Windsor's police board has a new leader as Dilkens steps aside

Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac is now leading the Windsor Police Service Board, taking over for Mayor Drew Dilkens. 

The board provides oversight of the Windsor police service which includes approving the budget, hiring the chief of police and deputy chiefs, and making sure that the service is representative of the city. 

Gignac will now chair the seven person board for 2025. 

New legislation passed by the province last year no longer allows people who have been employed by a police service to be part of a police service board. 

Dilkens, first elected chair of the board in 2015, once worked as an auxiliary police officer and is allowed to stay on the board as a transition to the new rules until 2026. 

But on Thursday he asked board members to take a different direction this term.

"I'm done being chair," said Dilkens with a bit of a chuckle during the meeting. 

"Please do not nominate me, I think it's time for some renewal, for someone else to take the chair. It's been a great honour serving in the position but I think it's time for someone else to take a shot at leading the board forward."

Gignac was nominated and elected unopposed. Sophia Chisholm will be vice-chair. 

Gignac has pushed for mental health and addiction support funding

The east end councillor has been a vocal member of the board, at times asking for upper levels of government to spend more money to help with mental health and addictions 

In 2023 police chief Jason Bellaire said that partners needed to do more when it comes to health related emergency calls and said that it was not sustainable for police to be the lead agency for those events. 

Gignac at the time spoke about how priorities for police services are changing,  related to Ontario's Risk-driven Tracking Database. The report outlines local priorities different community agencies share related to public safety. 

It highlighted that mental health was the top risk factor to public safety across the province.

"I think the evidence is pretty darn clear," said Gignac at the time. 

"We're really struggling especially as larger cities in terms of the reality of mental health issues and drug addictions."

Speaking with reporters for the first time as chair of board on Thursday, she reiterated her concerns. 

"Municipalities are dealing with things now that require our police service to step into areas that we were never required to," she said. 

"They're health issues ... and it is a strain."

Councillor will lead the budget process

Gignac, the city's longest serving active councillor who is vocal about making sure taxpayer dollars are spent thoughtfully, will now lead the board through the budget process.

The city's police service is the city's largest operating expense, with 20 cents of every dollar homeowner's are taxed spent on the police budget. 

The board approved a 7.1 per cent increase to the police budget this year, which still needs to be approved by council. 

Gignac asked for a report that would cost out the price of switching to the Ontario Provincial Police as a comparator. 

Dilkens will leave the position but stay on the board after serving for more than 10 years. He was chair of the board when the Ontario Civilian Police Commission launched an investigation into the police service. 

The OCPC issued 37 recommendations following a lengthy investigation into equity, diversity, harassment, hiring processes and conflict of interest policies.