Mr. O’Bomsawin is a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces and a member of the Abenaki community of Odanak in Quebec. After serving in the CAF as a telecommunications specialist and on the crew of the 12e Régiment Blindé du Canada, he joined the Aboriginal Police and served in several Quebec communities. He was also a correctional officer at the Donnacona Institution and a member of the Ports Canada Police assigned to the Port de Québec. He then joined the Sûreté du Québec, from which he recently retired after a 20 year career. Mr. O'Bomsawin is the founder and president of the Aboriginal Veterans of Quebec and the provincial representative and national sergeant-at-arms for the Canadian Aboriginal Veterans Association and co-founder and national vice president of the Canadian Aboriginal Veterans Association. Mr. O’Bomsawin sits on the Veterans Ombudsman Advisory Committee and also served on the organizing committee tasked with paying tribute to the peacekeepers on National Peacekeepers Day in Québec City on August 9, 2011; he has continued to be involved in those annual celebrations since that time. In 2012, Mr. O’Bomsawin took part in conferences in schools to commemorate the War of 1812 and educate young people about Aboriginal dress and traditions and raise their awareness of Aboriginal contributions to the Canadian Armed Forces throughout its history.