Faces of CSC: James Raoul
Content warning: This article contains a graphic account of a real-life emergency situation involving physical danger and trauma. Reader discretion is advised. For links to support resources, please go to the bottom of this article.
James Raoul once faced a machete. Now he helps others fight their battles.
The machete’s blade caught the light just long enough for James Raoul to realize what was happening. One moment he was sitting in a criminology classroom at Eastern College in Fredericton, New Brunswick; the next, a fellow student he once called a friend was charging straight at him with a 16-inch weapon. There was no time to think. His hands shot up on instinct, taking the force of the first blow meant for his skull.
Dazed and bleeding, he saw the attacker pivot toward their instructor. Something inside him flipped and the soldier in him - the part of him trained to run toward danger - snapped into action.
James grabbed a long classroom table - 6 feet of steel and laminate - and drove it forward like a shield, slamming the attacker into the wall. He wrestled him to the ground and held him there until a student came running from a nearby classroom to help, saving multiple lives in under 2 minutes.
For his bravery in the 2014 incident, James was later awarded the Governor General’s Medal of Bravery 2 years later, an honour he still describes as surreal. It came just months after he completed 11 years in the Canadian Armed Forces with the 4th Air Defence Regiment. A sudden medical release due to a heart condition had pulled him off his anticipated deployment to Afghanistan and left him searching for a new sense of purpose.
ceremony in 2024.
He soon learned what it meant when the Forces teach that “esprit de corps” lasts past the uniform. “Just because you take the uniform off doesn’t mean it’s gone,” he says.
Today, James is an acting Parole Officer in Sydney, Nova Scotia, supporting people reintegrating into the community after incarceration. After joining CSC as a case management assistant in 2016, he spent evenings and weekends completing his degree - all while raising 2 boys - before qualifying as a parole officer in 2024.
Now, he applies his warrior mindset to a very different kind of frontline: helping supervise and support offenders as they rebuild their lives after surviving intense trauma themselves.
“I am a veteran and I have dealt with some of the veterans on my caseload,” he explains. “That peer-to-peer support goes beyond just being a parole officer…I get what they’re saying from their service-related injuries, when they've had terrible things happen. I’ve been there.”
Having lived both sides - the disciplined service member and the victim fighting to heal - James bridges a divide few others can. He has written victim impact statements. He has navigated the court process. And he has learned firsthand that the justice system isn’t just policy and paperwork - it’s people, pain, and the hope that someone believes you matter.
Now, that experience informs his work supervising people rebuilding after incarceration. That sense of accountability, professionalism, and brotherhood, instilled in him from day one of basic military training, remains his compass.
Every day, his work on the job is different- and that’s part of what he loves. “There’s always a curveball. You’re always problem solving… trying to implement what you think might be the best action plan,” he says.
A faint scar still crosses his forehead from the machete attack - a permanent reminder of the moment his instinct to protect took over. It symbolizes something he has carried from the military into corrections: you look out for the people beside you, no matter where the place you serve.
“It’s been nice to see the difference we’re making,” James says simply. “Pride isn’t in the medal. It’s in the mission.”
Support resources
For victims of crime
If you’re a victim of crime, CSC’s Victim Services provides resources to support victims. To learn more
For CSC employees
If you’re a CSC employee who has experienced trauma, there are resources available to support you at all times. This includes:
- Mental Health Resources and Programs for Employees (accessible only on the Government of Canada network)
- Correctional Service of Canada’s Mental Health Strategy on Workplace Wellness and Employee Well-Being (2025 to 2028) (accessible only on the Government of Canada network)
- EAP referral agents (accessible only on the Government of Canada network)
- TELUS Health (accessible only on the Government of Canada network)
- Critical Incident Stress Management Program (accessible only on the Government of Canada network)
- PSPNET
- Office of the Ombuds for Workplace Well-being (accessible only on the Government of Canada network)
- 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline