Policing in Ontario takes 'a large step forward' with sweeping new law

The provincial government passed legislation Thursday that rewrites the decades-old Police Act, enacting significant changes to police services, their boards and civilian police agencies.

Thestar.com
March, 8, 2018
By Wendy Gillis

Police watchdogs will be stronger and more transparent, police chiefs will have greater powers to suspend officers without pay, and the public complaints system will become more independent after the Liberal government's omnibus police bill was passed at Queen's Park Thursday.

The hefty legislation rewrites the province's decades-old Police Act, enacting significant changes to police services, their boards and civilian police agencies, including the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) - reforms considered long overdue by police critics, academics, and police services alike.

Hailed as "a framework of modern policing in the 21st century" by Attorney General Yasir Naqvi, the bill's passage came after fevered debate inside Queen's Park, with Progressive Conservative members voting against the bill after echoing the concerns from police associations that the changes opened the door to the "privatization" of policing services.

But the legislation was dubbed as "a large step forward" by civilian oversight experts, predominantly those changes that acted on recommendations brought forward by Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Michael Tulloch following a detailed review of the SIU and other civilian watchdogs.

Tulloch's recommendations included far greater public reporting requirements, what Naqvi called an "open by default" approach to investigations into police behaviour to provide key information allowing citizens to understand civilian watchdog decisions.

Tulloch also recommended the SIU be granted greater powers to probe police - including the ability to lay any criminal charge uncovered during an investigation and to penalize police officers who fail to co-operate with its probes, including up to a year in jail.

"This is an auspicious day - it's going to be good for all communities, people of colour especially," said Valarie Steele, a member of the Black Action Defense Committee who came to Queen's Park to watch the vote Thursday. "You have to have proper oversight, oversight with teeth, that people will not ignore."

Ian Scott, the former director of the SIU, said the bill is "a large step forward," particularly when it comes to non-criminal public complaints. The new legislation demands that, within the next five years, the province's police complaint watchdog, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIRPD), be fully independent, no longer referring any complaints back to the police service where the complaint originated.

Police watchdogs will be stronger and more transparent, police chiefs will have greater powers to suspend officers without pay, and the public complaints system will become more independent after the Liberal government's omnibus police bill was passed at Queen's Park Thursday.

The hefty legislation rewrites the province's decades-old Police Act, enacting significant changes to police services, their boards and civilian police agencies, including the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) - reforms considered long overdue by police critics, academics, and police services alike.

Hailed as "a framework of modern policing in the 21st century" by Attorney General Yasir Naqvi, the bill's passage came after fevered debate inside Queen's Park, with Progressive Conservative members voting against the bill after echoing the concerns from police associations that the changes opened the door to the "privatization" of policing services.

But the legislation was dubbed as "a large step forward" by civilian oversight experts, predominantly those changes that acted on recommendations brought forward by Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Michael Tulloch following a detailed review of the SIU and other civilian watchdogs.

Tulloch's recommendations included far greater public reporting requirements, what Naqvi called an "open by default" approach to investigations into police behaviour to provide key information allowing citizens to understand civilian watchdog decisions.

Tulloch also recommended the SIU be granted greater powers to probe police — including the ability to lay any criminal charge uncovered during an investigation and to penalize police officers who fail to co-operate with its probes, including up to a year in jail.

"This is an auspicious day - it's going to be good for all communities, people of colour especially," said Valarie Steele, a member of the Black Action Defense Committee who came to Queen's Park to watch the vote Thursday. "You have to have proper oversight, oversight with teeth, that people will not ignore."

Ian Scott, the former director of the SIU, said the bill is "a large step forward," particularly when it comes to non-criminal public complaints. The new legislation demands that, within the next five years, the province's police complaint watchdog, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIRPD), be fully independent, no longer referring any complaints back to the police service where the complaint originated.