Northwestern Ontario communities get policing discounts from province, say more needed | 24CA News

A coalition of northwestern Ontario mayors say the province has agreed to assist with their communities’ rising policing prices however extra monetary assist is required.

The mayors of Sioux Lookout, Kenora and Pickle Lake shaped a coalition final 12 months to ask the province for reduction as escalating homelessness, drug addition and psychological well being points drove up requires police service of their communities.

The group mentioned Tuesday that Solicitor General Michael Kerzner has supplied new policing reductions for 2 of the three communities.

“The discounts are a step in the right direction, but much more is needed,” Kenora’s mayor, Andrew Poirier, wrote in a press release.

“We do, however, appreciate the time and energy Minister Kerzner has put into addressing our concerns.”

Municipalities are charged a base price per family by the Ontario Provincial Police for policing companies, plus additional billing based mostly on requires service.

The coalition has mentioned policing prices of their communities are about thrice increased than the roughly $320-per-household median value for municipalities in Ontario.

Kenora is about to obtain a ten per cent low cost on the worth it pays for policing, on high of a 5 per cent current low cost, the group mentioned.

Sioux Lookout – which can also be a companies hub for these dwelling in a number of fly-in First Nation communities – is getting a further 5 per cent low cost, bringing the whole low cost it receives for policing prices to 40 per cent.

Pickle Lake’s present low cost of 95 per cent stays in place.

The group mentioned the reductions will not be everlasting.

“While the additional discounts are much lower than the municipalities had requested, the coalition leaders are hopeful that a pending review of the Community Safety and Policing Act will result in more significant financial relief in the future,” the coalition wrote in a press release.

A spokesperson for Kerzner’s workplace mentioned the federal government continues to work with communities “facing unique challenges in the northwest.”

“The ministry is assessing policing costs in these municipalities. Should any agreement be reached, details would be released at the appropriate time,” Michael Harrison wrote in a press release.

The leaders of the three communities mentioned requires police service have been escalating since at the very least 2019 of their jurisdictions, making a monetary burden that they need assistance carrying.

Calls for service in Kenora had been as much as 20,000 per 12 months for a inhabitants of 15,000 and about 7,800 households, Poirier has mentioned.

“It’s almost three calls for service per household per year, which is way above the norm,” he mentioned.

Doug Lawrance, the mayor of Sioux Lookout, mentioned their communities are hub municipalities that present “healthcare, pharmacy, education, commerce, legal, and transportation services for tens of thousands of people across the region.”

“For many years, we have been trying to get the Solicitor General’s office to take the problem of policing costs in our municipalities more seriously,” he wrote. “We serve a population much larger than our municipal population.”

The coalition additionally mentioned that though 2022 OPP information reveals their three northwestern municipalities pay the very best policing value, “there are over 30 municipalities across the north and other parts of the province that also have very high police costs compared to the provincial median.”

“We know that we are not alone when it comes to concerns regarding the provincial cost formula for policing,” James Dalzell, the mayor of Pickle Lake, wrote.

The coalition has mentioned they wish to use the cash they save from policing prices to deal with the foundation points driving the excessive requires service.

“That’s money for more infrastructure, community services, and limiting future tax increases,” it mentioned on its web site.

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