Serge LeClerc

Today, Serge LeClerc [BA (Hon) Sociology/Social Work] is the elected MLA for Saskatoon Northwest, Legislative Secretary to the Minister of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing, Corrections Facilities Initiative and a sough-after public speaker throughout North America.

But it wasn’t always like this.

Born as a product of rape to a teenage girl in an abandoned building in New Brunswick, Serge’s early years were characterized by extreme poverty in the crumbling Toronto Regent’s Park district.

At 8 years old, Serge was taken from his mother and placed in the notoriously brutal and abusive St. John’s Training School. He began a pattern of running away and being recaptured, receiving further physical abuse when he was returned.

By the age of 12, Serge had developed numerous ties to the future heads of several motorcycle gangs, including Satan’s Choice, Vagabonds and Paradise Riders. He later became a feared gang leader and drug dealer, eventually becoming heavily addicted to crystal meth, heroin, crack and cocaine.

Between his years of crime and years of violence within Canada’s most-brutal prisons, Serge became one of Canada’s most-wanted and feared criminal king-pins. It culminated in a 40 million dollar meth lab in Quebec with ties throughout the world. He was sentenced to nine years in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Quebec’s super-maximum security prison.

A chance encounter with a volunteer who was distributing magazines to prisoners changed his life.

“I couldn’t figure out his angle,” writes Serge. “He wasn’t getting money and he wasn’t getting prestige and nobody was patting him on the back. It fascinated me, but I also got angry at him because I couldn’t figure out his angle. He was an anomaly to me.”

“In a very short conversation of about three minutes, he challenged my premise that you’re either an animal that walks on two legs and there is no meaning to your life and to the aftermath of your life, or that you’re a creation and that you have a soul, and that makes you of great value.”

Some months later, Serge watched helplessly as a 19-year-old inmate in the cell next to his ripped up his sheets and hung himself. It was devastating.

“He got himself put into prison for buying crystal meth that came from my laboratories. For the first time in my life, I looked at the responsibility of my choices.”

Serge considered suicide himself. But when finally faced with the choice of a road of despair or a way of hope… he chose hope.

Overcoming a Grade 5 education, he began to take correspondence courses, eventually earning Certification in General Social Work from the Renison College while in prison. Upon release, in 1988, he struggled to grow accustomed to society again, but persevered and thrived, and while attending the University of Waterloo, graduated with a Honour BA with a major in Sociology and minor in Social Work. He then began his work as a motivational speaker (especially for Crime Stoppers), consultant, addiction counsellor, and administrator. And in 2000, bolstered by his shining community example, he pursued and obtained an unexpected, but deeply satisfying full Pardon from the Government of Canada.

Serge went on to develop and assist many social organizations and ministries, most notably that as the founder and Provincial Director of Teen Challenge Saskatchewan. And in 2007, he won a seat in the Saskatchewan Provincial Parliament. Premier Brad Wall then appointed him as Legislative Secretary to the Minster of Corrections.

As his political career progresses, Serge is intent on making full use of this opportunity to ‘give back’ for what has been allowed him – the blessing of a second chance at life. While the province may lead the nation in economic growth, Mr. LeClerc points out that the province has also led per capita in crime since 2000. Today, he said, Saskatchewan also has the highest rates of child poverty, child incarceration, youth gang recruitment, drug addiction, and child prostitution, with some victims as young as nine years old. It’s a cycle he intends to change.

And if the stubborn streak that has characterized Serge from his days as a small boy right through his 21 years in prison is any indication, it’s a very good bet that the story of Serge LeClerc is far from over….

Testimonials

As the MLA for Saskatoon Northwest, a keynote speaker throughout North America and an expert authority on substance abuse, Serge LeClerc has had many opportunities to present his message of hope and making good choices to a wide variety of audiences.

“…life is not a destination, but a journey…”

“A stranger and I met behind stage at an event where we were both scheduled to speak for fifteen minutes to a group of law enforcement people. The stranger turned to me and said he had no idea what he would say. When he did speak, he received a standing ovation, and I knew then and there that this stranger would be my keynote speaker at the upcoming International Crime Stoppers Conference in Wyoming.

Little did I know it would take intervention from Wyoming’s United States Senator for him to get permission to cross the US/Canadian border. What had happened was this: a police chief had just made friends with a convicted felon named Serge LeClerc. No one meeting Serge would ever expect this well-mannered and educated man to have lived the childhood he describes in his book. No one could ever fathom the challenges he faced in prison. This is a story of a regular guy whose destination was hell, but as you will read in this book, Serge shows you that life is not a destination, but a journey.”

Richard Paul, Chief of Police (retired), Gillette, Wyoming; Chair, Wyoming State Advisory Council on Juvenile Justice.

“…to survive meant he had to change…”

“Life has not been great, but it can be! Serge’s openness and sincerity will speak to many who have not even come close to living on the edge of disaster as he has. Serge is a pardoned convicted felon who realized that being a ‘career criminal’ was a dead end. To survive mean he had to change, and he did. As someone who has ‘been there, done that’, he has become an advocate for good. Today he is my friend and my brother.”

John Neely, Deputy Warden, Correctional Services Canada (retired)

“…When he speaks, you want to listen…”

“I first heard Serge LeClerc speak at an International Crime Stoppers Conference in Kelowna, B.C., Canada. He is a compelling and provocative speaker who is capable of influencing peoples’ lives for the better in just a few brief moments. When he speaks, you want to listen, and so you do. His survival in world of crime for a good deal of his life is only surpassed by his knowledge, experience, wisdom and his unrelenting need to prevent people from doing what he himself did. I hold this man in the highest regard and with the greatest of respect.”

P.G. (Pete) Netherway, Inspector, RCMP (retired); CEO of Kamloops & District Crime Stoppers Society (retired)

“…we were witnessing a miracle of transformation…”

“I met Serge LeClerc fifteen years ago during a Prison Fellowship International board meeting in Toronto. Serge was there to share his remarkable story, his journey from a twisted life of crime and violence to finding a new way of being. As fifteen men and women from around the world listened to Serge tell his riveting story, we knew we were witnessing a miracle of transformation.

Over the years, I have seen Serge’s passion and conviction touch the lives of many people in and out of trouble. He is a uniquely gifted communicator with a powerful personal message that is rooted in the depths of human experience.”

Ronald W. Nikkel, President, Prison Fellowship International, Washington D.C.

“…the importance of ‘knowing’ a person before you judge them…”

“Serge LeClerc greatly impacted the success of Crime Stoppers in Saskatoon where we first met. Through his potent message, police leaders throughout North America have gained better insight and understanding into how drug trafficking and criminal gang activities impact our communities. My friendship with Serge has grown through a long and trusted relationship that has given me a deeper understanding of the meaning of true friendship and the importance of ‘knowing’ a person before you judge them.”

Dave Scott, Saskatoon Chief of Police (retired); National Parole Board, Prairie Region, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

“…you will see that everything is possible…”

“When you’ve been a police officer for forty years, you think you’ve probably encountered everything. I thought that way, and then I met Serge LeClerc. He told me he had a soft spot in his heart for police officers and prison guards. I found that hard to believe because I was well aware of his past. Someone on Canada’s Most Wanted List isn’t generally the kind of guy who has a soft spot for police officers. But indeed, we became close friends.

As you read Serge’s story, you will see that everything is possible. Read… and believe.”

Henry E. (Hank) Harley, Chief of Police, Tillsonburg, Ontario (retired); Superintendent of Niagara Regional Police, Ontario (retired); Executive Director, Canadian Christian Peace Officers Association

Lifted From the Depths
A harrowing life story of abuse, crime and violence – a powerful and compelling journey of overcoming and redemption. He shares his transformational personal experiences moving from being born a product of rape in an abandoned building to a young mother, being raised in the ‘inner city’ of Toronto, young offender and training schools, gang leader and violent criminal, organized crime drug dealer with a 20 year addiction, long term prison convict of 21 years with a grade 5 education to one of North America’s leading experts on youth and social issues as well as addictions. He graduated from the University of Waterloo on the Dean’s Honor Roll for Outstanding Achievement with a Certificate in General Social Work and a Honor Degree in Sociology. His remarkable life change and new career accomplishments has been recognized by the Canadian Government with a precedent setting Full National Pardon.

Challenges and Choices
This presentation of the social reality facing modern day youth, their families, and the community is specifically designed as an interweaving of Serge’s life with sound theoretical foundation and a practical analysis of a variety of issues viewing through a prism of moral and ethical certainty. Serge holds expertise in such areas as Issues in Sociology and Criminology, Justice Systems (adolescent and adult), Institutional Care, Child Maltreatment, Family Violence, Work with Street Children, the Field of Addictions and generally the issues of media manipulation, bullying and violence, peer pressure and gender issues, gangs and crime, drug and alcohol usage, rights and responsibilities, and Crimes of Silence.

For more information about Serge LeClerc, visit his web site at:  sergetalks.com