After receiving pushback from within the Progressive Conservative caucus, the Ford government is scrapping portions of yet-to-be-tabled legislation that would have effectively given the province the ability to hand-pick members of police services boards, Global News has learned.
The government has been working on a wide-ranging bill called the Safer Streets and Stronger Communities Act that touches on everything from VIN-related theft to the online sale of illegal cannabis and restrictions on supervised consumption sites.
But while the legislation was scheduled to be tabled on Nov. 4, the province was forced to pull the bill and re-tool it after a fierce reaction from caucus members behind closed doors about changes to police services boards.
The changes to the Community Safety and Policing Act — which were initially approved by cabinet — would have targeted the community representative position on policing boards, which are currently appointed by municipalities.
The government wanted to ensure “increased provincial control and influence” over that position and intended to pass legislation that would have required municipalities to appoint candidates from a short list compiled by the Solicitor General.
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Police service boards control key parts of how local police forces across the province are run. Members are involved in decisions over who to appoint as police chief, budget allocations and approving the use of equipment such as body-worn cameras.
While the proposal was repeatedly greenlit by cabinet committees and Ford’s cabinet itself, the government was forced to retreat when members of the Progressive Conservative caucus pushed back after receiving a briefing at Queen’s Park.
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The abandoned changes to police service boards were first reported by the Toronto Star on Friday.
Sources told Global News that, after being presented as a “run of the mill” change by Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, the government received “blowback” from members of the PC party caucus over how the bill would be received in their communities.
The pushback from caucus also reflected what cabinet was told internally: that municipalities would react negatively to provincial laws that would reduce their “flexibility and autonomy” for appointments.
Some in the caucus felt the changes were primarily targeted at the Toronto Police Services Board and were driven by the Premier’s Office.
Shortly after the caucus meeting, the proposal was ordered to be scrapped and the bill was delayed until late November.
In a brief statement, Kerzner’s office said there are “no plans to change the composition of how police service boards are governed at this time.”