In this issue:
1. Ineffective police boards
2. Reluctance to appointing a new police chief
3. Racism and Toronto police
Toronto Police Accountability Bulletin No. 137, March 20, 2022
This Bulletin is published by the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition (TPAC), a group of individuals and organizations in Toronto interested in police policies and procedures, and in making police more accountable to the community they are committed to serving. Our website is http://www.tpac.ca
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In this issue:
1. Ineffective police boards
2. Reluctance to appointing a new police chief
3. Racism and Toronto police
4. Subscribe to the Bulletin
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1. Ineffective police boards
Across the country the role of police boards is a matter of major discussion. TPAC has complained in Bulletins for years about how ineffective the Toronto Police Service Board is in making decisions about the scope and direction of policing in Toronto. Members of the Board are too often silent about major issues, looking more like bumps on a log than interested or engaged in the work they are appointed to do.
And Toronto is not alone: nowhere in Canada is a police force governed by an effective board.
One commentator compared police board governance in Canada to that of a local zoo or a harbour commission. “The difference: zoo directors can set policy and ask tough questions. Police board members who try to do either are quickly trampled by city lawyers, police commanders, or provincial governments for fear of violating the gospel of `no operational direction.’ And indeed, legitimate democratic pressures from the left, right and centre around fiscal balance, operational modernization, fairer enforcement or violence reduction are all implicitly treated as `operational direction’.” See https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-ottawas-police-board-crisis-is-just-the-tip-of-canadas-police/
Things are so bad in Thunder Bay that there is talk of simply disbanding the whole police force. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-can-trust-in-thunder-bay-police-be-restored/
Judge Morden’s report on the 2010 Toronto G20 fiasco by police stated: “The Board has limited its consultative mandate and viewed it as improper to ask questions about, comment on, and make recommendations concerning operational matters. The Board’s approach in this regard has been wrong.” See TPAC Bulletin No. 69, July 11, 2012.
Morden made it clear that the legislation states that the Board should not be involved in operational decisions – that is – in day to day decisions about who should be arrested and so forth. Nothing prevents the Board from establishing operational policies, something every other corporate board of directors does. But police board members shy away from performing this important role, preferring to allow police to do what they want.
This practice was in full display at the Toronto Board meeting in February when the new policy on police use of Artificial Intelligence programs was approved. In spite of the public input on the draft – four dozen briefs opposed to the draft and suggesting changes, as noted in the previous Bulletin – and five deputations before the Board, no Board members asked questions of any deputants, nor did they comment on any criticisms made of the draft policy: they simply approved what was presented as though they were all asleep.
Three years ago the Ford government passed the Community Safety and Security Act, which repealed the Liberal’s 2017 legislation, The Safer Ontario Act, although the new legislation was almost exactly the same as the repealed law. (See Bulletin No. 112, March 5, 2019.)
Both laws made a number of useful changes to police boards. They could be as large as nine members (an expansion from seven) with a majority appointed locally, the rest by the province. Training of board members would be required and boards would have to reflect the community they represent in accordance with a diversity plan prepared by the municipal council. Boards would be required to prepare a strategic plan for the provision of policing with performance objectives and indicators. (See Bulletin 106, November 20, 2017.)
Even though the Community Safety and Security Act was passed three years ago, it has never been proclaimed, so like the Bill it replaced, it is not in force. The provincial government is clearly not in favour of these small steps in reforming police boards to provide better governance.
2. Reluctance to appointing a new police chief
Mark Saunders announced in June 2020 that he was retiring as Toronto Chief of Police by the end of July 2020. The Board retained a head-hunting firm and hired Environics to gather ideas from the public on the issue. In April 2021 the Board ranked this as “one of its most important tasks, selecting a Chief of Police to lead the Toronto Police Service,” (See Bulletin No. 129, April 6, 2021.)
But as the months roll on, one must conclude that it clearly is not that important to the Board. The announcement was made only last month that the head-hunting firm is about to swing into action. James Ramer, who has been with the Toronto police for 40 years, has been interim chief since Saunders' departure, and the board has confirmed that position until at least the end of this year. His appointment simply emphasizes the Toronto Police Services Board practice of always appointing a new chief from within, and never follows the experience of Western Canada where new chiefs are expected to have worked for another police force. (The sole exception for that in Toronto was the appointment of Julian Fantino as chief: he had been with the Toronto force for his whole career until he spent a few years with the London, Ontario force before becoming chief in Toronto.)
The Environics firm produced a report defining the expected characteristics of a new chief, and they are nothing other than what one would expect: good communicator, transparent, intelligent, open to change, recognizing diversity, and so forth. Environic’s report noted the considerable lack of trust in the police as expressed by many involved in the consultation. (See Bulletin No. 132, August 31, 2021.)
What the Board has never done is outline the changes a new chief would be expected to make. TPAC outlined four changes needed: de-task police and put many functions and funding in the control of social agencies; institute pre-charge screening; establish binding legal disciplinary procedures for racial and sexual discrimination; disarm rank and file officers. (See Bulletin No. 129, April 6, 2021.)
If the Board again decides to appoint from within, one can expect little change since police culture makes it clear that those who advocate change have little chance to be promoted within the police service.
3. Racism and Toronto police
The Ontario Human Rights Commission has issued two reports on anti-Black racism within the Toronto police force: in 2018, `A Collective Impact’, which showed that Blacks were much more likely than whites to receive violent treatment from the Toronto police; and in 2020, `A Disparate Impact’, which showed Blacks were much more likely than whites to be charged with `discretionary’ crimes. (See Bulletin No. 125, September 21, 2020.) In April 2021, OHRC stated a third and final report would be issued in the fall of 2021.
In November that third report had not bene issued, and the new chair of the OHRC, Patricia DeGuire, stated in an email that this third and final report was in its `final stages’. More than four months have passed since then; surely the report must have been completed. When asked early in March when the third report will be issued, Ms DeGuire replied ten days later, referring to a media statement by OHRC released on March 18. It states:
“In the spirit of cooperation, the TPS, TPSB and the Toronto Police Association have agreed to additional engagement to ensure that the report includes a broad range of policing and community safety and well-being perspectives. The OHRC, TPS and TPSB are working collaboratively to identify additional relevant stakeholders for interviews or other forms of feedback, leading us to extend our process.
“The OHRC acknowledges significant public interest in the inquiry and the release of its final report and recommendations. To this end, the OHRC is working diligently, and is committed to producing a significant and impactful report. It is working with Black communities and the TPS and TPSB to ensure that this work results in comprehensive, positive and meaningful action. By moving the report’s release to later in 2022, the OHRC is hopeful that the additional time, work and engagement with communities will help achieve this goal.”
Yet more and more consultation, and no action on the serious problem of racial discrimination. Could the problem be that unlike the previous chair of the OHRC, who has since been elevated to be a judge, Ms DeGuire is an appointee of Premier Doug Ford, and follows his lead of never doing anything to change policing for the better?
4. Subscribe to the Bulletin
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