Angry in the Great White North

A reader noticed this strange mixing of tenses in these two stories I used in my post.

First, from the official provincial government news wire release dated July 28:

Boniface will continue as OPP Commissioner until early October to ensure a smooth transition. An extensive, Canada-wide search will begin shortly to fill the Commissioner position.

Now this from the Irish Examiner, also dated July 28:

She was speaking at the announcement of two more members of the Inspectorate - former Mineapolis police chief Robert Olson and former Ontario police commissioner Gwen Boniface.

Well, if Boniface is supposed to be working as OPP commissioner until October, that is, another two to three months, it seems a bit presumptuous to refer to her as "former" commissioner. That would undermine her authority.

So I checked another story, also from the Irish Examiner, dated July 29:

Chief Inspector Kathleen O’Toole said the tribunal report into the shooting of John Carthy was the body’s number one priority.

The Barr report, published over a week ago, found that the mentally ill man had been fatally shot at Abbeylara, Co Longford, in 2000 by gardaí following a litany of errors and negligence by senior officers.

Ms O’Toole was speaking at the appointment of two other inspectors, completing the three-person Garda Inspectorate.

The inspectorate, answerable to the Minister for Justice, is tasked with examining the efficiency of the force and the effectiveness of its operations.

She said her two fellow inspectors had received copies [of the 740-page report] and that they would read “every sentence” in the report.

“We’ll discuss what recommendations were made, we’ll benchmark those recommendations against best international practice, determine what the Garda Síochána have already done and determine if more reform is appropriate and make recommendations.”

Speaking at the appointment, Justice Minister Michael McDowell said he had asked the new inspectorate to look at the Abbeylara incident.

The two new inspectors are Robert Olson, a policeman with 38 years experience, who has served as chief of police at three cities in the US, and Gwen Boniface, who has 30 years experience and resigns as the police commissioner in Ontario, Canada.

I'm sure what O'Toole meant to say was that this would be Boniface's number one priority starting October, that Boniface would begin reading every sentence in October, and that Boniface would engage in those discussions in October, and that Boniface's resignation doesn't come into effect until October.

Right?

Then I read this in a very hard-hitting commentary piece by Susan Clairmont of the Hamilton Spectator:

Boniface didn't even show for her own swan song. It was Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Monte Kwinter who made the announcement that the commissioner was leaving to oversee Ireland's Garda, the national police force.

Actually, she's already there and will be working with former Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole and former Minneapolis Police Chief Robert Olson in Dublin.

Excuse me? She's already there? Then who is in charge of the OPP? What was Monte Kwinter talking about when he said Boniface would be in charge until October?

Is she phoning it in? Or is she commuting back and forth? And who's paying for her plane fare?

This has all the earmarks of a government trying to avoid scandal by quickly and quietly shuffling an ineffective bureaucrat out of public view. In this case, sending her overseas. To suggest to the press that this is a deliberate and thoughtful process that will take weeks to finish when in fact it appears to be have already been completed in secret is duplicitous and insulting.

And how did she get this job? Did the Irish government seek her out? Did she start a job hunt months ago without letting anyone know? If so, who did she use as references? Or is the Ontario government behind this? Did Dalton McGuinty and Monte Kwinter sell the Irish government a bill of goods some weeks or months ago, hoping the Irish would commit to hiring Boniface before the worst of the Caledonia dispute came to light?

Are the other two inspectors joining Boniface, Robert Olson and Kathleen O'Toole, aware of any of this? Are they going to back up Boniface? Are they cut from the same cloth as Boniface, and are also being exiled to Ireland? Or are they cops who get the job done, and if so, what will they think of Boniface?

I can't speak to what is going on in Ireland, but I can say something about what all this means here in Ontario. If Boniface has left for good and this is not just an appearance for a news conference, then it adds weight to the rumour that there will be no search for a replacement because a replacement has already been selected. And the only way a replacement could take over this quickly (literally the next day) is if the transition has been going on for weeks or even months (not likely), or if no transition effort was actually required (more likely). No transition effort means it's most likely that the replacement is already highly placed in the OPP and not an outsider. Such a person already knows the OPP process, already knows all the active files, and already knows the top staff. All this points to someone like Jay Hope, the deputy commissioner, being given the job some time ago and who is now ready to take over.