Thunder Bay’s police service to go under the microscope

Inspector General of Policing of Ontario has announced a review

Ryan Teschner says he will review the work of the Thunder Bay Police Service as Ontario’s Inspector General of Policing. Photo: Submitted

APTN News: Thunder Bay’s embattled police service and its governing board are again coming under scrutiny – this time by the Inspector General of Policing of Ontario.

Ryan Teschner said Thursday he is “committed to ensuring that the residents of Thunder Bay and the Indigenous communities in and around that city receive the effective, responsive, and accountable policing they deserve.”

The Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) has been in the spotlight for nearly a decade over its handling of the deaths of First Nations people.

Teschner, the former executive director of the Toronto Police Services Board, says he is getting involved after receiving “several” public complaints.

“I have decided to conduct an inspection of Service in accordance with my legislative mandate under Ontario’s ‘Community Safety and Police Act’ (CSPA), which came into effect on Apr. 1, 2024,” he said in a news release.

Death and missing persons investigations

According to the release, the inspection will evaluate how well the TBPS conduct death and missing persons investigations, and also focus on compliance with the CSPA.

The team is also expected to assess how the TBPS and Thunder Bay Police Service Board (TBPSB) are addressing past recommendations made by other oversight bodies that have reviewed policing and police governance in Thunder Bay, the release added.

The Inspectorate and role of Inspector General of Policing is relatively new, with Teschner being appointed to head the independent agency in the spring. His mandate, the release said, is to drive improved performance and accountability in policing and police governance.

In a move intended to calm concerns from the Indigenous community, the TBPSB hired an Indigenous police chief to lead the service last year. Darcy Fleury is Métis and a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation.

In October of last year, Fleury told The Canadian Press that “racism will not be tolerated and it will cost people their jobs.”

However, problems with the police in the northern Ontario city persist.

When Teschner was appointed, First Nations leaders and families from northern Ontario called on him to disband the police service and have a new police service investigate some of its cases.

“The Thunder Bay Police Service has turned into a cold-case factory when it comes to investigations into the deaths of Indigenous Peoples,” said Alvin Fiddler, grand chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, an organization that represents 49 First Nations in northern Ontario, at the time.

“There is a complete lack of trust. Everything has broken down and it can’t be repaired. It’s like watching a disaster unfold in slow motion, and it has life-changing consequences for our members.”

Several reports since 2018 have documented systemic racism in the TBPS and outlined how investigations into the sudden deaths of Indigenous people have been tainted by racist attitudes and stereotyping.

Late Friday, the families of two people who feel the deaths of their loved ones weren’t investigated properly by Thunder Bay Police issued statements.

“It has been two years since my brother’s death, and we still have no answers from the Thunder Bay Police. Our family’s priority is having Corey’s death investigated, and we don’t understand why it has taken so long to get information. We welcome the Inspectorate’s supervision and support and are hopeful that the inspection will help give our family answers.” said Donna Belesky, sister of Corey Belesky who was the victim of a homicide in 2022. The family of another homicide victim, Jenna Ostberg who died Dec. 30, 2023, is still waiting for answers.

“Our family has not heard from the Thunder Bay Police investigator since January of 2024. Our
daughter and her memory deserve a competent death investigation, and we do not have trust in
the Thunder Bay Police to perform one,” said Ostberg’s parents.

Meanwhile, the lawyer representing the families, Julian Falconer said “there is a complete lack of trust in the Thunder Bay Police Service and Board, particularly by Indigenous communities and families. The families of Jenna Ostberg and Corey Belesky want answers, and Thunder Bay Police Service has failed to provide those answers.”

No comment

The TBPS said Friday it was not commenting on the new review.

But the board issued a statement.

“The Board is fully committed to working collaboratively and transparently with the Inspectorate of Policing during the investigation and welcomes any further advice that will strengthen Thunder Bay’s police oversight system,” said chair Karen Machado.

“The Board recently updated the public on the progress it has made implementing past recommendations with the release of the Board’s report on its work during the first two quarters of 2024.”

The findings of Teschner’s inspection and any recommendations that may arise are to be made public on the Inspectorate’s website.

Several months

The Inspectorate said its inspection is expected to take several months.

Asked whether its findings would be binding on the service and the board, the Inspectorate said “if it has been determined there has been non-compliance with Ontario’s policing legislation by a police service or board, the Inspector General may issue Directions to the police service board or the chief of police to remedy or prevent non-compliance.”

The Inspectorate also has some routes to take under the legislation if wrongdoing is found, it added.

“The CSPA also provides the Inspector General with authorities to impose Measures in the event his Directions are not complied with, which include a number of enforcement actions: suspending a chief of police, or one or more members of a police service board, or the whole board; removing a chief of police, or one or more members of a police service board, or the whole board; appointing an administrator to administer the police service; and disbanding a police service or dissolving the police service board.”