Ottawa-Gatineau border checkpoints, vaccination clinics cost Ottawa police $1 million
Police checkpoints at Ottawa-Gatineau border crossings and officers assigned to COVID-19 vaccination clinics have cost the Ottawa Police Service $1 million so far this year.
The second quarter financial status report for the Ottawa Police Services Board shows the service incurred $1 million in costs related to checkpoints at interprovincial crossings in April, May and June and the city of Ottawa's vaccination clinics.
As part of the Stay at Home order issued in April, the Ontario government announced restrictions on non-essential travel into Ontario at interprovincial crossings. Police were expected to staff the checkpoints between Ottawa and Gatineau 24-hours a day, seven days a week. After two days, police shifted to setting up sporadic checkpoints at the bridges and ferry crossings, citing budgetary and staffing pressures.
The police checkpoints at the Ottawa-Gatineau crossings came down on June 16.
Mayor Jim Watson said in June that the sporadic checkpoints at interprovincial crossings cost the Ottawa Police Service $800,000.
The financial status report for the Ottawa Police Services Board only says police are incurring costs at vaccination clinics, but doesn't provide any other details.
Staff say the Ontario government will cover the $1 million costs related to COVID-19 operations in Ottawa.
"The OPS has an agreement with the Solicitor General of Ontario that we will be reimbursed an estimated $1 million for incremental costs related to the interprovincial border enforcement due to the Stay at Home Order and the vaccination clinics."
The Ottawa Police Service is projecting a balanced budget this year. A $12.6 million budget shortfall for revenues, COVID-19 expenditures and operation expenditures will be offset by a spending freeze, a no-travel order, a delay in hiring of growth-related positions and one-time revenue from the province.
Staff say there are four operation obligations causing pressures on the 2021 budget, including fleet maintenance and fuel costs.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
U.S. FAA launches investigation into unauthorized personnel in cockpit of Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.