Learn the issues related to different communities, see reality through the eyes of another culture, or be made aware of certain issues thanks to the testimonies of people who have experienced them. This is what awaits these future police officers on their journey which will take them from Mashteuiatsh to Montreal, via Quebec.
A unique initiative in Quebec carried out for the first time five years ago, this educational adventure was inspired in particular by a meeting between students of the Police Techniques program and the head of the Police Department of the city of Montreal, Fady Dagher.
“At the time, he had discussed with the students his Immersion project that he was doing with his police officers, and where they were unarmed, in civilian clothes, and went to families to see how things were happening in terms of cultural diversity.”
—  Chantale Tremblay, police techniques teacher
“That’s where students came to us to ask if something of the same kind would be feasible,” she adds.
The first stage of the stay will take place at Aventure Plume blanche. This will then be an opportunity to become familiar with indigenous culture, unknown to many graduates. Night in a traditional tent, teaching of customs, and learning about the history of indigenous communities are on the menu.
“It helps a lot in understanding, in the reactions of our young people to see this aspect,” specifies Chantale Tremblay.
The second stop will be at the addiction treatment center Le Rucher de Québec, where students will discuss their detoxification with residents. A passage which does not fail to touch the apprentice police officers, each time, while the paths differ in many ways.
“What do we advise future police officers in such cases? How can they intervene in order to be helpful, to be people who can offer support?,” says Ms. Tremblay as to how to approach these meetings for the program.
The Inter-Action Project will conclude with a rally in the different neighborhoods of Montreal. Students will have to manage without their phone, on foot or by public transport. Their visit to the metropolis will also allow them to visit the Sikh temple, as well as the SPVM operational center.
An expected experience
Students are involved from start to finish in this non-imposed trip. In addition to counting on a helping hand from the Thierry LeRoux Foundation, the young people have been collecting for months the funds that will allow them to take the start on April 8.
For them, it will be an important moment which will celebrate the end of three years of relentless study. Even if certain elements make them feel slightly unsure, all of the students are excited to begin this stay.
“Being “pitch†in Montreal, without a phone, without anything, being a generation that uses them a lot, it’s still a little stressful. For some who don’t come from the Montreal region, the metro, the trains, these are not things they know,” shares a student. We’ve been together for three years, we’re going through difficulties with school, stress… It’s a nice way to end it as a gang and to have a great time.”
“I’m really looking forward to the rally. As much as it scares me, it intrigues me to confront this fear. We do this to destabilize ourselves a little,” says another student.
“For my part, coming from the Montreal area, it is Aventure Plume Blanche which will be a greater immersion for me. We won’t be in the city, we’ll be right in the woods, total immersion,” observes a third student.
For both students and faculty, this journey has become the source of numerous tools and an opening to the world.
“Even we, Chantale and I, have evolved in the way we think about each trip. Every year it’s always different, and each time we learn new things. For me, it’s my annual therapy,” shares teacher Rébéka Maltais.
“Some told us that they had often intervened with an indigenous clientele, for example, and that they did not understand the person’s reaction. Today, they understand it, and it will change their intervention,” Chantale Tremblay.
One thing is certain, this adventure will not only allow students to become better police officers, but also better humans.
