Ottawa Police Services Board recommends Ottawa psychiatrist as new chair

Dr. Gail Beck. (The Royal/theroyal.ca)

The Ottawa Police Services Board is recommending prominent local psychiatrist Dr. Gail Beck be appointed as the board's next chair.

A report prepared for Wednesday's city council meeting recommends Beck as the council-appointed member of the board and that Beck be named chair, replacing Suzanne Valiquet, who has served as chair in an interim role since this term of council was sworn in.

The selection panel for a new council-appointed member of the board was comprised of Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and councillors Cathy Curry and Rawlson King. Sutcliffe had said during the election campaign that he would take a seat on the Ottawa Police Services Board, but would not serve as chair. Instead, he said he would seek out "a strong independent community member who is qualified not only to serve on the Police Services Board but also step into the role of Chair."

Under former mayor Jim Watson, a city councillor occupied the chair's position. Eli El-Chantiry was the chair of the OPSB for many years, before Diane Deans became chair, a position from which she was dramatically removed during the "Freedom Convoy" protest after the departure of police chief Peter Sloly. El-Chantiry replaced Deans for the remainder of the council term. Both councillors chose not to seek re-election.

The selection panel for the new council appointee to the board received 113 applications and interviewed four candidates before recommending Beck as the appointee, the report states.

Beck is the interim Psychiatrist-in-Chief and Chief of Staff at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. She has served on numerous medical boards and is chair of the board of governors at Algonquin College, according to the Royal's website.

Beck will be paid $54,000 a year for her role as OPSB chair, if her appointment is approved. The funding comes from budgeted money that would have otherwise gone to the constituency services budget of a councillor named Chair of the Board.