Ottawa Witness Group: Protect the Right to Protest
Box 722, 410 Bank St., Ottawa, K1Y 1Y8
Email: witnessgroup@rogers.com
Website: http://members.rogers.com/witnessgroupOPEN LETTER December 23, 2003
Mr. Jacques Legendre, Councillor
City of Ottawa
E-mail: Jacques.Legendre@ottawa.caDear Councillor Legendre,
On behalf of the Ottawa Witness Group (OWG), I write to express our appreciation for your commitment to an accountable Police Services Board for the City of Ottawa as demonstrated by your recent tenure as Vice-chair for the PSB.
As you know, the OWG is a local volunteer organization concerned with protecting the right to protest and defending public space for this purpose. OWG members attend demonstrations as observers to monitor the adherence of police to human rights. Witnesses are not demonstrators.
We noted in our November 2003 report on the policing of major events in Ottawa (available on our website), "Mr. Legendre has been a strong advocate on the Board and has spoken out courageously on accountability issues. Mr. Legendre reflects in his responses [to the OWG 2003 municipal election questionnaire], and in the actions in his tenure on the Board, a serious commitment to providing the oversight which is a key function of the PSB."
Given our shared commitment to accountability and transparency for the PSB, we also wish to convey to you our concern regarding the way in which nominations to the Board were determined. According to the Ottawa Citizen, the meeting to determine nominations for all municipal committees was closed to the public, media and Councillors' assistants. Given this secrecy and your record as PSB Vice-Chair, we do not consider that this process met those benchmarks of fairness, and question why your name was not recommended as a candidate for the newly constituted PSB.
The OWG believes that the Police Services Board must be a strong watchdog in order to give credibility to the Ottawa police service and support those officers who consistently maintain high standards of professional conduct. Our recent report expressed concern regarding the role and structure of Police Services Boards in Ontario and made the following recommendations to strengthen civilian oversight of police services through enhancing Board autonomy and effectiveness across the province:
We are pursuing measures to address all the recommendations contained in our report and are encouraged by Minister Kwinter's recent statement in the Toronto Star that “the population has a right and an expectation that if they feel there is a problem [with the police complaints system] that has not been addressed properly they should have redress.”
- Changes to the Police Services Act to permit third party complaints and to bring all aspects of the investigation of complaints under the supervision of an independent third party.
- Increase the number of seats on these Boards from the current seven to ensure broader community representation and a thorough discussion of issues.
- Provide greater resources to these Boards for independent action and investigation.
We would value any suggestions for strengthening PSB accountability that you might wish to propose, and would be pleased to meet with you for this purpose.
Thank you again for your commitment to accountability, transparency and independence for the Police Services Board. We commend your tenure as PSB Vice-Chair.
Sincerely,
Aileen Leo, Representative
Ottawa Witness Groupcc: Mr. Bob Chiarelli
Mayor, City of OttawaAll Councillors
City of OttawaThe Hon. Monte Kwinter
Minister, Community Safety and Correctional Services
Government of Ontario