Doug Ford government foot-dragging means rapist cop can't be fired
The Ford government passed a law four years ago to make it easier to suspend or fire cops facing serious charges, it never came into force
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Mar 31, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
It’s disturbing, revolting really, that a man like Jason Redmond is collecting a fat public servant’s salary — it’s even worse given that he’s a cop.
Redmond was convicted last month of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017 and had previously been found guilty of drug trafficking and forging documents, but he’s still on the payroll of the Ontario Provincial Police.
Redmond hasn’t worked for the OPP in nearly eight years but still shows up on the province’s sunshine list as earning $121,000 to sit at home. He should be fired but right now the OPP can’t fire him because even the law won’t allow it.
What’s worse still, is the Ford government passed a law in 2019 making it easier to fire wayward officers and to suspend those facing serious charges without pay but they never proclaimed it, meaning it never came into force. Now, facing tough questions over Redmond, they are blaming COVID.
OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique, clearly frustrated by the situation, took to social media where he called the situation “troubling” and said the OPP has been seeking Redmond’s dismissal for years but have been unable to fire him.
“This behaviour is unacceptable for any police officer and cannot be tolerated,” Carrique posted.
The Commissioner explained in a statement that Section 89 of the Ontario Police Services Act states that unless an officer is both convicted and sentenced to jail, then they can only be suspended with pay.
In the case of Redmond, he was charged with drug trafficking in November 2015 and convicted in October 2018 but was only given probation, meaning the OPP couldn’t fire him or even suspend him without pay. The OPP did seek to have Redmond fired for breach of the Police Service Act starting in November 2018 and in November 2022 an adjudicator found that he should be fired but that ruling is under appeal with the next hearing scheduled for June 15.
It’s an infuriating situation.
It’s even more infuriating when you realize the Ford government’s Community Safety and Policing Act, passed in March 2019, would have taken care of this. It’s been sitting there for four years without being proclaimed.
Why would you pass a law and then not proclaim it?
This kind of reform has been called for by police chiefs for years. Ontario is currently the only province where officers can’t be suspended without pay no matter how serious the charge.
Police unions, meanwhile, have been ferociously opposed to any such change. Now, in the face of Jason Redmond, would be a good time for them to stop fighting and be cooperative.
Senior officials in the Ford government deny that the four-year delay in proclaiming the bill has been due to not wanting to irritate police unions and maintain the main factor was COVID-19. Take that claim with a giant grain of salt because while at times the pandemic was all-consuming for the province, there were still plenty of other pieces of legislation worked on.
This just wasn’t a priority.
As it stands, officials at the Solicitor General’s office have confirmed that regulations are being worked on to give definition to the law. Those regulations, which will include establishing what offences are serious enough to warrant suspension without pay, need to be in place before the law comes into force.
The hope now is that will take place late this year or early next year.
When it happens it will be a welcome change and while the Ford government deserves credit for doing something no other government in Ontario has been willing to do, it has taken too long.
Premier Ford needs to make this a priority now and make clear to the Solicitor General, and the officials under him, that this needs to be taken care of sooner rather than later. No more foot dragging.
blilley@postmedia.com
torontosun.com
The Ford government passed a law four years ago to make it easier to suspend or fire cops facing serious charges, it never came into force
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Mar 31, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
It’s disturbing, revolting really, that a man like Jason Redmond is collecting a fat public servant’s salary — it’s even worse given that he’s a cop.
Redmond was convicted last month of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017 and had previously been found guilty of drug trafficking and forging documents, but he’s still on the payroll of the Ontario Provincial Police.
Redmond hasn’t worked for the OPP in nearly eight years but still shows up on the province’s sunshine list as earning $121,000 to sit at home. He should be fired but right now the OPP can’t fire him because even the law won’t allow it.
What’s worse still, is the Ford government passed a law in 2019 making it easier to fire wayward officers and to suspend those facing serious charges without pay but they never proclaimed it, meaning it never came into force. Now, facing tough questions over Redmond, they are blaming COVID.
OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique, clearly frustrated by the situation, took to social media where he called the situation “troubling” and said the OPP has been seeking Redmond’s dismissal for years but have been unable to fire him.
“This behaviour is unacceptable for any police officer and cannot be tolerated,” Carrique posted.
The Commissioner explained in a statement that Section 89 of the Ontario Police Services Act states that unless an officer is both convicted and sentenced to jail, then they can only be suspended with pay.
In the case of Redmond, he was charged with drug trafficking in November 2015 and convicted in October 2018 but was only given probation, meaning the OPP couldn’t fire him or even suspend him without pay. The OPP did seek to have Redmond fired for breach of the Police Service Act starting in November 2018 and in November 2022 an adjudicator found that he should be fired but that ruling is under appeal with the next hearing scheduled for June 15.
It’s an infuriating situation.
It’s even more infuriating when you realize the Ford government’s Community Safety and Policing Act, passed in March 2019, would have taken care of this. It’s been sitting there for four years without being proclaimed.
Why would you pass a law and then not proclaim it?
This kind of reform has been called for by police chiefs for years. Ontario is currently the only province where officers can’t be suspended without pay no matter how serious the charge.
Police unions, meanwhile, have been ferociously opposed to any such change. Now, in the face of Jason Redmond, would be a good time for them to stop fighting and be cooperative.
Senior officials in the Ford government deny that the four-year delay in proclaiming the bill has been due to not wanting to irritate police unions and maintain the main factor was COVID-19. Take that claim with a giant grain of salt because while at times the pandemic was all-consuming for the province, there were still plenty of other pieces of legislation worked on.
This just wasn’t a priority.
As it stands, officials at the Solicitor General’s office have confirmed that regulations are being worked on to give definition to the law. Those regulations, which will include establishing what offences are serious enough to warrant suspension without pay, need to be in place before the law comes into force.
The hope now is that will take place late this year or early next year.
When it happens it will be a welcome change and while the Ford government deserves credit for doing something no other government in Ontario has been willing to do, it has taken too long.
Premier Ford needs to make this a priority now and make clear to the Solicitor General, and the officials under him, that this needs to be taken care of sooner rather than later. No more foot dragging.
blilley@postmedia.com
LILLEY: Doug Ford government foot-dragging means rapist cop can't be fired
It’s disturbing that a man like Jason Redmond is collecting a fat public servant’s salary -- it’s even worse given that he’s a cop.
