Police board chair denies 'conflict of interest' in pursuit of new police chief
Board chair sends follow-up letter to police oversight body, after mayoral candidates request investigation
The Ottawa Police Services Board is defending its pursuit of a new police chief, despite claims it should wait for a new council to take office.
Mayoral candidates Catherine McKenney and Bob Chiarelli wrote a letter to the Ontario Civilian Police Commission on Tuesday requesting it look into what they called, "a potential conflict of interest."
They asked the independent agency to investigate whether the current board overseeing the Ottawa Police Service is "exercising its mandate appropriately" in regard to its plan to hire a new chief before the end of its term — the new council takes office on Nov. 15.
Mark Sutcliffe is the only leading mayoral candidate to support this move, according to McKenney and Chiarelli.
His opposing candidates claim it's a conflict of interest that Coun. Eli El-Chantiry, chair of the Ottawa Police Services Board, is overseeing the hiring of a new police chief while also serving as a co-chair of Sutcliffe's campaign.
El-Chantiry followed their letter with his own letter to the commission on Wednesday disputing their claims.
"There is no conflict of interest, real or perceived, simply because a candidate [Sutcliffe] has stated publicly that they are in agreement with a decision that the Police Services Board unanimously made at its meeting on July 25 to continue the recruitment of the next Chief of Police," El-Chantiry said in the letter.
He said all candidates had the same influence as any other resident on the decisions of the police board and said the initial letter writers need to understand the board has a statutory obligation to recruit a chief, while council does not.
"It is unfortunate and contrary to the best interests of the community that the candidates are politicizing an appointment that is not political in the first place," he wrote.
Chiarelli and McKenney called it "common sense" to wait until a new council was in place and until the Emergencies Act inquiry has heard from police — including former police chief Sloly himself — as the information would be relevant to the board's decision.
The board will have a significantly different make-up after the election, they argue, and the two say it's important the new chief appointment aligns with the vision of the new council.
However, El-Chantiry said the new board likely wouldn't convene until late 2022 or early 2023, which would make hiring a new chief before the spring unlikely.
"It is unacceptable for the police service and it is unacceptable for the community to not have a confirmed permanent Chief for over a year," he wrote.
Public consultation not 'poorly attended'
El-Chantiry also responded to concerns in the mayoral candidates' letter about the public consultations he conducted around the hiring of a new chief.
They'd claimed the process was "inherently flawed" and that there were "significant process issues that need to be properly investigated."
"The two candidates authoring this letter are intentionally misleading the Commission as well as members of the public," El-Chantiry wrote. "To suggest that the people of Ottawa have not had an opportunity to have their say in the recruitment process is completely false, as is the assertion that the Board's public consultation process was flawed and poorly attended."