Ms. Shirley Cuillierrier

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Senior Consultant – Policing / Criminal Justice and Associate with the Critical Risk Team
Shirley is a member of the Mohawk First Nations from Kanesatake and a retired Assistant Commissioner with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). She is a seasoned executive in policing and public safety while advising all levels of government, community leaders and non-government organizations for over 40 years.

Shirley brings a wealth of experience with particular strengths in gender based violence, human trafficking and policing with Indigenous communities. She served as the Officer in Charge of National Aboriginal Policing Services at the RCMP National Headquarters and was seconded to Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, as the National Director of Emergency Management. In recognition of her achievements to Indigenous policing, she is the first Canadian recipient of the “Indian Country Law Enforcement Officer of the Year, 2007,” awarded by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Her expertise has ranged from executive protection, immigration, national security, and she led the National Human Trafficking Coordination Centre for the RCMP. This experience has been pertinent to her testifying at several high profile Canadian House of Commons and Senate committee hearings on a variety of national and international public safety matters.

Prior to her retirement from the RCMP, she was appointed the Senior Advisor on Reconciliation and was given the responsibility to lead the RCMP's response to the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Shirley is known as a leader that has embraced the need for transformational change to address systematic inequalities that vulnerable populations face when involved with the criminal justice system. This included her work as a former member of the Human Trafficking Task Force with the Canadian Women's Foundation and as a former Board member of the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking.

Shirley was appointed the Special Advisor to Combat Human Trafficking to the Minister of Public Safety Canada, 2019 -2021, following a life-long commitment to protecting victims of violence, including her work examining human rights abuses and the sex trafficking of women and girls.

Shirley is the recipient of both the Queen Elizabeth II Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals. In May 2017, she was appointed by the Governor General of Canada as a Member of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces (M.O.M.) honouring her leadership, exceptional service and commitment to country; and, in October 2018, was the first Canadian police officer to receive the Governor General’s award in Commemoration of the Person’s Case for mentoring women and advancing gender equality in policing.