I have been aware of the Canadian Peace Officers’ Memorial Association (CPOMA) for many years. It was established in 1994, and represents all Canadian Peace Officers across Canada at the Canadian Police & Peace Officers’ Memorial held in Ottawa each September. The Police are represented by their own organizations, now known as the Canadian Professional Police Association, and the Chiefs of Police Association.

The CPOMA represents Peace Officer groups like Corrections, both Provincial and Federal, Customs, Immigration, Natural Resources, Conservation, Game Wardens, and Fisheries and Oceans. Anyone who has the Peace Officer status in Canada except Police is included in the CPOMA.

The first President and a Founder of the organization was Vince Murray, retired from the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre. Vince has become the Past President of the group that is based in Ottawa. The second President for the past couple of years has been Dennis Brock from the Federal Department of Fisheries & Oceans. The head of the committee that selects names for the Memorial List has been Steve Tilley, for the past couple of years. He is also from Fisheries & Oceans. This committee headed by Steve Tilley is supposed to determine what names are added annually to the Memorial Honour Roll from names that are submitted. At times, as in this case, persons who died on duty from years ago, when the Memorial Honour Roll did not exist, have been by-passed. The Police are always searching their histories for such omissions.

There is a set of rules to determine who can be put on the Memorial Honour Roll. These criteria can be viewed on the CPOMA web site, at www.cpoma.com

Since 1999, I have been working at finding Ontario Correctional Officers who have given the ultimate sacrifice. So far, I have found Correctional Officer Robert Henry Canning from the Toronto ‘Don’ Jail, who was murdered on duty in 1944, and Assistant Superintendent Norman J. Agnew from the Ontario Reformatory, Guelph, who was killed on duty in the quarry at the Reformatory. Both of these people are now included on the National Honour Roll.

I have been working on getting another Peace Officer from the Ontario Reformatory included on the Honour Roll, John (Jack) Leybourne, a carpenter. The CPOMA has, so far, refused to include this nomination. This is where you as Officers can now do something, contact the CPOMA about their error, and tell the CPOMA to rightfully include this man on the National Honour Roll.

John Leybourne was 53 years old when he died at the Ontario Reformatory, Guelph on Wednesday 28 August 1912. He lived in Guelph with his wife and five kids at 24 Woolwich Street, at Quebec Street.

When he died, he had worked as a carpenter at the O.R. for two years building the facility, which started about 1910. The O.R. was decommissioned in 2002. Inmates, supervised by ‘Gang Bosses’, who were experts in the trades and construction, built the O.R. These men remained after the prison was built, and supervised the inmates working in the prison industrial trade shops. These ‘Gang Bosses’ had the same authority as Correctional Officers in large prison facilities, and still do.

Inmates built the O.R., the first inmates and Officers came from the Central Prison in Toronto, and they lived in farm houses on the property, that would become the largest prison in Ontario for many years. Additional staff was hired in the Guelph area, this included carpenters, who were in charge of inmates during the day when the prison was being built. These ‘Gang Bosses’ were Peace Officers.

On this fateful day in 1912, Leybourne and a co-worker John Foster were being lifted by a steam lift to the upper levels of the west dormitory at 8:45 in the morning. They were up about 40 feet when they gave the signal to the engineer to stop. As they were getting off, the lift jerked and Leybourne fell to the ground. Foster hung on receiving severe bruises and shock.

Conscious and lying on the ground Leybourne said that the engineer was not in any way to blame. Leybourne died 45 minutes after he fell.

Leybourne was buried at the Union Cemetery, now known as Woodlawn Cemetery, in Guelph.

I have newspaper articles about this death. Upon checking with the Ministry for any records, I found that personnel records are kept for 50 years and destroyed. The Coroner’s Report cannot be found. I have spoken with Leybourne's only remaining nephew, and other members of his family. They also would like to see John (Jack) Leybourne added to the National Honour Roll.

The CPOMA has already set president by previously including a carpenter, instructor, kitchen staff, and social worker from Correctional Services Canada, the Feds.

Maybe there needs to be more Corrections input in the CPOMA.

Correctional Officers, do your part, and voice your support to have this man added to the Canadian Police & Peace Officers’ Honour Roll. If you know any of the persons on the CPOMA BOARD of DIRECTORS, contact them too.

Contact:

Lynn Dolan, Secretary, CPOMA
Phone: 1-613-990-0191
Fax:  613-941-2718 or 613-228-9801
Mail:  P.O. Box 70021, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada - K2P  2M3

The CPOMA web site is: www.cpoma.com

CPOMA BOARD of DIRECTORS

Dennis Brock, President, CPOMA - Fisheries & Oceans Canada

Mansel Legacy, Vice-President, CPOMA - Canada Customs and Revenue Agency

Lynn Dolan, Secretary, CPOMA - Fisheries & Oceans Canada

Gaston Ethier, Treasurer, CPOMA - Customs Excise Union Douanes Accise

Stephen Tilley, Chair, Awards Committee, CPOMA - Fisheries & Oceans Canada
Fisheries & Oceans Enforcement, 200 Kent St., Ottawa, Ontario – K1A 0E6

Vince Murray, Past-President, CPOMA

Gary Martin, North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association

Marie Bean, National Union of Public & General Employees

Linda Davis, Union of Solicitor General Employees

Steve Aubry, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

Jeff Bendig, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

R. A. (Bud) Andress, Parks Canada - c/o St. Lawrence Islands National Park

Julie Keravel, Correctional Service of Canada

Mark Halley, Parks Canada

George Tardiff, National Capital Commission

L. Costanza, Quebec Corrections

Jim Lennon, Solicitor General – Canada