Operation Lifesaver Canada (OL Canada) on Nov. 27 presented its annual Roger Cyr Awards recognizing one individual and one community for “exemplary and extraordinary contributions to enhancing rail safety in Canada.”
Constable Trevor Smith of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Police Service and the municipality of Ste-Hélène-de-Bagot in southwestern Québec received the awards for 2023, according to the education organization, which is dedicated to preventing collisions at railway crossings and railway trespassing incidents in Canada and funded by the Railway Association of Canada (RAC) and Transport Canada. The presentation took place during during RAC’s annual Holiday Reception and Safety Awards in Ottawa.
Named after the founder of OL Canada and first presented in 1981, the Roger Cyr Awards for Public Rail Safety recognize “individuals and communities that are doing extraordinary work to prevent deaths and injuries at rail crossings and as a result of trespassing on railway property.” They are a joint initiative of OL Canada, RAC and Transport Canada. The individual award is open to all active OL Canada partners and volunteers “who are making efforts to promote rail safety and encouraging others to follow suit”; the community award is open to Canadian municipalities and communities that have “made an outstanding contribution to rail safety through education, training, or community-based programs aimed at reducing rail crossing and trespassing incidents.”
Constable Smith joined CPKC in January 2021 and has been working to keep Canadians safe for years as a railway police officer in Whistler B.C., Toronto and Montreal. “He’s known for his innovative and inclusive approach to community service and safety, and for his passion for helping educate Canadians about rail safety,” OL Canada said. “Constable Smith has had a hand in many key initiatives over the past several years, including launching and sustaining ‘Community Coffee with a Cop’; participating in the Beyond the Badge mentorship program for youth; leading and supporting suicide prevention efforts at eight high-risk trespass; and coordinating emergency preparedness, response, and mitigation by acting as the point of contact between local fire departments and CPKC’s hazmat team.”
Community award honoree Ste-Hélène-de-Bagot was described by nominator André Lebreux, a constable with the CN Police Service, as having “continuous and ongoing efforts to increase citizen awareness.” He said the “municipality’s day camp invites us annually to make presentations to the young people who attend the camp”; “an aluminum sign with OL’s rail safety tips is permanently displayed at City Hall, reminding citizens and students of the behaviors to adopt with railways”; the municipality “shares timely rail safety tips on their Facebook page” and “supported the resolution to express their support for Rail Safety Week over the past few years”; and “this year, we were invited to participate in the 2nd edition of ‘Plaisir hivernal’ and to set up a booth to raise public awareness.”
“At OL Canada, we are working to get to zero: zero rail-related incidents, zero deaths and injuries, zero grade crossing collisions and zero trespassings,” said Chris Day, Interim National Director of OL Canada. “We can only ‘get to zero’ with strong partners as rail safety is a shared responsibility, and everyone has a role to play. Our Roger Cyr Award winners represent the best of the best in terms of bringing people together constructively to drive results and save lives.”
“Congratulations to CPKC Constable Trevor Smith, recipient of the … Roger Cyr Award from Operation Lifesaver Canada!,” CPKC reported via social media. “This award highlights Cst. Smith’s dedication to rail safety, his collaboration with law enforcement partners to amplify critical rail safety messaging and his commitment to preventing railways tragedies. Thank you, Cst. Smith, for your tireless efforts to #STOPTrackTragedies and save lives.”
The Roger Cyr Awards for 2022 went to OL Canada’s Columbia Committee Chair, Phil Breden and the city of Wemotaci in Quebec. For a list of prior recipients, click here.
