Ottawa Police Conference Interrupted by Activists Seeking Answers

Article content

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs were confronted at the first Police Service Commission meeting on Monday by local activists who disrupted procedures in what they called an act of civil disobedience. .

Article content

613-819 Black Hub co-leader Robin Browne said in a five-minute presentation to the board, “While you’re ignoring basic democratic principles, we’re ignoring you.” announced. “So things are going to happen a little differently tonight.”

Article content

He said he would not sit in his chair in the committee room at city hall until the committee had answered four questions posed by his colleagues.

Bailey Gauthier requested to know if the board will return to a hybrid structure for meetings and allow online delegations (they now have to meet in person). Whether the police are included in the mayor’s promise of a line-by-line audit of the city hall budget. Whether the board will freeze the police budget until its audit is completed. Whether to commission an independent, human rights-based review of police services.

Article content

“With all due respect, I will not leave this chair until you answer our questions,” Brown announced.

After repeatedly refusing calls to resign and letting the board continue its work, interim board chair Susanne Valike adjourned the meeting for 15 minutes.

Then, with Brown and Gautier still in their chairs at the committee table, with their microphones muted, the Board rushed through key items on the agenda without discussion in less than five minutes.

It’s the second time in the past week that a public meeting has been interrupted and cut short by disruptive members.

Last Tuesday, a meeting of the Ottawa-Carlton District School Board failed to vote on imposing a mask rule after those opposing such an order interrupted the meeting with heckles and ridicule. Meetings have been moved online and voting has been delayed.

Article content

A police conference on Monday approved Sutcliffe’s appointments to two police commissions and several special constables.

It was then abruptly postponed on a motion from board member Michael Doucet, without considering a series of reports on human rights, racial profiling and workplace management.

Police will send 30 recruits to the Ontario Police College next month to accelerate hiring to make up for an unexpected rise in retirees, according to a workplace management report.

It will be the third and largest class of recruits to begin the process of becoming an Ottawa police officer in 2022.

Police predict annual retirees based on historical averages and demographics, but the figure for 2022 surprised officials.

Article content

According to the Workforce Management Report, “This can be attributed to multiple factors, including members choosing to postpone their retirement during the pandemic, opportunities at other organizations, and personal issues. I have”.

The report does not mention the so-called “Freedom Convoy” that occupied downtown Ottawa for a month and pushed many police officers to their limits.

In testimony to the Emergency Act investigation, former Chief of Staff Peter Slowly said police officers faced “inhumane conditions” during the protests. “It was too cold and too much, but they did their best,” Slowly said, adding that misinformation about their jobs squashed officers’ morale.

Ottawa plans to hire 83 new executives by the end of the year, according to a workplace management report. Personnel hired in April will be fully trained and deployed by January, while those hired in August will begin work in May 2023.

The 30 recruits entering the Police College in December require about nine months of training and add $1.7 million to the police’s annual budget.

As Ottawa’s new police chief, Stubbs says staffing is one of his priorities.