Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Alumni Association (KPUAA) honoured the 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award winners in Surrey, including Stephanie Cadieux, Minister of Children and Family Development: Diploma in Marketing Management (1994); Baltej Dhillon, Staff Sergeant with the RCMP: Diploma in Criminology (1988); Maryanne Mathias, Co-founder and owner of sustainable fashion company Osei-Duro: Bachelor of Arts in Applied Design Fashion (2003); Chris McCue, President of McCue Environmental Contracting: Diploma in Environmental Protection Technology (1994).
Close to 150 guests gathered at the Eaglequest Golf course to honour the award winners, who were selected from a pool of nearly 43,000 KPU graduates. Former Air India cop Baltej Dhillon graduated from the university in 1988 with a diploma in criminology, and decided to join the RCMP. He met all of the initial requirements, however RCMP policy did not allow him to wear a turban. The issue went to the then-Commissioner of the RCMP, who sided with Dhillon. This led Canada’s Solicitor General to announce in the House of Commons that the policy would be amended to permit Sikhs to wear a turban while on active duty in the RCMP. Dhillon was the first turbaned cadet in Canadian history to enter training. He is currently the head of the British Columbia RCMP Provincial Intelligence Centre. Dhillon was also a founding member of the KPUAA and served as the chair of the board in 2009. He has been recognized with numerous awards for his community and youth service, including the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award in 2003 and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award in 2012.
