Two former St. Albert residents were among 96 people who received the Order of Merit of the Police Forces award on Feb 14. 2024 at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. The award honours officers and civilians of Canadian police forces for their leadership and services and recognizes their commitment.
Jason Popik and Christine Greeno lived in St. Albert for a long time and have dedicated over two decades to policing.
Jason Popik's father, St. Albert resident Walter Popik, expressed his pride in his son's award. Walter always wanted to be a police officer but did not meet the height requirements of an officer in his era; years later, his son inherited that dream and made it real.
"When he decided to go into the police services, I was pretty happy. He always said he wanted to be a lawyer when he was younger, but he changed his mind and went into policing, and I think he's pretty happy he's done that," Walter Popik said.
"He was nominated back in 2019. He received the distinction a couple of years ago, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the official ceremony didn't occur until this year."
Jason Popik was raised in St. Albert and is the middle child of five. Now, as the federal criminal operations officer superintendent for Nova Scotia, he was thrilled to have his father in the audience as he received the award.
"It humbled and honoured me at the same time," he said. "The RCMP gave me the opportunity of leadership. But the people I've worked with have bestowed the privilege of leadership on me."
From Edson's detachment to St. Albert and eventually to his current role, he said he felt safe throughout his journey. He did uniform and plainclothes investigations, then significant crime project care, including undercover operations and crisis negotiation.
Sharing insights into his extensive policing career spanning almost three decades, Jason Popik emphasized the importance of detailed planning and exceptional teamwork in mitigating risks on duty.
"It sounds risky, but the training and amount of resources — and when I say resources, I'm talking about the tools, the equipment, the planning, and the training that goes into our deployments — is substantial."
"Working in the field, we mitigate the risk. We have great backup policies and great oversight and governance in our programs."
Jason Popik says he has been very fortunate to become a police officer, and expressed gratitude for his opportunities working with the RCMP.
"The RCMP has allowed me to work domestically and internationally with municipal police forces, but all of that presented me with the opportunities to learn and gain experience.
"If you're going to be a police officer and you're going to have a long career, you want to be learning, constantly challenging, and moving forward constantly."
Greeno, the director general of RCP National Advisory Services, started her career working with Justice Canada. When an opportunity to work on-site at the RCMP in their support services came up, she took it, and now, 23 years later, she is sure she made the right choice.
"My career didn't take a conventional path," Greeno said.
"Working with the RCMP behind the scenes and supporting our front-line operations has allowed me to draw from many different professions that normally in the private sector would be specialized in."
Greeno says in addition to her background in law, she also specialized as a charter insurance professional, a project manager, and a certified Canadian risk manager. She highlights the value of non-traditional contributions to policing and encourages others to explore diverse opportunities within law enforcement.
"People think of the RCMP as a policing role, but we have so many jobs available in these specialized support functions," she said.
"Typically, this honour is bequeathed to police officers, so it's very unusual," she said.
This being her first nomination, Greeno said it came as a big surprise because she is a public servant and not a police officer. She says she is very honoured to have been recognized and received the award because she works with many amazing people, and being selected to be among everyone who received the award was a big moment.
"We got to tour Rideau Hall. It was a proud moment as a Canadian and as an Albertan," she said "I was proud to represent you. You can contribute valuable community contributions by being a public servant."
"Just because you're not wearing a gun and a badge doesn't mean that you can't contribute to the delivery of police services."
Greeno currently leads a unit that provides internal services delivery, operating under the Human Resource business line and provides strategic and legal risk management.
"I encourage anyone interested in this line of work to explore it and attend some of our recruitment sessions."
