Sloly’s move to Deloitte a ‘loss for policing’
Councillor regrets resignation of former deputy police chief
An outspoken former Toronto deputy chief of police has joined Deloitte Canada, just a few months after he left the service following being passed over for role of chief.
Peter Sloly is now an executive director at the consulting firm, the company announced Thursday morning.
Sloly said he will focus on advising clients on cybersecurity in a special position created for him, just as management at the company was looking to expand expertise in the area.
“The timing of my departure from the Toronto Police Service was very serendipitous,” he said in an interview.
Sloly worked for the Toronto police for 27 years, rising through the ranks to deputy chief of police of executive command in 2009.
He was passed over for the top cop role in 2015 when it went instead to another deputy, Mark Saunders.
Councillor Michael Thompson, who was a member of the Toronto Police Services Board while Sloly was part of the force, called him an “immensely talented person” and said the move is “a loss for policing.”
“We’ve lost a great police leader, a great voice which is lacking now in the police service,” he said. “It’s a great coup for (Deloitte) and it’s a great loss for the citizens of Toronto.”
Sloly was a rare critic of the service from within its ranks, leading a 2013 internal review of the controversial practice of carding.
At a January 2016 public forum he said radical change was necessary to restore the public’s trust, and blasted the bloated police budget. He resigned the following month.
Asked if he still has concerns about the state of Toronto policing, Sloly was not quite as candid on Thursday.
“It’s a challenging period for almost every sector,” he said.
“I’m starting to sound like my dad, but I’ve never seen a period in my life where there’s been so much change and so much complexity and so much challenge,” he added.
Sloly, who holds an MBA from York University, said he will continue his work as a member of several boards, from the YMCA of Greater Toronto to the International Centre for Prevention of Crime, and said he can “absolutely” make a difference for the public in his private-sector role.
Asked if he would ever return to policing he said he’s always believed in keeping all his options open.
“But at 50 years old and with a 22-month-old toddler at home, I’ll be working into my early 70s, so I hope to have a long run with Deloitte,” he said.
“I hope that I’ll also have other opportunities to test my leadership skills in other companies, other organizations, other capacities.”
Ryan Brain, regional managing partner with Deloitte in Toronto, called Sloly a “proven leader” and “out of the box thinker” with a “unique background” that will serve the company’s clients well.
In addition to cybersecurity, Sloly will focus on crisis response and digital media, and work on diversity and inclusion issues, Brain said. With files from Peter Goffin