Sharon Caudron says her recognition for distinguished service as a traditional counsellor and liaison officer means more to her than a compliment on her own work – it means she's honouring what she's been taught.
"I represent the wisdom and integrity that the elders taught me and I hope I do that in the best way," says Caudron. "It's a real honour for this award. What it represents to me is that I represented the integrity of the elders in a good way."
Caudron, from Hay River, was one of 23 corrections workers who were honoured with the Governor General of Canada's Corrections Exemplary Service Medals on Feb. 8 in Yellowknife.
The recipients are selected from staff who have worked in the field for 20 years or more, with 10 years being spent working directly with people in the justice system. The honours are then bestowed on workers who have demonstrated commitment to service, professionalism, respect, dignity and co-operation.
"I think it's important to recognize and show appreciation for the good work that staff do," says Blair VanMetre, assistant director of corrections facilities for the GNWT.
"I think the amount of recipients at this year's awards speaks to the high level of professionalism and dedication of our corrections service professionals here in the NWT."
Caudron says she has been able to help develop, with elders, programming at the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre to look at inmates' wellness and healing holistically, with mental, spiritual, emotional and physical aspects all involved.
"They have the correctional facility and also the elders and they come together in a really good way," says Caudron. "There's some balance and some recognition of the spiritual component and the emotional component."
Stella Walterhouse, who works as a probation officer in her home community of Fort Smith, was also honoured with a medal for her work.
"For me it was a great honour," she says. "I was kind of in shock when I heard about it."
Walterhouse has been working in probation services since the GNWT created the division in 2000. She says the system has been growing in exciting ways.
"We didn't have the opportunity to provide programming in our communities (in the beginning)" says Walterhouse. "We mainly had to rely on the facilities and our local agencies for any kind of programming for our clients."
Now, she says, there is a strong focus on rehabilitation, and training is being offered to probation officers around the territory to deliver three streams of programming in their communities: violence prevention, respectful relationships and substance abuse management.
She says it was great to be honoured with the medal and to be brought together with her colleagues from all across the NWT.
"It was nice for them to do that for us last week. It was a really good two days."
Caudron says that when she got back to Hay River, Chief Roy Fabian congratulated her and said he sees the good work that she's doing, and she got shy.
"I work for the Creator and I'm just grateful to be a part of that process," says Caudron. "With our traditions and our knowledge that we share, we try to help people the best way we know how."
FACT FILE: Medal recipients
- Daniel Robert Beck, SMCC
- Debra Ann Beck, SMCC
- John Barry Bernhardt, FSCC, Retired
- Sharon Caudron, SMCC
- Diane Chisholm, SMCC
- Robert Cook, NSCC
- Roy Courtoreille, SMCC, Retired
- Warren Gillis, FSCC
- Gary Quinn Groenheyde, SMCC
- Robert Haley, SMCC
- Paul Jones, NSCC
- Jeffry Lamoureux, SMCC
- Joan Judith Lepine, FSCC
- Donald Clifford Mabbitt, SMCC
- Toko James Lawrence MacDonald, FSCC
- William John McSwain, SMCC
- John Nahanni, NSCC
- Doreen Schaefer, FSCC
- Andrea Steed, FSCC
- Sean Fowler, NSCC
- Stella Walterhouse, SSCC
- Thomas Wasylyshyn, FSCC
- Dale Wouters, NSCC, Retired