Vernon White’s Talk: “Policing to Politics”

Photo of Vernon White by Trygve Ringereide

Vernon White spoke “off the cuff” for an hour and a half at our January Distinguished Speaker Event, and we would all have been happy to hear him continue for much longer! Although he had prepared some slides, it was his trove of anecdotes, facts, and statistics at the tips of his fingertips, that kept us all enthralled.

He told us about his early years as the son of a coal miner in Cape Breton, his life in the police service, his rise through the ranks to Chief of Police in Ottawa, his years as a Canadian senator and to his current life residing in Finland. His knowledge and passion for policing and his very humane approach were apparent. as he compared policing in Canada to the Nordic countries. Having spent 19 years in the Canadian Arctic, he is very familiar with its challenges and how they compare with similar challenges in the Nordic countries. Canada’s Inuit, Innu, and Dene are not so different from the Nordic countries’ Sami, he told us. They are all dealing with long-term intergenerational trauma and have similar histories of facing displacement and government efforts to eliminate their languages and cultures. Higher levels of violence and alcoholism than among the general population are the lingering effects of this difficult past.

He sees Canada and the Nordic countries as societies that are high in trust but face similar challenges in urban disorder and gang activity. He spoke in particular about the vulnerability of new young Canadians to recruitment by gangs. Dealing with these problems requires an integrated approach that takes time. He noted that Canada’s multiple layers of government (municipal, provincial, and federal) can slow down problem solving compared to Finland, but stressed that he does support the Canadian system of government.

Vern now lives in Finland and has spoken in the past about Finland’s community housing approach. He noted that one in four Finns live in community housing and that there is no stigma attached to it, while there is certainly stigma associated with low-income housing in Canada. In Finland, it is accepted as part of the fabric of life that it is available to all who need it.

Vern is a believer in restorative justice under the right circumstances, and he referred specifically to the right people, the right place, and the right crime. He gave an example of a young man who came to understand the impact of his crime and truly regret it, while the victim was helped to overcome some of the trauma the crime had caused. He pointed out that restorative justice results in much lower rates of recidivism than conventional jail-time sentencing.

Vern also talked about his ten years of service as a Canadian senator, during which he was active in committee work focusing on addiction and mental health, as well as intelligence security research.

As Chief of Police for Ottawa, Vern successfully established two drug treatment centres, among many other accomplishments.

Vern’s combination of academic expertise in his field (he has a PhD), combined with his extensive practical experience at the grassroots level and his natural story-telling ability, made his talk both very worthwhile and a real pleasure to hear.

Left to right, CNS President Trygve Ringereide, Council member Raija Hilska, and Vernon White(photo courtesy of Barry Paulson)