Modern Mississauga and Heritage Mississauga have come together to present an ongoing series called “Way Back Wednesday.”
We’ll share information about the history of Mississauga here and answer your questions.
Today’s topic is the history of Mississauga's Staff Sergeant David Yakichuk Park.

Staff Sergeant David Yakichuk Park is located in the Cooksville area, at 3111 Confederation Avenue, near the intersection of Confederation Avenue and Hillcrest Avenue. David Yakichuk was born in Canora, Saskatchewan in 1929, and eventually moved east in search of work. He worked on farms in the Oshawa area, for Massey Harris in Toronto working with farm machinery, and later joined the York Township Police Deparment.

In 1957 he joined the Toronto Township Police Department, which became the Peel Regional Police Department in 1974. He served with the police force for 34 years, largely based in the Cooksville area.

He was largely involved with traffic patrol, but in this role he distinguished himself by heading a police-in-the-school program. The Peel Regional Police identify him as a pioneer in youth education for Police services. He worked extensively in various safety projects within the community teaching safety rules to Peel's school children. In the late 1970s he was part of the Peel Regional Police Safety bureau and later the Traffic Safety Bureau.

Yakichuk was promoted to a Sergeant in 1973 and to a Staff-Sergeant in 1982. In 1985 the park on Confederation Avenue was named in his honour in recognition to his significant contributions to the community and to safe driving education.