Nathalie Rivard – Ontario Provincial Police (O.P.P.)

So you’re an O.P.P. Officer. Tell us how you joined the O.P.P. and your experience of a goalie competing on a male hockey team. Was that any help in integrating into the O.P.P., which was a very male preserve at the time.

I joined the O.P.P. in 1995, and I was still competing at the time, fairly highly in women’s ice hockey. The O.P.P. also has hockey teams, so I quickly infiltrated myself on the various female and male hockey teams within the O.P.P. That certainly helped to open up some friendships and working relationships, and certainly helped me join the O.P.P. family in a very positive way.

In terms of sporting and today, when I look at my sporting experiences and my working experiences there’s a lot of similarities because they’re both teammates, they’re both situation in a working environment and in a playing environment where you’re relying on a team concept. And a lot of the principles are the same. They’re transferable skills.