All-white Windsor police board shows disconnect from diverse communities, advocate says
CBC
Windsor city council's decision to appoint another white member to an already all-white police services board shows "how disconnected they are from the minorities" in the region.
That's according to Amna Masoodi, who says she feels strongly that police need to reflect the community they serve, including members of the oversight board.
The police board oversees the service and select chiefs, as well as deputy chiefs. The University of Windsor engineering student applied, but wasn't given a spot on the board.
Instead, council made an in-camera decision on Jan. 16 to appoint Sophia Chisholm. She previously held the position from 2016 to 2018 and isn't a member of a diverse community.
Masoodi isn't surprised she didn't get appointed as she lacks professional experience. However, she said it's important to have someone BIPOC on the board to help address the "terrifying bias" that exists within policing.
"A giant a group of white people is just not capable of taking care of all the minorities in the city without help and guidance from the actual minorities who live in the city," said Masoodi.
There's also a provincial legislative requirement saying municipal boards should accurately represent a community's diversity.
"Every municipality that maintains a municipal board shall prepare and, by resolution, approve a diversity plan to ensure that the members of the municipal board appointed by the municipality are representative of the diversity of the population in the municipality," says the Comprehensive Ontario Police Services Act, approved in 2019.
Mayor Drew Dilkens remains the chair. Coun. Jo-Ann Gignac has returned after one term away, and the province renewed appointee Robert de Verteuil's three-year term. The province didn't renew Denise Ghanam's term, leaving a vacant seat Ontario will fill.
Instead of simply asking for applicants, Masoodi says the city should make a more targeted effort to seek out qualified, diverse people for the police board. She says that "critical" voice is missing.
CBC News asked Dilkens why council didn't appoint a diverse community member.
In an emailed statement, Dilkens highlighted that there are two women on the board.
"The role of the board is not to direct police operations in any way, shape or form — so to suggest that board members be appointed on the basis of a specific agenda or operational prerogative would set a dangerous precedent for any police service board," said Dilkens.
He said senior police leaders are committed to working with marginalized, vulnerable people as well as diverse communities.
Premier Doug Ford says his government plans to give Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport special designation that would allow the province to bypass municipal and provincial laws as it pushes to expand the runway downtown.
Jenelle Hughes says she worries every time her two older children take their car to get to Fanshawe College in London, Ont., from their home in Dutton.
Oil prices fell Monday morning after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would hold off on striking Iran’s energy infrastructure amid productive talks between the two countries.
While spring technically started late last week, Newfoundland and Labrador isn't free from winter weather just yet.
The Sudbury School Bus Consortium is suspending all school buses in Greater Sudbury as the community continues to clean up following a major storm.
Two large corporate landlords owning a combined 9,008 rental units in Halifax are reporting smaller annual increases in their average rents for 2025 than the previous year.
The Holt government has reached a deal with Ottawa on compensation for tens of millions of dollars in lost sales tax revenue from the Christmas season in 2024.
The government of Saskatchewan has announced plans to reduce the length of non-resident game bird hunting licences to combat illegal guiding.
An 87-year-old Alberta man is fighting extradition to the United Kingdom to stand trial for historical allegations of physical and sexual assault involving minors.
Eight casinos across southwest B.C. have been sold to First Nations in the last two years, with the province's gambling scene set to be reshaped as a result.
Hamilton hosts the Junos Sunday, and the musical awards show is bringing tourists, musicians, concerts and a ton of themed events to the city this week.
The multi-million-dollar deal at the heart of a high-profile fight between the Canadian government and one of the world’s biggest carmakers contains multiple clauses about the company’s footprint in Ontario, according to a copy obtained by CBC Windsor.
In recent months, Calgary police have carried out three day-long safety blitzes, parading out dozens of officers to flood an area with their increased presence — at least, temporarily.