By Commodore (ret’d) Mark Watson
In last month’s excerpt we covered the 1925 foundation of the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires, for the purpose of providing meaningful employment for military and RCMP veterans.
In 1947, LCol Edmund Walter (a descendant of Sir Edward), then the Commandant of the British Corps, gave his permission for the Canadian Corps to adopt the Commissionaires’ Service Medal. With permission of Rideau Hall, which recognized the importance that medals have in military tradition, the Commissionaires Long Service Medal (CLSM) was approved by the Secretary of State in 1948, awarded to employees with 12 years of service with the Corps. It was formally made part of the National Honours System in 1998.
Military tradition remained important to Commissionaires. Corps contingents were invited to parade at the Canadian National Exhibition and at Remembrance Day ceremonies, a tradition that continues today. Commissionaires in Halifax were the first historic re-enactors as they wore Victorian uniforms and took on the responsibility of firing the noon gun at the Citadel. Senior military officers participated in course graduations and a march-past was created. To many veterans, the Corps was an indispensable part of their lives. It provided a social outlet and an alumni network for this band of brothers. Many were so honoured to be a Commissionaire that they requested to be buried in their Commissionaires uniform and even have their headstones engraved with the Commissionaires crest.
By 1950, the Corps had reached nearly 5,000 members, dwarfing its British cousins by nearly double the size. An Australian Corps of Commissionaires, founded in the 1930s with a similar aim, would eventually transition from focusing on employment of veterans to become an exclusively philanthropic organization to assist veteran causes.
The Corps has continued to evolve. One of the first major transformations began in 1952 when LCol Mary Dover was elected to the Board of Governors of the Southern Alberta Division. In doing so, she became the first woman to serve on a board in Canada. Dover served in the CWAC during the Second World War and was the daughter of Mr. A.E. Cross, one of the founding members of the Calgary Stampede, as well as being a granddaughter of Col. MacLeod, founder of Calgary and for whom the city Fort MacLeod is named. Yet it would be twenty years later, in 1972, when Mrs. Audrey Morton became the first female Commissionaire, acting as a security guard at the New Brunswick Museum in St John. She had previously spent 17 years in the militia and four years with the Women’s Canadian Army Corps during the Second World War in England and in Canada. She helped design the uniform. Boards have also included Second World War Corps Commander Guy Simonds, Naval Admirals Hennessy and Yanow, Army Commander Mike Jefferey, the first woman to command an RCN establishment Commander Isabelle MacNeil, and the first female general B-Gen Sheila Hellstrom, to name but a few.
Links to the Crown were also very important. Beginning with Ed Schreyer, Governors General were given special silver medals of long service to recognize their relationship with the Commissionaires. Many of the Queen’s representatives, at the national and provincial level, have inspected Commissionaires’ Guards of Honours over the years.
By 1982, the Corps workforce had grown to 10,000—all veterans—triple the size of the British Corps. Eighteen autonomous Divisions across Canada with a long history of providing security guards to federal institutions, began winning a wide variety of other contracts in the security field including non-core police services (sometimes referred to as Alternative Service Delivery) such as parking enforcement and overseeing detention centres for the RCMP. Commissionaires had evolved and become a very successful security provider. But the Corps’ greatest change was just around the corner.
The 9/11 attacks on the United States caused an immediate and exponential growth in the need for security in Canada, for both federal property and private security. To keep pace with the growing demand for work, Commissionaires began to hire non-military personnel into its ranks for the first time. In keeping with modern times, a new logo and a change in uniform was adopted. Commissionaires across the country moved away from the paramilitary uniform, and began wearing blue shirts and jackets, white shirts for supervisors.
At the same time, Commissionaires agreed to a formal Social Mandate that the Corps would “provide meaningful employment for veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP and all others who wish to contribute to the security and well-being of Canadians.” This mandate became the heart and foundation of everything that Commissionaires would do, and continues to do, and has allowed the Corps to reach out to other Canadians, often new Canadians, while simultaneously holding fast to the core of its mandate.
In 2014, a Treasury Board evaluation of the RFR resulted in the Goss-Gilroy Report which reinforced that the Corps represents good value for money for the federal government and Canada. The report also noted that the concept of the RFR is still a very relevant mechanism in supporting both direct employment and the non-financial needs of veterans, formalizing the value of the Corps. Around the same time, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The MOU states that CAF and Commissionaires will work in concert, where possible, at local and regional levels, to offer employment to anyone honourably released by CAF. Under the MOU, Commissionaires agreed employ selected injured/ill CAF members who are participating in the Return to Duty program, as well as members of the CAF who are transitioning to civilian life who wish assistance seeking employment opportunities.
Recognizing that the needs of veterans had changed, and that providing enhanced support for veterans means considering the veteran’s family, Commissionaires amended its Social Mandate in 2020 to include providing employment to military and veteran families. This means that veteran families are considered for preferential hiring into the Corps. Coincidentally, the RFR was extended for a three-year period that same year as the federal government realized that the benefits Commissionaires offers are unequalled. The Corps’ is recognized not just for the calibre of its work, but for its capacity as the largest private-sector employer of veterans in Canada.
The Canadian Corps of Commissionaires has played an important role in the development of this nation. Its success has often been due to the strength of its governance. Volunteers on its various Boards include a veritable list of “who’s who” from Canada’s military. Countless retired RCMP and military officers know the importance of the Corps for veterans. Not only is it an important employment vehicle, but it is also a social outlet for veterans. For many veterans, Commissionaires offers a continued sense of purpose.
The opportunities available for veterans have expanded over the years. Still, Commissionaires is always there to assist. With so many veterans working as senior officers within the Corps, the leadership understands how to assist retiring military and RCMP personnel with their transitioning to a new career and, eventually, to full retirement. Commissionaires offers employment where other agencies may not, including to those who live with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or other post-service challenges. It also helped new immigrants like Gurbachan Singh Bedi, a Second World War veteran from India who agreed to his daughter’s wish to emigrate to Canada in 1985 on the sole condition that he could find valuable employment in Canada . He found that opportunity with the Corps and worked for an additional 20 years—until the age of 90. Canadian Afghanistan War veteran Helen Goldie found a new career in the Corps while still serving in the Reserves.
Job opportunities within Commissionaires have expanded from its humble beginnings. The Corps now provides security consulting, cyber security, investigations and training. Philanthropy is an important part of the Corps’ commitment to support to veteran causes including Soldier On, and the Multi-Faith Housing Initiative’s Veteran House project in Ottawa which will provide housing, counselling and other support services to homeless veterans. The Corps’ military ethos ensures unparalleled support for its employees, veteran and civilian, and maintains an esprit de corps and desire to assist that is more akin to what is found in a regimental family than a private company.
Today, Commissionaires employs 22,000 people serving in 1,200 communities across the country. The Federation now stands with 15 Divisions delivering on contracts with both the private sector and at every level of government. It is a unique Canadian institution which has evolved with the needs of veterans and the needs of Canada. As the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires heads towards its 100th anniversary in 2025, the Corps looks forward to continuing its support of all veterans, their families, and all of its employees for the next century.
