A report from the expert panel appointed to review the Thunder Bay Police Services Board has been published.
The expert panel was established with nine members in March, which also saw three members of the Police Services Board resign. With that, a Special Administrator was appointed, Malcolm Mercer, who has the sole vote of the board.
There have been multiple human rights complaints from board members and officers, as well as against former Chief Sylvie Hauth. There was also the report strongly recommending reinvestigating sudden death cases involving Indigenous people.
The report, which can be read here (Interim Report_TBPSB_Final V3), titled “An Urgent Memo to the Thunder Bay Police Servies Board from the Independent Expert Panel” is 20 pages.
It offers suggestions to the City and the Police Board on hiring a new chief, how to move forward after the multiple human rights complaints against the board and how the board should be staffed.
For hiring a new Chief of Police, the Panel recommends that the new hire be Indigenous or racialized, and while they aren’t opposed to an internal applicant, the next chief should hail from outside of Thunder Bay.
The report noted the “startling responses” in the employee survey that there has been little to no employee health or wellness promotion.
Over 66% of the respondents chose “sometimes,” “seldom or never” when asked about adequate measures to promote employee health, wellness, and safety. Taken together, these findings contribute to what we have heard from the Service about the workplace culture being “toxic.”
Suggesting a Human Rights/Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Unit be developed and led by an expert in that field, the panel also suggests the Unit be located outside of the police headquarters to allow for more confidentiality, trust and safety in the Unit.
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