Origins of Badge of Life Canada

10-5 - The Official Podcast of the OPP Association

Sylvio (Syd) Gravel, the co-founder of Badge of Life Canada joins the 10-5 Podcast to discuss the origins of Badge of Life Canada and discuss his vision and hope for peer support for public safety personnel moving forward.

Badge of Life Canada is empowering Canadian public safety personnel and their families who are dealing with operational stress injuries, including post-traumatic stress and suicidal ideation, to achieve healthy living and post-traumatic growth.

The organization was co-founded in 2010 by a 25yr veteran Ottawa Police Service Constable named Peter Platt and Ottawa Police Service police officer, now retired, Syd Gravel.

Peter was dealing with an operational stress injury and was unable to find supports. Peter died from cancer on October 12, 2016.

On October 12, 2023 Syd Gravel delivered an address to the 100 delegates at the Badge of Life Canada Post Traumatic Growth Event in Barrie, Ontario outlining the history of Badge of Life Canada and sharing training and resources on effective peer support and agreed to share his message on the 10-5 Podcast.

For more information visit BadgeofLifeCanada.org.

Inquiries about this podcast episode or ideas for future episodes can be directed by email to [email protected].

This episode of the 10-5 podcast is produced and hosted by Scott Mills and Emily Brown.

Music – “Line of Fire” by Jason Shaw available at Audionautix.com and used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The OPP Association is the sole bargaining agent for the close to 10,000 members of the Ontario Provincial Police in Canada. Our members are our focus and our strength. We aim to provide important information to our members and the public about matters that affect policing in the province of Ontario.