Listuguj to Get New Police Station

The Listuguj Police Department (LPD) is scheduled to have a new home by August 2024. The building is currently under construction on Highway 132.

Sharon Barnaby has been working with the LPD since 2000. She began as a Constable, took on the role of Investigator, and, as of March this year, the Interim Chief of Police. Barnaby and her team are looking forward to moving into the spacious new station. “The officers, being the foundation of the police department, their squad room will be three times the size it is now,” said Barnaby. The LPD has been in its current building on Pacific Drive since 2006. Since then, the department has obtained much more equipment and technology, and its team has grown significantly, as has the infrastructure around the station.

When it comes to moving locations, Barnaby said, “We look at where we’re at centrally; in the past, it was fine, but then they built Head Start, which shares our parking lot. We have the daycare that’s in proximity to us. We have Haven House right there, and we have the Health Center. At any given moment, our parking lot can be filled with people.”

In the Spring of 2023, the project began with a Call for Tender for the construction of the new police station. The project is fully funded by the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada and the Ministère de la Sécurité publique of Quebec. The Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government’s Chief Executive Officer, Bassem Abdrabou said, “The building will have more room and space. It will accommodate the continuous growth of Listuguj and the future plans for the Police Department to ensure the safety of the community.”

By Ann Marie Jacques