The Deputy Chief of Treaty Three Police Service is retiring after eight years at the service and 29 years of policing in total.
Jeff Skye, a member of Eagle Lake First Nation, announced his retirement to the Police Services Board and Chief of Police Kai Liu on Thursday.
Skye will remain at the service until August 1.
He has accepted the role of Chief Designate at Anishinabek Police Service which services 16 First Nations spanning from Fort William outside of Thunder Bay down to Kettle Point located northeast of Sarnia.
“As I announce my retirement from the Treaty Three Police Service, it has been an honour and privilege to serve the people of Treaty Three territory. I remain especially proud of the men and women of the Treaty Three Police Service, both civilian and sworn who day in and day out proudly serve our communities. I want to thank Chief Liu for his mentorship and leadership over the past 34 months. I will definitely miss my T3PS family as I start a new path in life,” says Skye.
Chief Kai Liu says, “I am especially proud of Deputy Chief Skye’s accomplishments with his announcement today to retire from our Service and will start a new chapter in his policing career by leading the Anishinabek Police Service as Chief of Police. It has been a real honour to partner and serve our 23 First Nation communities with Chief Designate Jeff Skye these last 34 months. I have witnessed firsthand his collaborative leadership style that will serve him well as he takes command of APS. As an award-winning leader, a recipient of the Governor General of Canada Order of Merit Award, the First Nations Chiefs of Police, Distinguish Policing Award in 2021, and class valedictorian for the Rotman School of Leadership, Jeff will be a true loss to our Service but a real gain for APS. As Canada’s newest police chief, I am confident Chief Designate Skye will continue to help transform Indigenous policing in Ontario.”
During his time at Treaty Three Police Skye represented the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario (IPCO) at the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) Executive Board and was an active participant of the OACP Systemic racism working group which explores ways to support Ontario Police Services dealing with systemic racism within their services.
Skye was also enrolled in the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) Mentorship program which is aimed at those wanting to become future police chiefs and is designed to enhance the knowledge, skill, and ability of members who have demonstrated the aptitudes and expressed interest in leading a police service in the future.
Skye is also a graduate of the Rotman School of Leadership and was invited back to mentor and coach one group of future leaders on Policing Indigenous populations.