a justice of the peace. In 1976 retired deputy chief Hormidas Poirier was named justice of the peace. Only a handful of former police officers in the province have been appointed JPs.
While about 50% of justices of peace have legal backgrounds, others come from a wide range of occupations, some not even remotely connected to the justice system. Few years back a photographer for the Kingston Whig-Standard turned in his camera for a JP appointment.
Justices of the peace are to the justice system what nurse practitioners are to the health-care system.
JPs, among other things, preside over bail hearings, remands, search warrant applications, traffic offences, municipal bylaw infractions, liquor licensing and Mental Health Act cases.
So. How does one become a justice of the peace. In Ontario, it starts with the attorney general’s office compiling a list of top applicants. The list is passed to the Justice of the Peace Appointments Advisory Committee which reviews the names before they are sent back to the attorney general for final decision.
During his career, one of the longest tenures in the current sworn officer division, Snyder worked in just about every field of the service, starting out as a probationary constable and working his way up to acting inspector. Along the way he served as the officer in charge of professional standards.
The new justice of the peace has been involved in dozens of charitable causes in the community. They include the Children’s Treatment Centre, Agape Centre, Special Olympics (he was chair of the 1996 Special Olympics Spring Games in Cornwall), SDG Situation Table Advisory Committee, Triple P (Positive Parenting Program), bike-a-thons and golf tournaments. For years he headed up the Chad Kilger Golf Tournament which raised $40,000 a year for charity. He even spearheaded the planting of a towering Christmas tree in front of the Pitt Street station.
He is a Police Exemplary Award recipient. In 2013 the governor general presented him with the Order of Merit for police. He is a Queen Jubilee Medal recipient. In 2015 he was named the chamber of commerce’s Citizen of the Year. Prior to that he received the chamber’s Breakthrough Award.
Pretty good leap a guy who started out driving a Cornwall Transit bus.
HERE AND THERE For some reason over the past two weeks one of Pierre Trudeau great lines keeps coming to mind. It’s the one when a member of the Opposition, in the House, called the Prime Minister a liar. Trudeau responded, “I’ve been called worse … by better people.” Amen. … Even a “light” prison sentence for convicted molester Bill Cosby could be a death sentence for the 80-year-old disgraced comic who is in poor health, something the judge might consider when passing sentence.
THIS AND THAT One of the key players in the Cornwall Royals 1980 Memorial Cup championship run was forward Mike Corrigan. In life-after-hockey, the Sudbury native became one of the great ex-Royal success stories. Until last March, the 56-year-old Corrigan was president and chief executive officer of B. C. Ferries, a job that came with a seven-figure salary (about $1.8 million). A few days after retiring from B. C. Ferries he took over the helm of global shipping association Interferry which represents 200 ferry companies around the world. Another ex-Royal who made it big in the business world is Richard Stromback (1988-89) who has made billions in the technology and venture capital world. Meanwhile, for the rest of us it’s lottery tickets and dial-a-prayer.
THIS WEEK 1975 – A 100-room hotel and business complex at Second Street and Boundary Road was put on hold. Mayor Gerald Parisien cast the tie-breaking vote to delay a zoning change needed to clear the way for the project. … Cornwall Transit Manager Gordon Robertson said the service was on the upswing after taking over the system from a private company. Ridership was up 10,000 a month since the takeover. … Rev. George Clifford, pastor of St. Paul’s United Church, with a congregation of 650 families, was moving to Brockville. … Hotel Cecile in Riviere Beaudette was destroyed by fire. … John Entwistle Construction was given the contract to construct a swimming pool at Mattice Park. Cost was $134,000. … The city announced that negotiations to purchase land at Ninth and Sydney streets from CNR for a new transit buildings were off the table. Instead, the new transit hub would be built near the filtration plant. Mayor Gerald Parisien said the city was not willing to pay the asking price for the Ninth and Sydney property. … City council passed a $11,009,937 budget that would add $14 to the average tax property tax bill. The education portion would add another $25 to the bill. The average yearly property tax bill was still below the Ontario average. Council pointed out the nine per cent levy increase was less than the 12% rate of inflation. … Responding to an Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) survey, five members of council – Angelo Lebano, Gerald Samson Sr., Matt Holden, Aime Leblanc, Francis Guindon and Dick Aubry favoured four-year terms for council. Mayor Gerald Parisien, Jack Pescod, Ken Bough, George Cameron and Larry Keen Sr. advocated for three-year terms, while Brian Lynch and Bob Pearson wanted to stick with two-year terms.
TRIVIA On Dec. 29, 1945 thousands of Cornwall and area residents waited at the CNR station on Ninth Street East for the arrival of a train from Halifax. What was the event?
TRIVIA ANSWER Kingston native Bob Murray was captain of the Cornwall Royals for three seasons, including his rookie season when the underdog Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champions upset the Peterborough Petes in the 1972 Memorial Cup championship game.
DIALING BACK When cars had a floor control for switching high beam lights on and off. … A choke control throttle. … Spinner knobs attached to steering wheels. … Vinyl seat covers made by Sovereign Seat Covers in Cornwall. . … Fender skirts and running boards. … Metal bumpers. … Wringer washers and ER visits from a kid who caught his or her arm in the wringers. … When penmanship was part of the elementary school curriculum and letters were hand-written with a fountain pen. … Writing a letter to a pen pal. … Glass lined thermos bottles that broke when dropped. … The sleeve at the back of a book borrowed from the library that contained a card stamped with the return date. … Bamboo fishing poles sold at the hardware store.
THOUGHT DU JOUR “Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by idiots who really mean it.” – Mark Twain
