Jean-Michel Blais worked 25 years in the RCMP before becoming the Chief of Halifax Regional Police, retiring in 2019. He is a graduate of McGill University (political science and economics) and Université Laval (law). He is the principal of EMPIRIC Consultancy Solutions, currently writing a book entitled Working the Blue Line: Lessons in Life, Leadership and Complexity from Hockey and Policing, expected to be published in 2021.