Is it time for some good old fashioned police work?

News 100 blackBy Pepper Parr

January 9th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

Update: Since publishing this piece the following information from a source that can be considered reliable. “ If I have read the articles correctly, the chief left the country on December 26th as we went into full lock down and as of today, he has not returned. I would call that an extended vacation.

Is it time for some good old fashioned police work?

The Gazette reader reaction to the news that the Halton Region Chief of Police was out of the country for a period of time, albeit with the permission of the Chair of the Police Services Board, has been significant.

Most of those that commented want to see the Chief fired including a former police officer who has taken up politics as a new career option.

Rob Burton, Chair of the Police Services Board and Mayor of Oakville (I got it right this time) did say that with hindsight he might have made a different decision. Many don’t seem prepared to accept that explanation; the Mayor of Burlington certainly isn’t on side.

In a Statement released by Mayor Meed Ward yesterday she was both pointed and direct. The Chief had no business being out of the country.

It is not healthy for a part of society to have lost faith in the man who runs the police service.

So some questions:

When did the Chief of Police ask the Chair of the Police Services Board for permission to leave the jurisdiction and travel to Florida to take care of some personal business?

When did the Chief of Police leave for Florida, how long was he there and when did he return to Canada?

Once that information is made public we can lay that over it when the Premier announced there would be a lockdown.

With all that information we will know if Burton was irresponsible and the Police Services Board can decide if they want to take any action and if there should be any repercussions.

Overriding all this is the Advisory that has been in place from both the federal and provincial levels for some time advising the public not to travel outside the community.

The failure to follow those advisories has Quebec with a curfew in place; be off the streets at 8 pm and stay at home until 5 am.

Is this what we are going to see in Ontario?

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8 comments to Is it time for some good old fashioned police work?

  • Penny Hersh

    Perry

    It was reported on both the CBC news and CBC.ca.

  • perryb

    Penny, speaking of police work, how do you know that 1 in 5 children are testing positive since the break?

  • Mitch

    Both should resign. The police chief can be fired if he doesn’t resign. The Gazette needs to keep this saga fresh every day.

  • Penny Hersh

    Jim, do you think the Chief put himself in quarantine when he arrived in Florida? I doubt it. Have to wonder if he hadn’t been found out if he would have put himself in quarantine when he arrived back in Canada?

    Our mayor indicated in her statement “Accountability starts in our own backyard. My expectations are that no senior city staff or Council members will be travelling outside the Province for non-essential trips during the shutdown. I can confirm that no senior staff at Burlington City Hall has travelled outside the Province since the province wide shutdown. I also asked and have received confirmation from all City Council Members that none of them have travelled outside of the province since the shutdown”.

    My question is how many of the above spent time with family members or friends that do not live in their households during Christmas?

    Presently 1 out of every 5 children are testing positive for Covid because of family and friend interaction during the school break.

    • Jim Thomson

      He couldn’t quarantine in Florida, he had business to take care of. He will barely have been there 14 days. He left Canada on the 26th of December and is supposed to be in quarantine in Ontario on the 11th of January.

  • This has nothing to do with the lockdown. He is Chief of Police in an emergency situation and needs to be available on very short notice. Burton as Chair made an equally disturbing decision both need to resign.

    • Jim Thomson

      And when he gets back he has to be in quarantine for 14 days. Can’t handle emergencies from quarantine.

    • Rob n

      Agreed.

      Both totally tone deaf to what we are being asked to do and the entitlement they are exhibiting.

      A vast majority of people are following the rules. It should be EVERYONE is following the rules. Otherwise it doesn’t work.