THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Police Services Board is withdrawing a request for the city to approve a $56 million new headquarters in its 2022 budget, saying it needs to focus first on internal issues that have recently exploded into the public spotlight.
The funding request was set to be debated Thursday evening as city council reviews the budget, but was officially withdrawn in a last-minute addition to the agenda, following a Tuesday meeting of the police services board.
The board requested the full cost instead be budgeted for 2023, likely leaving a final decision in the hands of a newly elected city council, following the Oct. 24 municipal election.
Coun. Kristen Oliver, who chairs the police services board, said the board saw a need to first address concerns about its leadership, which faces numerous human rights complaints from officers and others.
Ontario’s Solicitor General has asked for an investigation of police leadership by the province’s civilian police watchdog, it was revealed this week, following calls from current police board member Georjann Morriseau and the Thunder Bay Police Association.
“We recognize there is some very concerning information that’s come forward,” said Oliver, who is named alongside others in a human rights complaint filed by Morriseau. "We don't want the capital build to be a distration in that regard."
The police services board said this week it welcomed an investigation by the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC), saying it would help the force move on.
Oliver called the delay in securing a funding commitment "unfortunate," but noted the board will still seek $2.4 million in the 2022 city budget to continue moving work on the new headquarters forward.
"As a group, [we] decided given the issues that are going on with the service, to couple that with a capital project of this magnitude – this just wasn't the right time," said Mayor Bill Mauro, who also sits on the police services board.
It was not certain regardless that council would have approved the request, Mauro said.
Police leadership has said a replacement of its current station on Balmoral Street is badly needed, an assessment supported in a report prepared by consultants, which found building a new headquarters in a new location would be the most cost-effective long-term option.
However, city councillors have expressed reservations over the project's price tag, with some indicating they might not be ready to approve the expense in this year's budget.
In a scathing letter released this week, police association president Colin Woods said Chief Sylvie Hauth and the police services board "seem content to focus on getting a new building approved and not on the very serious issues that are happening within."
"While the employees do need a new station, we need the issues inside fixed first," he added.
Note: The Thunder Bay Police Services Board met Tuesday to discuss its funding request for a new headquarters, not Wednesday as indicated in an earlier version of this article. TBNewswatch apologizes for the error.
