Public meeting to examine policing contract
The commission deciding the fate of Amherstburg police wants to meet with residents.
The Ontario Civilian Police Commission will hold a public meeting in town before approving Amherstburg ’s police contract with Windsor. Amherstburg council voted in February to contract out the town’s policing services to the City of Windsor. Since then, the proposal has been under review by the commission.
OCPC spokeswoman Silvia Cheng said the level of public interest warrants the meeting. “The OCPC’s role is to decide whether the proposal will provide adequate and effective policing services to the Town of Amherstburg,” Cheng wrote in an email. “Following the public hearing, the OCPC will review the information to make sure that it meets the criteria in the Police Services Act.” Cheng also said that the OCPC must make sure that the abolition of Amherstburg ’s police force complies with Police Services Act guidelines.
“Public consultation is part of the OCPC’s process,” Amherstburg CAO John Miceli said, adding the public meetings are not meant to seek community approval. The OCPC is an independent, quasi-judicial agency and under the Safety, Licensing Appeals and Standards Tribunals Ontario cluster. The town must seek commission approval because Amherstburg and Windsor do not share a common border.
The issue in Amherstburg is highly contentious. A majority of citizens who attended four community meetings in January about the proposal were against it. They spoke out in fear of losing local control, and losing their status as one of the safest places in Canada. Those who spoke at the meetings didn’t care that the switch would save the town money.
The commission approved a similar decision last year, when St. Mary ’s applied to switch its policing contract from the Ontario Provincial Police to the City of Stratford’s municipal force. In that review, the commission noted the public supported the change. It did not hold a public meeting in St. Mary’s prior to approving its proposal.
The dates for an OCPC hosted meeting in Amherstburg have not been announced. Amherstburg town council voted 3-2 in favour of entering a 20-year contract with the Windsor Police Service in a short meeting Feb. 26. The proposed switch is projected to save the town more than $600,000 annually.
Mayor Aldo DiCarlo and councillors Leo Meloche and Rick Fryer voted in favour. Councillors Joan Courtney and Jason Lavigne were opposed. Deputy Mayor Bart DiPasquale and Councillor Diane Pouget did not vote due to conflicts of interest. Both have family members on the Windsor Police Service.
The proposal will allow officers currently working in Amherstburg to remain there.
If approved, the switch is anticipated to start on Jan. 1, 2019.
The OCPC will review the information to make sure that it meets the criteria in the Police Services Act.