From Muskeg to Murder

About the Book

From MUSKEG to MURDER begins by chronicling the epic struggles and enormous challenges of the author's ancestors as they struggled to scrounge a living under the oppressive regime of the Tzar in 19th Century Ukraine. They finally fled their desperate situation, eventually settling in the free and serene environs of Canada.

As a boy in rural British Columbia in the mid 20th Century, Andrew Maksymchuk is enthralled by the stories of his immigrant family's escape from oppression, and he dreams of fighting injustice. That dream becomes reality when, at 21, he is initiated into the Ontario Provincial Police Force.

Sent to serve in remote Northwestern Ontario, he learns his craft in its mining centres, pulp and paper industry communities, Indian reservations, native settlements and boom towns. From MUSKEG to MURDER follows "Maks" as he tracks criminals on foot across frozen muskeg, by canoe and speedboat along breathtaking waterways, by rail along the CNR's ribbons of steel, and by airplane above the vastness of the Canadian Shield.

In makeshift courtrooms, primitive cabins and isolated outposts, he overcomes limited training, deficient supervision, poor transportation and communication resources and the clash of cultures with ingenuity, dedication and humour.

The author's willingness to share the most painful and intimate aspects of his life in a candid and unvarnished fashion serves to forge a solid bond with the reader. Family, friends, community and duty become entwined against a backdrop of a changing Canada as Maks shares his experiences and insights into the unique place of the OPP in Canadian police service.

About the Author

Andrew Maksymchuk retired as an Inspector in 1994 after serving over 30 years with the Ontario Provincial Police. Six of those years were spent as a homicide detective with the Criminal Investigation Branch.

Maksymchuk served in remote areas of Northwestern Ontario as well as in densely populated areas like Metropolitan Toronto. As head of TRU, the elite OPP tactical unit, for 8 years, he has been involved in many high risk incidents such as hostage-takings and barricaded gunmen. As a specialized police instructor, his training sessions included the use of firearms, hostage negotiations, special police tactics, and police officer survival techniques.

He has lectured to members of over 100 police organizations from around the world on behalf of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and has given expert testimony on police procedures at inquiries into deaths of and involving police officers.

He is the recipient of the Queen's Commission, Canadian Police Exemplary Medal, Canada 125th Commemorative Medal, the Ontario Provincial Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and many official career commendations.

With several police-related magazine articles to his credit, Maksymchuk is also the author of a book on police survival techniques entitled, "COPS: A Matter of Life & Death," published by Eden Press, MontrŽal, in 1989.

Both of his children have followed in their fatherÕs footsteps and serve the public as police officers in Ontario.

Andrew and Myra make their retirement home in Vernon, BC.