Leroy Laliberte (second from left), Denise Cameron (sixth from left), other members of Robin Cameron’s family, and Georgina Jolibois. Photo by Chelsea Laskowski
Events held in Spiritwood this week showed the different ways the families of two slain Mounties have healed in the past decade since their loss.
Deceased Constable Robin Cameron’s brother-in-law Leroy Laliberte still has fond memories in Spiritwood.
This, despite the violence that happened in the area when Cameron and fellow Constable Marc Bourdages were involved in a chase that turned fatal. The man they were pursuing turned his shotgun on them on July 7, 2006. Their colleague Michelle Knopp was shot, but recovered.
Laliberte said the past decade has brought a lot of healing.
“We come here now, it’s more positive. It’s not thinking about the whole tragedy of it all. It’s a positive time because we get to hang out with our families, our RCMP family,” Laliberte said.
Cameron’s mother Denise agreed, saying she was looking forward to visiting with RCMP officers on Wednesday during a day of memorial events. Denise said the Wednesday event would have been a lot more difficult years ago, but now she’s coped with Robin’s death and become much stronger.
Laliberte recalls Cameron’s dedication to becoming an RCMP officer. She was initially rejected due to poor eyesight, but had surgery and was eventually able to don the red serge.
Robin was originally from Beardy’s and Okemasis. That, and the proximity of Spiritwood to the Witchekan First Nation, Pelican Lake First Nation, and Big River First Nation led to a day full of traditional cultural ceremonies.
The RCMP, town of Spiritwood, and media all respected the protocols of a pipe ceremony, feast, round dance, and memorial services for Cameron and Bourdages.
Natasha Szpakowski and son Luca Bourdages. Photo by Chelsea Laskowski
The wounds are a lot fresher for Bourdages’s widow Natasha Szpakowski, who worked with the RCMP at the time of his death and has since transferred to Regina. Their son Luca was nine months old in 2006, and on Wednesday he sat along with RCMP officers during a pipe ceremony at the memorial.
“I just want people to know that they died trying to make Canada a better place,” Luca said on Wednesday afternoon. His knowledge of his father comes from other people’s memories or photos.
Szpakowski said Luca is the best souvenir of her late husband.
“Everybody says that time helps, and I’m sure that’s true. You know, memories still are there and maybe it’s not as severe as it was back then. I just find my son is a reminder of what we had together and then maybe just what Marc has missed out on so many milestones with Luca,” Szpakowski said.
When asked if she forgives Curtis Dagenais – the man who shot her husband and is currently serving three life sentences – Szpakowski said she “doesn’t dwell on him.”
Robin left behind a child when she died as well. Her daughter Shane was raised by Laliberte and his wife – Robin’s sister – Diana Laliberte said there are lingering emotions for Shane, who is now 22, including “a lot of anger.”
Looking back, Laliberte said the grieving process for Robin’s family came in stages. Dagenais’ trial was not easy to deal with.
“Waiting around to see what’s going to happen to this man that did that, it definitely was on our shoulders the whole time. So after everything was said and done then you know, it gave us the time to go through the grieving process again,” he said.
However, Laliberte’s late father-in-law Howard said to move forward you need to let that negativity go.
“We are a forgiving family,” he said. “Regarding Curtis Dagenais, maybe it’s a process that he has to go through himself personally, needs to forgive himself for what he did because he took two beautiful people, two wonderful people away from some really awesome family. I’m sure that it’s something that’s on his mind now, he’s sitting in a cell.”