WAWA – Law and order is getting a makeover around Wawa, in terms of representation.
Wawa’s chief administrative officer, Maury O’Neill, has been working with the Wawa Police Services Board and the Ministry of the Solicitor General to implement a new regional detachment board that would provide oversight and recommendations to the local OPP detachment in Wawa.
This comes after the announcement of a new police act that will come into full effect as of April 1, 2024.
Brent Ross, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General, provided a statement to Dougall Media addressing how this new police act will change the fabric of community policing.
“The community safety and policing act will introduce a new framework to increase opportunities for civilian input into OPP policing, once in force in spring 2024.
"The nature of policing and community safety has changed significantly in the past 30 years and there have been increased calls from partners and stakeholders alike to update and modernize Ontario’s approach to policing and community safety, including the current legislative framework, the Police Services Act,” Ross said.
At present, Coun. Jim Hoffmann sits on the Wawa Police Services Board – but this new detachment board proposed by O’Neill - allowed for under new legislation - would also feature representatives from the municipalities and communities surrounding Wawa.
During Wawa’s regular council meeting on Jan. 16, O’Neill pointed out that the Wawa Police Services Board only concerns itself with matters related to policing in Wawa and this is a remnant from when Wawa had their own police force.
Now, the time has come for a more inclusive board.
“The new detachment board will include the areas serviced by our OPP detachment which include White River, Hornepayne, Dubreuilville, Chapleau, and all unorganized areas and properties in between,” O’Neill said.
O'Neill also noted that Michipicoten First Nation and Hornepayne First Nation both fall under the detachment's coverage area as well.
Ross’s statement echoed this sentiment.
“The OPP detachment board framework will allow each First Nation and municipality receiving OPP services to provide input into the provision of policing. OPP detachment boards will act as an advisory body that inform the detachment about local priorities, but will not have direct oversight responsibilities of the policing provided by the OPP.”
Each municipality will have a representative who sits on the detachment board – for a total of five municipal seats – followed by two provincial appointees and two community representatives selected at-large.
Nine people will chair the detachment board when all is said and done.
However, there are still some concerns about how to regulate the new detachment board once the Community Safety and Policing Act comes into effect.
“Staff is still awaiting the regulations that need to be passed and that will provide council with confirmation of how that police board is comprised or put together,” O’Neill said.
“The Wawa Police Board had a recent meeting where they recognized that there is a lot of work – that includes policy development, budget development, preparation – to get a new board into place and no one’s taking the lead because no one is really in charge.
"In my opinion, there’s been a lack of information flowing from the Solicitor General about how to implement a new regional board," O'Neill said.
Subsequently, the Wawa Police Services Board has invited representatives from surrounding municipalities and communities to a “training session” on Feb. 14 at 1 pm to learn more about how the new detachment board could function.
The Wawa municipal council has yet to elect their representative for the new regional board.
Regardless, the formation of a regional board will allow more municipalities to have a voice when it comes to law enforcement.
