Not long ago, you would have been more likely to meet Mathieu Belliveau 10,000 metres above the Earth than patrolling the streets of Jasper in an RCMP cruiser.
The newest member of the Jasper RCMP detachment once flew planes for Air Canada, but traded in his wings for a gun and badge, arriving in Jasper in early February fresh out of Depot training.
In an interview, Feb. 27, he explained that while aspects of being a pilot were glamorous and exciting, his memories of the job are mostly of being exhausted.
鈥淢y last career kept me away from society quite a bit,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚t kept me from being involved in society鈥攊t was a lot more just about myself. So this career here, knowing what it is, I was able to get more involved in society.
鈥淣ow I can play sports, and probably coach sports; I have time and part of the time is helping society out. It鈥檚 nice to be able to give back.鈥�
Part of his decision to change careers stemmed from the fact that he comes from a family of RCMP officers.
While thinking about that fact, he mused that he wasn鈥檛 the first of his family to join the force, and 鈥減robably won鈥檛 be the last.鈥�
The Moncton native said he was excited to learn he would be starting his career as an officer in Jasper, which is a great place to fulfill his full potential as a police officer.
鈥淚 see myself as there to work with society and help out in any way I can. Be it enforcing laws or just helping out in any other situation. Especially in small towns like this, we are a big resource.鈥�
Trevor Nichols
[email protected]
