The West Nipissing Police Services Board is worried about the kind of service residents of the municipality will receive during the time the OPP operate from a transition site while waiting for a new detachment to be built.
The board has a letter from Michael Tibollo, the former Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services that details what the temporary building will and will not have.
Tibollo tells the board the temporary building, assuming the transition to the OPP moves ahead, will include officers picking up equipment and vehicles, completing reports and meeting with individuals of the community.
It will also be used as a site where personnel report for duty.
Tibollo says what it won’t be is a building that houses administrative staff and the facility won’t be used for operational purposes.
It’s this segment that concerns the board.
In a news release signed by Barry Bertrand, the chair of the police board, the board says residents who need support will have to drive to an OPP detachment in Warren, Noelville or Sudbury.
Bertrand says considering it would take one to two years to build an OPP facility in West Nipissing, this is the length of time local residents would be without these particular services.
In the letter, Tibollo adds that the OPP will continue to work “diligently with municipal stakeholders to ensure effective, efficient and sustainable police services”.
However, Bertrand says given that the temporary building won’t house administrative staff or can be used for operations, he says the board disagrees with Tibollo’s position on the effectiveness and efficiency of the OPP.
Bertrand says it’s the board’s position this is not a suitable police facility and adds if the municipality knew about the shortcomings, this should have been disclosed.
Bertrand also says had council carried out a proper process of the OPP costing study, the issue regarding the suitability of the police facility would have been identified.