Just Mo: keeping it real

Maureen Levy sat at powerful tables and held senior ranks, but she always wanted people to know her as “just Mo.”

From small Arctic communities to a military command table in Baghdad, the retired RCMP Assistant Commissioner approached her work with the same questions: What do you need? How can I help?

After decades spent helping others through some of the hardest moments of their lives, she faced the difficult realization that she too needed help.

“I was spiraling with PTSD and suffering,” she says. “I didn’t want to acknowledge it at the time.”

Today, Levy says Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) has helped her recover from both the physical and emotional injuries she suffered while serving.

“I’m pretty blessed,” she says. “VAC has been a big advocate and were there for me in my darkest times.”

A dream at age 14

Growing up in Halifax’s North End, Levy was a shy and socially awkward child whose mother encouraged her to spread her wings. “I had Coke bottle glasses and buck teeth,” she says. “Money was very tight especially since my parents had two sets of twins in eleven months. My parents could not afford braces for me until my first year of studies at Dalhousie University.

Her mother grew up in Ingonish Beach, Nova Scotia, the oldest in a family of fifteen children. To get her out of her shell, Levy’s mother enrolled her in sports and community activities like Junior Achievement. Growing up, their house was the place where neighborhood children gathered and enjoyed hot meals at her mom’s unofficial school lunch program. The generosity and kindness learned at home carried throughout her life and work.

“My mother and my grandmother taught me that you need to be kind and generous with your time,” Levy says.

Levy was always a gifted athlete, playing and coaching at prominent levels in several sports.

When she was 14, her basketball team travelled to a tournament in Regina, Saskatchewan where they took a tour of the RCMP Training Academy, known as Depot.

By the end of the tour, Levy had decided she wanted to be a Mountie.

After high school, she studied business at Dalhousie University. She also played varsity field hockey and captained the Nova Scotia Provincial Field Hockey Team. When a sports injury sidelined her, she faced major orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation.

She turned her attention to starting a career in policing and on April 5, 1988, at age 24, she joined the RCMP.

“I always wanted to help people,” she said.

The early days had their challenges. After graduating, Levy began her career in McLennan, Alberta. She was the only member of her troop assigned to a remote posting. When asked why she was the only one posted to an isolated post, her drill sergeant told her mother that it was because he knew she could “handle it.”

Some days she confided to her mother that she was home sick and that she felt like an outsider and was discouraged. Often, she told her mother that she wanted to come home to Halifax.

“She told me, ‘You are not coming home until I know that you are going back,’” Levy remembered. “She reminded me this was the dream I had been working for.”

People before rank

She went from northern Alberta to frontline policing in Red Deer, Alberta. Her career then took her to Rankin Inlet and Pangnirtung in Nunavut, then to Aklavik in the Northwest Territories, where she led a three-member detachment.

She believed good policing starts with kindness, respect and integrity. She tried to lead by listening and helping others.

“You don’t need to bully people,” she says. “You need to listen to them.”

She became an Assistant Commissioner and led one of the RCMP's largest divisions, which had more than 2,750 personnel and multi-million dollar budgets to oversee.

As she advanced through the ranks, she did face sexism, isolation and bullying, but kept her head down, focusing on the tasks at hand.

“I didn’t play politics. I didn’t gossip. I just worked hard and I stood by my ethics.”

Whatever her rank, Levy measured her work by its impact on people.

“I wanted to empower people. I cared about what I did, who I did it for and that it had a lasting impact.”

When her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2001, Levy was given time off to care for her. She died just 28 days after the diagnosis.

She said the RCMP took great care of her during this tough period in her life.

“I have many great memories of my time in the RCMP and the highlight of my career was helping our communities and my teams know that they mattered and that I was there to help them in any way that I could. People may not remember how you helped but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

Taking her approach to Iraq

In September 2018, after 30 years in the RCMP, Levy deployed to Baghdad for a year with the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, the international coalition working to defeat Daesh (ISIS).

She served as Canadian Police Contingent Commander and the coalition’s inaugural Chief Gender Advisor.

Her work connected her with Iraq’s Ministry of the Interior, NGOs, international organizations, many embassies, and senior military leaders from all over the world. She was the only civilian police officer on the coalition's senior leadership team.

Part of her job was showing how including women in policing and security work can help keep communities safer.

She approached the dangerous and volatile situation in a foreign country the same way she did community policing in small rural Canadian towns – by listening to the people she was there to support.

“My goal was always to go into a community or country and say, ‘What would you like? How would you like to see that happen? And how can I help you?’”

She wanted to make sure the work lasted beyond her deployment.

“It’s their country, not mine.”

Her time in Iraq exposed her to serious danger. Before leaving Canada, she had to provide a sample of her DNA.

“I knew I might not come back, or I might come back injured.”

She turned 55 in Baghdad, living in what she describes as “half a sea can” (a shipping container) with rockets screaming overhead. One explosion, intended for the nearby U.S. Embassy, came dangerously close, she said.

“I’ve never heard a bang like that.”

In 2019, while still deployed to Iraq, she was asked to speak at an International Women, Peace and Security Conference in Rome, Italy. She met women’s rights activist Lamiya Haji Bashar, a Yazidi survivor of ISIS captivity.

Hearing Bashar speak about seeking justice rather than revenge left a lasting impression on Levy. At this conference, she also met Yazidi human rights activist Mirza Dinnayi. Both advocates made a lasting impression on Levy. Their commitment to helping others reinforced the values she learned growing up.

Learning to accept help

During her career, she carried a lot of responsibility in a very dynamic and ever-changing environment.

After retirement, she finally had time to think about the difficult experiences she faced during her career.

“When I was serving, I didn’t have time to think. It was when I had time to slow down and think that it became a problem for me.”

It was difficult for her to ask for help after spending so many years helping others.

“I love the RCMP. I’m a Baby Boomer, all I did was work. I gave my whole life to the organization.”

Therapy, medication, massage, physiotherapy and spending lots of time outdoors with her two dogs -- Helen, an 11-year-old retired police dog, and Archie, a four-year-old terrier-poodle mix -- is helping her feel like herself again. She says the continued and ongoing support from VAC is really helping her recover, and speaking openly about her challenges has become an important part of that process.

Still Mo

At 62, Levy is learning to live life at a slower pace.

She recently walked 300 plus kilometres on the Via Francigena (Italy) through Tuscany and Lazio before her on-duty injuries (shin splints and plantar fasciitis) from her deployment in Iraq forced her to stop before she arrived in Rome.

“I’m trying to slow myself down,” she says.

At home in Surrey, British Columbia, she is still finding ways to help other people.

She sits on the board of the Metro Vancouver Transit Police. On Tuesday evenings, she delivers hot meals to people in need. And every two weeks, she takes a man who uses a wheelchair and has serious health issues to A&W just so he can get out of the house and has someone to talk to.

Her days look different now, but she still wants to listen, help others and make a difference.

For all the titles she held, and goals she reached, she is still Mo.

As she recovers and reflects, she feels pride in her service.

“I served Canada, and I know I did a good job.”

With courage, integrity and loyalty, Maureen Levy is leaving her mark. She is a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Veteran. Discover more stories.