After three and a half years in Squamish RCMP, Cst. Martin Janson is headed back home thanks to a transfer that will move him from community policing to investigating corruption at our highest levels of government.
Janson will be joining the Federal Corruption Investigation Team (FCIT), a specialized unit that investigates wrongdoing within our federal government including such high profile cases as the Liberal sponsorship scandal.
"That section was opened first with the sponsorship scandal with two investigators and now they started to find that there's more and more to investigate so they decided to push it to 15 and then to 30, so I'll be number 14 of the team," said Janson.
The native Quebecer, a former fraud investigator and transit cop in Montreal, was sent to Squamish right out the academy after first turning down a job in Milton, Ontario.
"As I turned down that posting, they sent me here to B.C. and I actually love it. I just like to be with the public."
The 28 year-old Janson, who has also worked as a casino dealer in the past, was one of the first officers considered by the RCMP after they decided to expand the FCIT.
"They sent it to me in November, I thought about it until February, and I accepted it."
He hopes that following a three to five year stint with the FCIT he will be able to return to community policing. It's a great opportunity said Janson, but he'll miss Squamish.
"The shift work and working with the public directly in uniform and being your own boss, kind of," Janson said of what he would miss most. "I'll miss the mountains here, I got to like the mountain biking a lot. And my house - I bought a house here."
While preparing to move back east, Janson took the time to reflect on differences between the two communities he has called home. "It was way different [here] than when I was in Montreal. In a municipality like Squamish, I was amazed at all the people calling us and they actually know the names. And they'll come and talk to us and say 'Hey Martin'. So there are a lot of good people here that like the RCMP and that are aware of the work we're doing and we appreciate when they help us in all sorts of investigations.
"I'm even amazed when there's an accident and people stop and say 'Hey, can I control traffic for you? Can I do something for you?' So it's not something that would happen in Montreal, right? People would just drive by, if they hit you with their mirror, well it's just too bad for you."
Janson's last day in Squamish will be May 15, giving him two weeks to across the country and begin his new career in Montreal on May 28.
