THE Peel Police Services Board on Wednesday congratulated Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah on his appointment to the Order of Ontario. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, will bestow the honour to Duraiappah at a ceremony on November 21.
The Order of Ontario recognizes exceptional leaders from all walks of life and diverse fields of endeavour whose impact and lasting legacy have played an important role in building a stronger province, country, and world.
In 2019, Duraiappah was hired to usher in a new era of policing in Peel and across Canada, the Peel Police Services Board said in a statement.
Duraiappah’s upbringing in Canada after his parents immigrated from Sri Lanka, combined with his 34 years of experience as a police officer and leader on a local, regional, and national level, prepared him to take on the challenge of implementing an important mandate for reform and achieving the ambitious strategic goal of making the Peel Police Service the most progressive and innovative in Canada.
The Board said that with only three years on the job as Peel Police Chief, he has implemented sweeping changes that are reimagining policing in this country, including pioneering a community safety and well-being strategy and its modernization through innovation and technology.
It noted that Duraiappah has not shied away from the goal of eliminating systemic racism, including anti-Black racism in policing through a ground-breaking Memorandum of Understanding with the Ontario Human Rights Commission with the goal of promoting transparency and improving racialized communities’ trust in policing.
Under his watch, Peel Region has once again ranked amongst the safest communities in Canada, according to Stats Canada 2021 Police-Reported Crime Statistics in Canada.
Duraiappah is Canada’s most senior South Asian police officer, as well as the current President of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police. He has received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and is an Officer of the Order of Merit Canada.
The Peel Police Services Board said it is proud of Duraiappah’s accomplishments and the positive impact his leadership has had on policing in Canada.
