Ottawa police faces leadership shifts ahead of key budget debate

Ottawa's new police chief Eric Stubbs was already preparing for his first budget, but now the force has seen its top administrator retire and it received a new board chair just weeks before the document is presented — one that usually elicits strong debate about how much to spend on policing and where to find savings.

On Jan. 6, chief administrative officer Blair Dunker retired just one year into taking the job. Her predecessor had been fired.

At an October meeting, she forecast the police service would be in a "pressure situation" to keep finding efficiencies after struggling to do so in 2022.

She won't be around to deal with the situation and in her place is former deputy chief Steve Bell, well known to the public while representing the police during the convoy protest, has now taken over her responsibilities.

Meanwhile, the new chair of the police oversight board, Suzanne Valiquet, is likely temporary.

She was appointed to the police board last February on a turbulent day of the convoy protest. That was the same day several board members were ousted or resigned.

Valiquet then replaced former city councillor Eli El-Chantiry as chair after he did not seek re-election last fall, but she might not be long for the role.

Her term expires when the City of Ottawa appoints a new citizen member, and the deadline for applications is Jan. 23. Council should approve all public board appointments by early March at the latest, according to city clerk Rick O'Connor.

Council gets to appoint just one civilian to the police oversight body and the mayor hopes whoever is chosen might have the skill to become chair — and be better paid for their time.

$54K if civilian chairs board 

For many years a city councillor has chaired the police board, including El-Chantiry and Diane Deans.

But the new city council acknowledged it's a significant job that requires significant time, too much for an elected official who also has their own committee, council, constituent and ward issues to manage.

The city estimates current police board members spend between 25 and 40 hours a month on board business while the chair can spend 10 hours per week beyond that.

The police services board has also been in the limelight many times in recent years, especially during the convoy protests and facing a movement to reduce police funding.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe promised during the fall election to recruit a qualified and independent community member to serve on the board, and even chair it. New police legislation in Ontario would also set out how board members must represent a city's diverse population.

To attract someone with skills in management, finance, governance and more, city council last month decided to more than quadruple the $12,000 honorarium to $54,000 per year. It pointed out Toronto's police board has long been led by a full-time chair.

Budget based on $15M tax increase

Last winter, former chief Peter Sloly and former board chair Deans were key public faces at budget deliberations when advocates pushed for a freeze on police spending and a boost to mental health and community programs.

In the end, the board settled on giving the force a smaller increase than it wanted, based on a property tax increase of two per cent, or $13 million.

This year, before any debate has yet begun, the force has been given a similar task. In December city council asked it to craft a budget based on a two to 2.5-per-cent tax increase, or between $13 and $15 million.

As discussions continue about the force's finances, its executive will also see change.

Later this month the board will discuss how to permanently fill the two deputy chief vacancies of Bell and the position once held by Uday Jaswal, who was suspended in 2020 for allegations of sexual harassment.