LILLEY: Canadian Corps of Commissionaires marks 100 years of service
The organization, founded to give meaningful employment to First World War vets, is Canada's largest private sector employer of veterans
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An organization founded to help give meaningful employment to veterans of the First World War turned 100 this past week.
The Canadian Corps of Commissionaires, originally set up in Montreal in 1925, continues to operate and remains the largest private sector employer of veterans from coast to coast.
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The organization celebrated with Capt. Geoff Hamilton, president and CEO of Commissionaires Great Lakes, ringing the bell to open the TSX stock exchange Friday morning.
And as night fell, the CN Tower was lit up in blue, orange and white – the organization’s colours – to mark the centenary.
“Our centennial is a great opportunity for Commissionaires to celebrate a century of quiet service to Canada and its veteran community,” Hamilton said of the 100th.
Regardless of where you live in Canada, there is a good chance you’ve encountered Commissionaires as they provide security and concierge services at government buildings and establishments.
My earliest memory was having to check in with the vet who was the Commissionaire at the front desk of the James Street Armoury in Hamilton when I was a young cadet.
Hamilton is a veteran himself having spent more than 25 years in the Royal Canadian Navy serving at various times in a full-time or part-time reserve capacity. Seven years ago, he made the transition to working with the Commissionaires and carrying on the legacy of helping veterans.
“The profile has changed,” Hamilton says while sitting across the table at Toronto’s Royal Canadian Military Institute.
He’s talking about the profile of the veterans served. This was an organization started to help soldiers who had returned from the Great War, now it’s often about helping career soldiers transition into retirement from active military service, but not from an active life.
Hamilton says sometimes it’s assisting Afghan vets who are transitioning from full-time regular forces service to reserve status.
“We’re a uniquely Canadian institution – no other country has a not-for-profit as its largest security guarding company,” Hamilton boasts.
It is unique, and shocking considering that the idea for Canada’s Commissionaires came from The Corps of Commissionaires in England, which started in 1859 to help veterans of the Crimean War. Capt. Edward Walter was able to convince business owners that the veterans he represented had “exemplary discipline, loyalty and dedication” to provide security services.
The British group is still going and has about 5,000 employees. The Canadian organization now employs more than 20,000 with about 4,500 being veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces or the RCMP.
“Looking forward, we remain committed to employing veterans, raising the bar for other operators in an ethically tenuous industry and providing safety to Canadian communities,” Hamilton said.
“Our centennial year is not just a celebration of the past, but an invitation to all Canadians to join us in honouring those who dedicate themselves to the safety and security of our nation.”
In a country that far too often hasn’t done enough to help our veterans, a country that far too often turns its back on its past and heritage, the Commissionaires are there. They have been a stable force assisting vets and serving communities for 100 years now.
That’s worth celebrating and cheering on 100 more.
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