ONTARIO CIVILIAN COMMISSION ON POLICE SERVICES
IN THE MATTER OF an application by the Town of Kemptville for consent to the abolition of the Kemptville Police Service
Presiding Members:
Murray W. Chitra, Chair
Diana A. Jardine, Member
Appearances:
Bruce Harrison, Member, North Grenville Police Services Board, Councillor, Township of North Grenville
Donald Cameron, Mayor, Township of North Grenville, Member, North Grenville Police Services Board
Reid Hadden, Chair, North Grenville Police Services Board, former Chair, Kemptville Police Services Board
Chris McCurley, Chief, Kemptville Police Service
Russell Trivett, Secretary, Kemptville Police Services Board, Treasurer, Town of Kemptville
Gordon McAinsh, President, Kemptville Police Association
David Don, Sergeant, Ontario Provincial Police
J. Brent Hill, Staff Sergeant, Ontario Provincial Police
Bart Caron, Policing Services Adviser, Ministry of Solicitor General and Correctional Services
Hearing Date: February 5, 1998
Background:
The Town of Kemptville is a well-established community with a population of approximately 3,272 located on the south branch of the Rideau River adjacent to Highway 43 in eastern Ontario.
On January 1, 1998 it became part of the newly amalgamated Township of North Grenville along with the former Townships of South Gower and Oxford on Rideau. The new Township has a total population of approximately 12,648 residents.
Policing services in the former Town of Kemptville have been provided by a local municipal police force since January 29, 1902. The current service consists of a chief, 5 constables, and a secretary who is also designated as a special constable. Dispatching is undertaken through an arrangement with the Prescott Police Service. Policing is provided twenty hours a day, seven days a week, from an office located in the former Town Hall of Kemptville at 15 Water Street. During the remaining four hours, officers are available on a standby basis.
Policing in the former Townships of South Gower and Oxford on Rideau is currently provided by the Ontario Provincial Police, primarily from a Detachment located on Highway 43 at Barnes Street in Kemptville.
In November of 1996 both the Kemptville Police Services Board and Town Council passed resolutions requesting an Ontario Provincial Police costing. The process commenced in January of 1997.
A workload and financial analysis was prepared. This included interviews with a cross-section of Kemptville residents. In May of 1997 the Ontario Provincial Police presented the Board and Town Council with two options. These were reviewed at public meetings held on June 25 and July 11, 1997. Both meetings were advertised in local papers and copies of the proposal made available to residents at the Kemptville Public Library and Town Hall.
On July 14, 1997 Town Council passed a resolution endorsing the option calling for an integrated OPP Detachment with on-site supervision. This proposal was also adopted by the Board on July 15, 1997. A similar resolution was passed the same day by the Township of North Grenville Transition Board.
Copies of these resolutions were forwarded to the Honourable Robert Runciman, Solicitor General and Minister of Correctional Services (the “Solicitor General”) with a request that the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services (the “Commission”) review the proposal as required by section 40 of the Police Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.15 as amended (the “Act”).
This correspondence was considered by the Commission and it was agreed that a public meeting under section 40 of the Act would be convened to examine the proposal. It was subsequently scheduled for February 5, 1998 at North Grenville Council Chambers, 275 County Road 44, Kemptville. Notice of this fact was published in local newspapers.
The Law:
The operation of policing in Ontario is governed by the provisions of the Act.
Section 4(1) of the Act imposes upon municipalities the obligation to provide “adequate and effective police services in accordance with its needs”. This may be accomplished in different ways. A municipality may choose to establish and maintain its own police force, enter into a joint policing arrangement with another community or contract for policing services with the OPP.
In those cases where a local police service exists, [section 38](https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/stat/