Sergeant Nadine Laflamme

In 1989, Nadine Laflamme went behind her mother’s back to enlist as a reservist with what was then called the 55 Medical Company. It seemed only natural to study health science at CEGEP. By the time her mother found out, the papers had already been signed. “She wasn’t very surprised, though. She knew me,” says Nadine.

Although she has always been interested in overseas deployments, she never had the chance to participate in one. Nevertheless, whenever there is an emergency on Canadian soil, Sergeant Laflamme reports for duty.

In the spring of 2019, a number of Quebec municipalities were flooded owing to a heavy winter snowfall followed by a rapid spring thaw. The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) were called in to assist. Sergeant Laflamme, who was then part of a team of paramedics, was summoned to a small village north of Trois‑Rivières. The team then continued on to the greater Montreal area.

“That’s when you see all the groups working together to help people.”

Her chief role was to take care of injured Canadian Forces members. She was happy to be able to ensure the safety of her comrades, who were working tirelessly to help disaster victims. “There were always a few engineers there as well because they specialize in dikes, bridges, things like that. They were there to make sure that the work was having the desired effect, and to see where the dikes needed to be reinforced. … That’s when you see the interplay of all the groups working together to help people,” she says.

With this experience barely behind her, Sergeant Laflamme was assigned to another Canadian emergency mission. She had not been back to her position as recruiting sergeant for long. In the middle of the winter of 2020, a respiratory virus was wreaking havoc around the world. Even though Canada was spared the worst at the beginning, COVID‑19 arrived with a vengeance and began to decimate the residents of senior and long‑term care homes across the country. The crisis was especially severe in long‑term care homes in Quebec. The army was called in to help, and Sergeant Laflamme immediately volunteered. She was sent to a home north of Montreal for a month and a half. Once there, she came face to face with the critical nature of the situation. Almost the entire residence was contaminated with the virus. The staff shortage was striking. “We, as medical personnel, really had to do the work of the orderlies. I worked with one orderly, sharing in almost all of her duties. … At the beginning, we were really needed because, on the floor where I worked, there were usually four orderlies. But she was the only orderly for all the residents.”

“We were given 12-hour shifts with one day off. It was a bit rough.”

There were even soldiers from combat regiments working alongside Sergeant Laflamme, cleaning the premises and ensuring that sanitary measures were followed in the residences. At the height of the crisis, these long shifts were exhausting for the troops. “This was at a time when masks were not yet mandatory in public. We left in the morning with a mask on and then we wore it all day long. When we came home, we took a mandatory shower. … We were given 12‑hour shifts with one day off. It was a bit rough.”

Today, back at her position as recruiting sergeant, she continues to share her passion with the recruits. “When you’re in the reserves, you can quit whenever you want to. If I didn’t truly love it, I would have left a long time ago,” she says.

With courage, integrity and loyalty, Nadine Laflamme has left her mark. Discover other stories.