Council puts potential appointees for police board on hold

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This article was published 20/03/2013 (4777 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The city will hold off on appointing citizens to the Winnipeg Police Board after a potential appointee has withdrawn.

This morning, city council was slated to vote on the city’s appointees to the new police board, including protection and community services chairman Coun. Scott Fielding, lawyer Paul Edwards, Glenn Karr, Mary Jane Loustel and Elmwood Coun. Thomas Steen.

The province has also nominated Leslie Spillet, but provincial appointees do not need city council approval.

Fielding announced one of the city’s potential appointees — Glenn Karr, the president of Superblinds and Draperies — withdrew his name on Tuesday.

Fielding said the city will hold off on the appointments for 60 days, saying he would also like to hear the outcome of the Manitoba Police Commission’s review on security checks.

The delay comes less than two weeks after provincial appointee Louise Simbandumwe raised concern it is a conflict-of-interest for the Winnipeg Police Service to conduct security checks on citizens appointed to oversee the force.

Simbandumwe agreed to a security check, but suggested an outside body such as the RCMP should do it, not the police force she is being appointed to oversee.

Justice Minister Andrew Swan wrote to the Manitoba Police Commission asking its opinion on the matter.

The province has said it will wait for the Manitoba Police Commission to complete its study of police board vetting process before it announces its second appointee.

The review is expected to take several months.