It is part of the democratic process whenever a government – be it local, provincial or federal – demands a budget cut from one of its most vital services. Unfortunately, the public never hears of any plan to mitigate the effects of such mangling, and whether any “injured” department ever succeeded in delivering its mandated responsibilities effectively.
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| Chief Bill Blair |
Presently, there’s no secret that Toronto Police Chief, Bill Blair, and the Mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, are at loggerheads over City Hall’s demand for a ten per cent ($83 million) cut from the Toronto Police Service (TPS) budget. And despite a barrage of anti-police views in the media and on the streets, Chief Blair seems reluctant to acquiesce to City Hall.
In an interview with Toronto’s Citytv, one could sense the pain in Chief Blair’s face as he explained that the requested cut would result in the loss of 1,000 front-line police officers. Reports say roughly 90 per cent of the TPS budget covers salaries and benefits. A Toronto Star story says that, so far, the chief has indentified about $3 million that he can cut.
But his reasoning doesn’t seem to impress Mayor Ford one bit. Sporting his usual unworried demeanour, in a TV broadcast, the mayor demanded his pound of flesh, and insisted that the cut must be done to help the city reduce its $774 million deficit in its 2012 budget.
However, Alok Mukherjee, Chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, told the Globe and Mail newspaper that “Layoffs are not a practical option for the 2012 budget.” The board is a civilian body that oversees Canada’s largest municipal police force – the Toronto Police Service, which currently has about 5, 600 members.
Mayor Ford has said publicly that he’s not asking for a reduction in front-line police personnel. And Chief Blair says the cut cannot be made without the loss of 1,000 crime-fighters. Maybe this exchange between two of the city’s top administrators is just par for the course. And therefore, the disagreement that smacks of political shenanigan will have an amicable outcome.
Over the years the TPS has been accused of being racist, homophobic or unfriendly to some marginalised members of the city, so who cares if it is emasculated?
Not the few idiotic fools – and many others who are neither idiots nor fools – who seem to have little or no understanding of the importance of the TPS to the City of Toronto. That’s why some criticise the police and cheer every time Mayor Ford insists that the Toronto Police Service must cut its budget by ten per cent.
Even if you have no sympathy for Chief Blair’s predicament, one needs only a modicum of commonsense to understand that if the TPS loses 1,000 crime-fighters, the people of Toronto could be in dire straits.
As the most multicultural city in Canada (world’s 2nd largest country by land area) and a burgeoning metropolis, Toronto needs a 21st Century police force that is not only efficient in crime-fighting techniques, but also strong in number. The current size of the TPS “is the appropriate number to keep neighbourhoods safe,” the Toronto Star reported Chief Blair as saying.
Here are some key points to mull over: Was Mayor Ford serious when, during his 2010 campaign for office, he promised to hire 100 more police officers? Does he have convincing information that the TPS can make the ten per cent cut without weakening its front-line force? Is Chief Blair painting a true picture of the situation?
At least one of Mayor Ford’s “lieutenants,” Councillor Michael Thompson (Ward 37 – Scarborough-Centre), doesn’t think the police chief is painting a realistic picture, and has accused Chief Blair of “playing the fear game.” (Toronto Star, September 2, 2011). Councillor Thompson is vice-chair of the seven-member Toronto Police Services Board of which Mayor Ford is a member.
