Gwen Boniface
Gwen Boniface | |
---|---|
Senator from Ontario | |
Assumed office 10 November 2016 | |
Nominated by | Justin Trudeau |
Appointed by | David Johnston |
Personal details | |
Born | 5 August 1955 |
Political party | Independent Senators Group |
Profession | Police officer and lawyer |
Gwenneth (Gwen) M. Boniface, COM, OOnt (born 5 August 1955) is a Canadian police officer, lawyer, and the former Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police (O.P.P.) ending in 2006 after the Caledonia, Ontario occupation, she over saw. She is the first woman to hold this position. She is also the first female President of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, and the first Canadian to hold the Vice Chair of the Division of State and Provincial Police of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
Boniface stepped down as Commissioner to accept an advisory position with Ireland's Garda Síochána Inspectorate (National Police Force).
On 31 October 2016, her appointment to the Senate of Canada was announced, where she sits as an independent.[1]
Education[]
Boniface earned a Certificate in Law and Security Administration from Humber College in 1977. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from York University in 1982 and a Bachelor of Laws degree at Osgoode Hall Law School in 1988.
Professional career[]
She joined the Ontario Provincial Police (O.P.P.) in 1977 as a Provincial Constable before being called to the bar in 1990. She was Superintendent-Director of the O.P.P. in the First Nations and Contract Policing Branch from 1993 to 1995.
She served in the Law Commission of Canada from 1997 to 2002. She was the Chief Superintendent Regional Commander for the O.P.P. in Western Ontario from 1996 to 1998. In 1998, she was named Commissioner of the O.P.P.
She announced her retirement as Commissioner of the O.P.P. in September 2006 to join Ireland's Garda Síochána Inspectorate (National Police Force).[2]
Awards[]
Commissioner Boniface was invested into the Order of Ontario in 2001 for her work with the First Nations communities. She is a Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, the Order of St. John,[3] and has the Humber College Alumnus of Distinction Award.
References[]
- ^ "Trudeau taps former banker, cop and judge for Senate". Toronto Star, 30 October 2016.
- ^ "Controversial OPP commissioner stepping down". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 28 July 2006. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ Canada Gazette Part I, Vol. 141, No. 17 Archived 22 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- Commissioners of the Ontario Provincial Police
- Living people
- Members of the Order of Ontario
- York University alumni
- Canadian senators from Ontario
- Independent Canadian senators
- Women members of the Senate of Canada
- Osgoode Hall Law School alumni
- Canadian women police officers
- Humber College alumni
- Lawyers in Ontario
- Canadian women lawyers
- 21st-century Canadian politicians
- 1955 births
- 21st-century Canadian women politicians
- Independent Senators Group