MANITOULIN—The Manitoulin Municipal Association (MMA) has received confirmation of approval from the province to have its own police service board.
“I am happy to hear our proposal for a new framework system has been approved,” said Al MacNevin, a member of the MMA and Mayor of the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands.
A letter from Sarah Caldwell, assistant deputy minister, strategic policy division of the Ministry of the Solicitor General, dated July 18, to Burpee and Mills and the Town of Espanola explains, “thank you for submitting your proposal to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) detachment board framework. Your patience has been greatly appreciated while all proposals went through a thorough review process.”
“At this time, I am pleased to confirm that the Manitoulin OPP detachment board proposal has been approved by the solicitor general to the next step in finalizing the board compositions, which is posting the composition on the Ontario Regulatory Registry (ORR),” explained Ms. Caldwell. “The ministry is currently working on drafting the regulation, which is expected to be available on the ORR for public comment in the summer or fall. Posting of the regulation is one of the last steps before the regulation can be finalized in advance of bringing the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019 (CSPA) into force in early 2024.”
Ms. Caldwell indicated the following board composition has been approved for posting. For Manitoulin Island the new police services board will serve the communities of Assiginack, Billings, Burpee and Mills, Central Manitoulin, Cockburn Island, Gordon/Barrie Island, Town of Gore Bay, Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands and Tehkummah. The new board will be made up of six council seats, two community representative seats and two provincial appointments.
A second separate police service board will include and serve the Township of Baldwin, Town of Espanola, Township of Nairn and Hyman and the Township of Spanish Rivers.
“On behalf of the Ministry of the Solicitor General, I would like to express my appreciation to all the communities involved in the proposal development process. I acknowledge and value the significant efforts undertaken to create a proposal for a detachment board that addresses the unique needs of each community that receives OPP policing services in your detachment,” wrote Ms. Caldwell.
Mayor MacNevin acknowledged, “I thought we had already had approval. The proposal still has to go through public comment in the summer or fall and then the regulation is supposed to be in early 2024. If it is delayed any longer there will be new municipal councils in place,” he quipped.
Mayor MacNevin expressed one concern, though. “There is a requirement that the new board members will have to undergo training. I wonder who is going to pay for that?”
Al Boyd, chair of the Manitoulin Community Police Advisory Committee (MCPAC) said, “the ministry has made the decision to approve the request for the police service board, based on a number of factors, I’m sure, including the differences between Manitoulin and the North Shore. It made more sense to have two separate police boards.”
“We didn’t figure there would be anything in place before 2024,” said Mr. Boyd. “My intention is to resume the CPAC meetings in September.”
Ms. Caldwell added, “the ministry is planning to share more guidance as soon as possible on next steps, with the understanding that municipalities and First Nations require time to plan for the implementation of OPP detachment boards before the CSPA comes into force.”
