Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer, Merl Millier, is a well loved member of the Douglas Baha’i Community in New Brunswick. Nominated a number of times for the outstanding International Community Policing Award, Constable Millier was born Blackfoot (or Niitstapi, meaning “original” people) but is also a member of the Maliseet Community of Kingsclear First Nation, near Fredericton.
Const. Millier and his wife, Jessica Millier, and their teenage children, Hanah, Naomi, and Isaak, moved to Douglas a few years ago after serving in Valleyview, Ontario, and Sunny Corner, New Brunswick. Const. Millier joined Canada’s RCMP in 1996, and now, on behalf of Oromocto District 2 RCMP Head Quarters, he currently is the Aboriginal Liaison Officer for Kingsclear and Oromocto First Nations and works just within these two aboriginal communities. It is a position that provides policing for Aboriginal people that is sensitive to their needs.
Baha’i principles have added much to the quality of his work. He says, “I’m a Baha’i, that’s the only thing that matters. It’s about how you approach your work. The job doesn’t define me. Being a Baha’i does.” He takes a strong interest in the life of youth. He once said, “Some people think life is short…Wrong! Life is long especially if you make the wrong choices. Make good choices and live a long joyful life” (from a document of the Valleyview Detachment, 1992, 2nd ed.). That interest has taken him to playing in a RCMP rock-band in schools.
Approaching a tragic event, he finds that being a Baha’i gives him a lot of compassion and, as he says, it makes me want to help people. He says, “Being a Baha’i helps me to look at people with all different kinds of backgrounds. I approach all settings with a lot of respect. I say prayers during a bad scene, such as saying prayers for the family, whether a young person was hurt or if there is a death involved.”
One of his proudest moments was representing the RCMP on the Outreach Residential Schools Atlantic Committee. The Committee works hand in hand with survivors of the Residential School in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. Because of his work with this Committee and dedication and compassion for the welfare of Residential Schools Survivors, he was invited to attend a pilgrimage to Vatican City in Rome, Italy, with some survivors of the Residential School system as well as other Elders and youth.
Const. Millier is also taking an Introduction to Maliseet Language at St Thomas University. As he works with Maliseet people from the Saint John River valley, he thought it would be great if he could learn the language traditionally spoken in this part of Canada. He has made friends with his Professor, Darryl Nicholas, who has helped him translate some Baha’i prayers into Maliseet. At the end of the 2009 winter term, he will record Professor Nicholas’ reciting the two prayers in Maliseet which Const. Millier had translated into Maliseet, namely, “Is there any remover of Difficulties” and “Oh God, guide me …”
The range of Const. Millier’s activities also covers national and international scenes. While locally he is involved with the daily calamities that affect people’s lives, whether handling the effects of car accidents, sorting out the cause of house fires, or finding a lost three-year old child, at other levels, his work is more ceremonial, having participated in several international travels representing the RCMP in Hong Kong, China, Belgium, France, Italy and even Disney World.