OAPSB applauds passage of Safer Ontario Act

Major update to policing legislation good news for communities

TORONTO, March 8, 2018 /CNW/ - The Ontario Association of Police Services Boards (OAPSB) welcomes today's passage of the Safer Ontario Act, the first major update to police governance in Ontario in a generation.

The legislation address several major OAPSB priorities:

• Increasing transparency and accountability around investigations of police wrongdoing
• Giving police chiefs the power to suspend without pay officers accused of the most serious crimes, something chiefs can do in every other province
• Allowing police officers to focus on core functions that require the use of police powers, rather than administrative tasks or traffic control duties
• Modernizing police labour relations practices
• Introducing Mandatory Governance training for police board members.

QUOTES

"OAPSB is thrilled with the passage of these long overdue reforms. These changes will ensure that policing in Ontario reflects the needs, values, and expectations of our communities."
—Eli El-Chantiry, Chair of the Ottawa Police Services Board and Chair of the OAPSB

"Ontario taxpayers pay the highest per-capita cost for policing in all of Canada, even though we have the lowest crime rates.  With the Safer Ontario Act, communities will now be able to more efficiently and effectively cooperate with partners to take advantage of cost savings that will benefit budgets while letting police officers get back to doing what they do best." 
—Fred Kaustinen, Executive Director of the OAPSB 

QUICK FACTS

• Revising the legislative framework for community safety has long been OAPSB's top priority.
• This is the first major update of the Police Services Act, which became law in 1990.
• Since that time, technological and social changes have drastically changed the way police operate and the work they are required to do; change was long overdue.

Eli El-Chantiry, Chair of the OAPSB and Fred Kaustinen, Executive Director of the OAPSB are available for interviews.

Ontario Association of Police Services Boards
10 Peel Centre Drive | Suite A, 1st Floor | Brampton, ON  L6T 4B9
T: [phone], 1-800-831-7727 | E: [email protected] | W: OAPSB.ca

SOURCE Ontario Association of Police Services Boards

MEDIA CONTACT: Sarbjit Kaur - 416-274-5324