An expert policing panel held public consultations in Thunder Bay this week. Here's what you need to know

An independent expert panel tasked with making recommendations to improve the state of policing in Thunder Bay has wrapped up its first round of public consultations in the northwestern Ontario city. 

The panel was formed in March by the Thunder Bay Police Services Board at a time when there were a growing number of human rights complaints being filed by current and former officers, and a sitting board member.

Since then, the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC) appointed an administrator to take over control of the board for the second time in four years. That prompted three of the five board members at the time to resign.

The OCPC has initiated disciplinary proceedings against Police Chief Sylvie Hauth, which prompted her suspension by the board due to what it called the "serious allegations" that she faces.

Last week, just before the panel started its consultations, another incident came to light showing the fractured relationship between the service and Indigenous people in the city. Photos emerged showing an officer allowing a bridal party to shoot photos in a police cruiser at the scene where an Indigenous woman was found dead.

The panel held a press conference on Thursday to provide an update of what they heard, how they view their role, and what their work might mean for the future of policing in Thunder Bay.

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The nine-member panel held a series of meetings, both in public forums and behind closed doors.

"We've been overwhelmed by how many are looking to our panel, for speaking their truth to us. By the end of the week, we will have heard from over 60 individuals, from the frontline to Indigenous communities to community partners and stakeholders," panel chair Alok Mukherjee said.

"There's one common theme that emerges, and that is a feeling of being let down. But they trust this process to have their voices heard, the process that we are embarked upon. They hope for action to happen in response to our recommendations. And there's a significant desire for the situation to improve from inside and outside the service."

Mukherjee said there are still many more people who have said they want their voices to be heard by the panel. He said they will likely propose to return for more public consultations at a later date.

It has been only a few years since a similar series of public consultations were held about the state of policing in Thunder Bay.

In 2018, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director and the OCPC both publicly released their reports reviewing the police service and its oversight board.

Yet, less than four years later, control of the board has again been handed off to an administrator, questions abound over the service's ability to provide adequate investigations involving the deaths of Indigenous people, and the force's leadership is in a state of crisis.