Toronto police services board asks province if it's launching inquiry into Bruce McArthur case
The Toronto Police Services Board has written to the Ontario attorney general asking whether the province is considering a public inquiry, or any other type of review, into the Bruce McArthur serial murder case.
The request for information from Caroline Mulroney's office comes after a newly unsealed judicial order showed that Toronto police knew McArthur "had a link" to three of the eight men he pleaded guilty to murdering after interviewing the serial killer in late 2013.
Police questioned McArthur after launching an investigation dubbed Project Houston about a year earlier to probe the disappearances of Skandaraj Navaratnam, Abdulbasir Faizi and Majeed Kayhan, all of whom were connected to Toronto's Gay Village.
Th board has launched an Independent civilian review into the way police handle missing persons investigations, conducted by retired Justice Gloria Epstein.
When the board formally launched the probe, the criminal proceedings involving McArthur had not yet begun and the case was excluded from the review. But Epstein asked to expand the terms of reference to include it after the 67-year-old pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder last month and was sentenced to life in prison.
"Given the importance of not in any way impacting the criminal proceedings, the Board's Terms of Reference included specific limits on the scope of the Independent Review's work," the board's statement said. "When the criminal proceedings involving Bruce McArthur were nearing their conclusion, the Board received a formal request from Justice Epstein to expand the scope of the Board's Review to include this examination of the circumstances specifically involving Mr. McArthur."
Mulroney's response is important in determining how to address Justice Epstein's request to revise the terms of reference for her review, the board said.
Meanwhile, the board said it understands this is a significant issue of public interest.
The board's statement said community members have raised many questions about missing persons investigations generally, as well as the circumstances surrounding McArthur's offences, some of which include the role of the police when conducting investigations. "The board believes that it is important that any review be wide-ranging, transparent, open and comprehensive, and now that the criminal proceedings are at an end, that the specific circumstances surrounding Mr. McArthur's offences be examined too," the statement said.
"We want to not only examine how the Board and Service can improve its policies, procedures, training and culture, but we seek to restore and fortify confidence in our police service, and to continue to build bridges with residents from all of our communities." The board says it has not received a response to its inquiry to the province, but that it expects one soon.
The Board says once it receives a response from Mulroney, it will, at the first available opportunity, consider Justice Epstein's request and will keep the public informed of any developments.
