Process for OPP chief ‘flawed’

TORON TO • The recruitment process that led to the appointment of a close friend of Doug Ford as Ontario’s top cop was “flawed,” the province’s integrity commissioner has found, but the premier himself didn’t break any rules.

In a report issued Wednesday, J. David Wake said Ford stayed at arm’s length from the process that resulted in Toronto police Supt. Ron Taverner being appointed head of the Ontario Provincial Police last fall.

“A recruitment process was put in place which, unfortunately, I have found to have been flawed through no actions of Premier Ford,” Wake wrote. “I find that Premier Ford’s conduct was not improper in relation to the recruitment process and that he could not have had any improper purpose in the approval of the selection committee’s recommendation on the basis of what he knew at the time.”

Taverner, 72, withdrew his name from consideration this month, citing the controversy around his appointment and the need to protect the integrity of front-line OPP officers.

Wake’s investigation was launched after complaints from opposition politicians over the appointment.

Ford said the findings clear him and his team. “The integrity commissioner’s report and its findings represents a complete — I repeat — a complete vindication for our government,” he said

Taverner initially did not meet the criteria listed for the position and the government admitted it lowered the requirements to attract a wider range of candidates.

Steve Orsini, who was at the time the province’s top civil servant, told Wake that the premier’s chief of staff, Dean French, called him to ask why the job posting was “so restrictive,” according to the report. But Wake concluded that a rank requirement was eliminated because a public servant incorrectly used information from a 2014 posting for the job.

Wake did raise concerns over communications between Orsini, who was part of the hiring panel, and French.

“What I found most disconcerting in all the evidence were the text messages from the secretary to Mr. French as to Mr. Taverner’s progress throughout the process,” Wake wrote. “There seemed to be a tacit acknowledgment by the secretary that Mr. French was rooting for Mr. Taverner’s success. Anyone examining these messages would have serious doubts as to the fairness of the process.”

Wake also listed factors that could have led “perhaps unintentionally” to a preference being given to Taverner, including that Orsini had contacted Taverner before the job had been advertised.

The report says French initially told Wake that both he and the premier recommended Taverner be considered for the top OPP job, but quickly backtracked.

“Yes, we both recommended that he be considered,” French said. “Actually, I — I should speak for myself. I recommended to Secretary Orsini that he be considered.”