Hi..Security Officers!

[War113]

Hi.

I have been in security since erm....2003.I am curently a security guard for the Commissionaire Corps and in an other company as the K-9 unit.

I am 22 yrs old and live in montreal Canada.I wanted to share my points of view and general security experiences with you ,my friends from the USA.Actualy I now work at Concordia University.I've worked in a hospital and many many others.I used to be 2 years and a half in the Canadian Army.

I got the pr-24 liscense,Restricted Firearms acquisition and possesion ,and a Security College class of about a year that coted me 2500 bucks

Anyway this is 2 pictures of me(usualy in canada we cant be as much geared.)

Canadian Corps of Commissionaire:



Garda:



I will have some k-9 and other companies picts soon.

Be safe.

[HotelSecurity]

Welcome - there are not only Americans on the site! Concordia-Are you in NDG or Downtown? I work on Sherbrooke near du Parc & also supervise the security at 2 hotels on Côte de Liesse in St. Laurent.

[War113]

Actualy I do both...mostly downtwon tho.It's a good place to work it's usually calm except for some homeless...but they are used to security so they are harmless(most of em).

[HotelSecurity]

Actualy I do both...mostly downtwon tho.It's a good place to work it's usually calm except for some homeless...but they are used to security so they are harmless(most of em).

We have a BIG problem with homeless Inuit people. The Métro Surveillance Agents (to be replaced by the police starting this Monday!) throw them out of the Place-des-Arts station & the come to the nearby hotels. They tend to be aggressive with us. (We work alone). I was surprised that Garda lost Concordia & McGill.

Have you guys got a vehicle at Loyola?

Is it true that you no longer have to be ex-military to work for the Corps? They seem to be getting bigger. (Your University, Aéroport de Montréal & ALL the federal government buildings).

[War113]

Actually only part of the corps is ex-military..they do a good selection of personnel unless they BADLY need agents..In the building I usualy work,I have a direct elevator acces to the metro so I tend to find homless hiding everywhere.In the staircase,emergency exits,toilets even mechanic rooms.

Yeah Garda lost Mcgill to BCIA and concordia to the Corps.We are currently paid 14.55 per hour.Not bad for unarmed security.

I'm going to the correctional services in august tho.

[HotelSecurity]

Actually only part of the corps is ex-military..they do a good selection of personnel unless they BADLY need agents..In the building I usualy work,I have a direct elevator acces to the metro so I tend to find homless hiding everywhere.In the staircase,emergency exits,toilets even mechanic rooms.

Yeah Garda lost Mcgill to BCIA and concordia to the Corps.We are currently paid 14.55 per hour.Not bad for unarmed security.

I'm going to the correctional services in august tho.

You used to HAVE to be ex-military or RCMP to work for the Corps. They also used to (still do?) have the right of refusal on all security contracts for the federal government. (The goveernment used to have to offer them the contract before going to regular agencies). Didn't need a Québec Security Agent permit either.

I know the Guy Métro well!!

Your pay is really not bad, my In-House guys don't quite make $14.00/hour although they get free downtown parking (Worth + $200/month), free meals & free dry cleaning,. major discounts on hotel rooms worldwide.

You guys unionized? How much of the $14.55 goes to union dues?

I took Police Tech at John Abbott from 1973 to 1976. I had an interview to be hired by Corrections Canada. I woke up the day of the interview, said to myself "I don't want to be a prison guard" & went back to sleep!!

[Lawson]

I had an interview to be hired by Corrections Canada. I woke up the day of the interview, said to myself "I don't want to be a prison guard" & went back to sleep!!

I had the same... except I drove all the way out the prison parking lot and really thought about it, got a peek at some of the unkempt C/Os there, turned around, went home, and caught some more zzz's

[War113]

Yup they have the rights to refuse any federal contracts.THey did with one contract I used to work.It's called CPI.Immigration center.Garda now have it.

The commissionaire agents still need to have a quebec security liscence tho.

[Andy Taylor]

Welcome War. I am a former resident of Dorval. I attended Ecole Secondaire Jean XXIII. That was 20 years ago now. I now live in California. I look forward to discussing security issues and other things with you.

[HotelSecurity]

Yup they have the rights to refuse any federal contracts.THey did with one contract I used to work.It's called CPI.Immigration center.Garda now have it.

The commissionaire agents still need to have a quebec security liscence tho.

One of my hotels on Côte de Liesse used to have a floor reserved for people caught by immigration at Dorval airport. We did not patrol it, they had their own people. The doors of the rooms were removed. The guards used to be abused all the time. Some of the detainees would rather spend time for assaulting a guard in a Canadian prision then be deported!

[War113]

All the guards in montreal should have stab proof vest or at least the rights to wear one.(I could afford a bulletproof-stab vest)We have only one life to live.I don't think security agencies gives a damn about their agents.As long as nothing happens they keep the money for security guards to the lowest.We provide security for other people but who cares about our security.well...

[HotelSecurity]

All the guards in montreal should have stab proof vest or at least the rights to wear one.(I could afford a bulletproof-stab vest)We have only one life to live.I don't think security agencies gives a damn about their agents.As long as nothing happens they keep the money for security guards to the lowest.We provide security for other people but who cares about our security.well...

Not to say that it could never happen but I have worked in downtown Montreal hotels (started at eh Windsor on Peel) since 1977 & have never been in a situation where I have needed one. I have delt with many fist fights but nothing with guns or knifes.

[N. A. Corbier]

Not to say that it could never happen but I have worked in downtown Montreal hotels (started at eh Windsor on Peel) since 1977 & have never been in a situation where I have needed one. I have delt with many fist fights but nothing with guns or knifes.

Vests are the kind of thing that you never need till you need it, and then its a matter of life or death to have it. Basically, the same thing about guns. You never need a gun till your about to be killed, then it becomes an effective tool to prevent being killed.

[Bill Warnock]

All the guards in montreal should have stab proof vest or at least the rights to wear one.(I could afford a bulletproof-stab vest)We have only one life to live.I don't think security agencies gives a damn about their agents.As long as nothing happens they keep the money for security guards to the lowest.We provide security for other people but who cares about our security.well...

War113, why not buy a Level IIA with stab proof undergarment? It is not all that obtrusive.
Nathan put his finger on need. It is better to have it when you don't need it and not have it when you need it.
Who in your leadership will be the one that jumps and shouts if you indeed have and wear it?
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[Andy Taylor]

Believe it or not I once had a captain who told me I was a coward because I was wearing a vest. Needless to say, I didn't work there very long after that.