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Residents call on Ottawa Police Services Board to reject funding increase for 2022

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OTTAWA -

Community members as well as city councillors questioned the Ottawa Police Services Board's finance and audit committee for hours Tuesday over whether their proposed budget increase is justified.

The 2022 draft budget for Ottawa Police calls for an additional $14.7 million dollars, a 2.86 per cent increase. This translates to $19 dollars extra for the average taxpayer in Ottawa.

Police Chief Peter Sloly said Tuesday it has been a difficult task to balance change and maintaining core policing.

“It’s been extremely challenging to balance the desire to flatten the cost curve of the budget while also try to meet the increasingly diverse and competing demands for police services across the largest geographical municipality in Canada,” he said. “The Ottawa Police Services joins the board in its commitment to find that balance while building a truly different and better police services.”

The police chief welcomed discussions over the budget that will take place over the next several weeks.

More than a dozen delegates address the Police Services Board, including Saamia Ahmad, of Vivic Research, who says, “I think it is a bald-faced lie to say that there are not additional efficiencies possible in the budget, and it is also inconceivable to increase the funding to police while other city services remain so underfunded and countless community members have called to have police involved in fewer interactions.”

Many delegates want to see funding diverted from police to go to other social groups when it comes to mental health calls. Ahmad cited Ottawa Medics as an organization that would be better suited for mental health calls but which currently lacks the funding and resources.

Ottawa Councillor Shawn Menard spoke to CTV Ottawa at Noon ahead of the budget discussions. Menard says, “We need to look at what other cities are doing around the world and the country, what we are seeing is some modest reallocation towards other professionals that produce better outcomes associated with mental health and do it for a lower cost. We need to see that in Ottawa.”

Menard says Ottawa is not meeting the needs of mental health crisis in the city. “If are looking at a zero-based budget for this year, or a very modest increase, any saving from that should go towards a mental health outreach program. 24/7 mental health services, where calls to 9-1-1 associated with mental health calls get referred to front line mental health professionals that can deal with those situations. We would see a reduced workload for police.”

Last week, Ottawa Police Board Chair Coun. Diane Deans said the board has "heard the calls for change." The councillor later said on social media that it would be "up to the board to refine" the proposed budget "in keeping with community expectations."

Ottawa Police Association president Matt Skof called this pledge “troubling.”

He says, “It is the stage in which the comments come out. This has been going on for several months. You have dedicated, experienced professionals at the service, from the chief downwards, hundreds of people could be touching this looking at what is appropriate to have in the budget.”

Skof says, “At this stage to be suggesting that a career politician has better knowledge or can be more responsible in a budget than the executive of the police, that in itself is irresponsible and its dangerous.”

Skof called the police budget “incredibly important and expensive.” He says, “At the eleventh hour suggesting they have more knowledge or a proposal that could help reduce the budget…a proposal around policing takes years in advance in planning. You have a serious player missing at this table when you are discussing policing budget, and mental health calls, the province is not at the table.”

The meeting adjourned after more than five hours of discussion, with a motion to forward the budget discussion to the next board meeting.

The next Police Services Board meeting is Nov. 22. The final citywide budget is voted on Dec. 8. 

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