Thunder Bay police seek $3.5M to expand force while board looks to triple members' pay

As Thunder Bay city council strives to trim the tax levy in its proposed 2023 budget, the Thunder Bay Police Service and Thunder Bay Police Services Board made their cases Wednesday night for significant increases to their funding.

The Thunder Bay Police Service is asking for a 7.2 per cent increase – $3.5 million more than last year. As for the Thunder Bay Police Services Board, it's seeking a 68.2 per cent net increase in its budget, or an additional $763,200.

During Wednesday night's council meeting, acting chief Dan Taddeo broke down the highlights of the proposed net operating budget:

• $2 million for wage benefits and increases, as required by collective agreements
• $1 million to expand full-time equivalent staffing, resulting in 14 new sworn officers and 6.8 new civilian staff
• $448,000 for materials like computer license agreements, vehicle maintenance and fuel
• $300,000 for overtime pay increases
• $103,000 for the insurance allocation from the city
• $255,000 in revenue increases

Taddeo presented statistics to help justify the request to city council: 3,343 domestic violence incidents investigated in 2021, and an overdose rate of 78.8 per 100,000, four times the provincial rate and the highest per capita in Ontario.

After seeing 15 homicides in 2022, "Thunder Bay will once again be known as the murder capital of Canada," he concluded.

The planned expansion of the force would include two major crime detective constables, a major crime digital evidence management detective constable, a community-oriented response constable, a community inclusion team constable, and a community-oriented response sergeant.

The budget ask comes amid ongoing challenges for the police service. Last year saw the suspension of deputy police Chief Ryan Hughes and police Chief Sylvie Hauth – who will have resigned as of Thursday – and calls by First Nations leaders to disband the police service entirely.

Indigenous leaders for years raised concerns about the force's response to the deaths of First Nations youth in Thunder Bay. In 2018, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director issued a report finding evidence of systemic racism within the police service.

Among other things, the report recommended ensuring that the force was sufficiently staffed to investigate major crimes.

Police board seeks big increase

As for the Thunder Bay Police Services Board itself, the 68.2 per cent net increase in its budget would pay for the following: 

• 383.9 per cent increase in personnel services
• 51 per cent increase in purchased services, including legal services
• 142 per cent increase in materials
• 66 per cent increase in gross expenditures

The personnel increase includes a proposed increase to board members' honoraria, from $3,000 to $10,000.

When asked whether the increase is justified, considering the board's track record, its appointed administrator, Malcolm Mercer, said that was a fair question.

"The way I do look at it is if you don't pay people enough, they aren't able to pay the time and attention that's needed to do the job," he said.

Mercer is the second administrator to be appointed to the board in four years. He noted that administrators are only appointed when the Ontario Civilian Police Commission considers it to be an emergency, and he said he's thought "long and hard" about what it would take to not become the second of three administrators.

Last year, the Ontario Civilian Police Commission announced its second investigation in five years into the police services board's leadership, and three of five police board members resigned.

The board also spent three times its budget in legal fees last year, said secretary John Hannam.

It is currently facing several human rights complaints from former chair Georjann Morriseau.

An expert panel formed last March to advise the police board recommended expanding it to seven members, designating two spots for Indigenous representatives, and having a full-time chair.

Mercer told CBC News the composition of the board is constrained by the province, and he does not consider it his place to decide whether or not to make changes to the chair role. But he said the proposed increase in honoraria responds to the spirit of the expert panel recommendations that the board be better resourced.

Coun. Mark Bentz asked the board to do a cost comparison with other police boards, considering the sharp budget increase it's proposed.

City council will vote to ratify the 2023 budget on Feb. 6.