Slain OPP Const. Greg Pierzchala remembered at funeral
Connect with us

News

Slain OPP Const. Greg Pierzchala remembered at funeral

Published

 on

Const. Greg Pierzchala

Const. Greg Pierzchala enjoyed nature, was a fan of art, excelled at his job as a new police officer and above all, loved protecting his family and the communities he served.

Loved ones, friends and fellow officers gathered Wednesday at a funeral for the Ontario Provincial Police constable who was killed in a shooting ambush last week, remembering the 28-year-old as “humble, generous, funny and competent.”

Justyna Pierzchala said her older brother took his job of watching over her very seriously.

“He was always making sure that I was in a good place, both mentally and physically, and was always checking to make sure that I was headed in the right direction … Greg was so much more than just a police officer,” she said.

“Greg died a hero and he lived as an inspiration.”

Greg Pierzchala was attacked as he responded to a call for a vehicle in a ditch west of Hagersville, Ont., police have said. Two people have been charged with first-degree murder.

Police have said Pierzchala had been a provincial officer for just over a year and had been notified hours before his death that he had passed his 10-month probation period. He was also previously a member of the Canadian Armed Forces and a constable at the provincial legislature.

Pierzchala dreamt of joining the police ranks as a boy and his colleagues have remembered him as a wonderful officer with a big heart made of gold.

His brother Michal Pierzchala remembered the officer as someone with exacting standards who also acknowledged when a person had done something right.

“I think what really separated him from others were his high standards for everything in his life,” he said.

“He made you want to be a better person. He made you want to make your own life better and I can’t think of a better influence someone can have than that.”

The officer’s family said Greg Pierzchala enjoyed martial arts, loved nature, was an avid reader and could stare at paintings in a museum for hours. His colleagues said the young man loved serving his community.

A procession that was held before Pierzchala’s private funeral in Barrie, Ont., saw a police motorcade make its way through city streets as several members of the public watched.

Inside the Sadlon Arena, officers were asked to remove their peaked caps as Pierzchala’s casket was carried to the front of the venue.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who joined the hundreds of officers in attendance at the arena in the officer’s hometown, said the constable’s death had highlighted the difficulties of the job.

“This brave young man died just two days after Christmas,” Ford said at the beginning of the ceremony. “It’s yet another difficult reminder that the job of a police officer is one of total commitment.”

Ford told the service that Pierzchala’s death was a “painful reminder that policing is a family calling.”

“The people he really served will never forget your sacrifice,” Ford said to the officer’s family. “I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your son and brother with us.”

The commissioner of the provincial police force became emotional during Wednesday’s funeral as he remembered how often he heard inspiring stories about Pierzchala.

Thomas Carrique said Pierzchala was “extraordinary” and a “total package.”

“I am truly humbled to have shared the same uniform as Greg,” he said.

Court documents show 25-year-old Randall McKenzie – one of two people accused in the attack on Pierzchala – had been denied bail in an unrelated case involving a number of assault and weapons charges months before the shooting, but was released after a review. A warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to show up for a court date in August, the documents show.

Pierzchala’s brother said his sibling was aware of the risks of the job but chose to serve nonetheless. He also said his brother, who visited the family home every week, would always make it a point of saying a proper goodbye to his loved ones when he left.

Michal Pierzchala said the words of one of his brother’s favourite authors, Charles Dickens, was fitting for the funeral.

“I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss,” he read. “I see the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy … It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 4, 2023.

News

Canada’s Denis Shapovalov wins Belgrade Open for his second ATP Tour title

Published

 on

BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.

The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.

It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.

His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.

Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.

He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.

Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.

The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



Source link

Continue Reading

News

Talks to resume in B.C. port dispute in bid to end multi-day lockout

Published

 on

VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.

The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.

The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.

The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.

The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.

MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.

In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.

“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.

“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”

In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.

“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.

The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.

“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”

The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.

The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.

A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



Source link

Continue Reading

News

The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost

Published

 on

The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.

Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.

Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.

Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.

“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.

“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”

Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.

“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.

Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.

“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”

But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.

Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.

“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.

Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.

The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Exit mobile version