EMBATTLED PEEL CHIEF GETS TWO-YEAR EXTENSION
Jennifer Evans, who clashed with police board over transparency and street checks, had faced calls for her resignation,
Peel police Chief Jennifer Evans has been given a two-year contract extension by the board that oversees her, despite their clashes over the last two years.
“This board is moving forward and I would say that after an initial difference of opinion, the chief is fully committed to work with the board,” Amrik Ahluwalia, the board chair, said shortly after the Tuesday vote that saw the embattled chief hang onto her job for another two years. He would not reveal the result of the vote, which was conducted in-camera.
Evans’ contract will expire in October 2019, with no opportunity for an extension beyond that.
“I am excited for the opportunity to continue to lead this great organization,” Evans said in a statement. “I would like to thank all of our employees and the com- munity for their unwavering support and dedication to our service. I am very proud to have such a strong team behind me.”
The board, which has fought since Ahluwalia’s election as chair last year to bring in major reforms, will now continue working with a chief, who has been widely criticized over her leadership.
The board recently moved the chief’s budget presentations out into the public after they had for years been done behind closed doors. Committee meetings to deal with key policing policies were also recently moved to public sessions.
The board in 2015 had voted to request that Evans suspend the controversial practice of street checks after it was revealed that Black people were stopped at three times the rate of whites by Peel officers.
Evans refused the request and has continued to champion street checks as a valuable policing tool.
This, along with the force’s poor track record of officer misconduct under Evans’ watch, prompted a number of community groups to call for her resignation.
Evans, meanwhile, said she is committed to “building stronger partnerships within our community.”
Despite the controversies, including a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ruling that a decorated South Asian-Canadian staff sergeant was denied opportunity for promotion in 2013 because of racial discrimination, Ahluwalia says the board can work positively with the chief.
“I’m very proud of what the board has done in the last six to eight months.”
Asked if he’s confident that a recently launched equity and diversity audit of the force will be carried out with the full co-operation of senior staff, he said, “The chief has assured me that she will provide everything. If the vendor feels that they’re not (being given full co-operation) then they can call me and I will make sure everything is made available to them.”