Eric Stubbs, assistant commissioner of the RCMP in British Columbia, was named the new chief of the Ottawa Police Service on Friday afternoon as a federal investigation continues into the protest that led to the former chief’s resignation and the full police review. supervisory board.
For the past five years, Stubbs has served as the criminal operations officer in charge of core policing for the BC Mounties.
His leadership of the National Capital Police Service will take effect on November 17, 2022.
“We are confident that he will earn the trust, confidence and heart of the members of the Ottawa Police Service, as well as the … community,” said Eli El-Chantiry, the current chair of the Service Board of Ottawa Police, at a virtual press conference Friday announcing the hiring.
The recruiting team was impressed by Stubbs’ ability to connect with people, El-Chantiry added.
Peter Sloly resigned as boss more than eight months ago at the height of the convoy’s occupation of the city centre.
Deputy Chief Steve Bell had been serving as interim chief since then.
El-Chantiry thanked Bell for his service Friday, saying he “did a great job” leading the force through the end of the protest, the subsequent Rolling Thunder protest, major events like St. Patrick’s Day and Canada, and the fatal right of May. wind storm
Stubbs, who recently contracted COVID and was unable to travel to Ottawa for Friday’s announcement, said the appointment is “a true honor” and that he is “humbled” to serve in the capital. He also thanked Bell for his work as interim chief, calling him a “true leader” and adding that he is “respected.” [Bell] from afar” for several months.
“I do not take this role lightly, and the road ahead will be challenging. And … we will strive to meet those expectations every day,” Stubbs said.
Steve Bell (right), Ottawa’s interim police chief, is seen as Coun. Eli El-Chantiry, chair of the Ottawa Police Services Board, answers a question at city hall in May. El-Chantiry said Friday that Bell did “a great job” as interim chief. (Trevor Pritchard/CBC)
The weather is still under control
Earlier this week, mayoral candidates Bob Chiarelli and Catherine McKenney wrote to the Ontario Civilian Police Commission asking it to look into the board’s decision to hire a new chief before the new council is sworn in on November 15
In a letter to the civilian police watchdog, they asked the commission to investigate a “potential conflict” – that the board chairman is an honorary co-chairman of Mark Sutcliffe’s campaign and that Sutcliffe is the sole candidate to the mayor’s office in favor of hiring. a new boss ahead of Monday’s municipal elections.
The Ottawa Police Services Board denies this characterization of the movement.
“The board takes this opportunity to remind the candidates, and to clarify for the public, that the Police Services Board is a distinct and separate body from the City Council, created by … the Police Services Act,” said Thursday a press release of the board. .
El-Chantiry noted that it is the board’s statutory obligation to hire a new chief and that the new board would likely not meet until late 2022 or early 2023, making it unlikely that a new chief would be hired before the spring .
He added Friday that other municipalities are looking for new police chiefs and Ottawa “wanted to get ahead.” He also said the board had been working hard “non-stop” since late July to find a replacement, and it would be “unacceptable” to expect residents to wait any longer.
Faces a ‘massive challenge’
Michael Kempa, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa, said Stubbs faces a “massive challenge” given what has been revealed in the ongoing public inquiry into the government’s use of federal Emergency Act, which includes a “dysfunction of the domestic police”. “during the convoy protest.
“Hopefully it turns out to be maybe the biggest boss we’ve seen in Ottawa history. We’re going to need one,” Kempa said.
Coming from outside Ottawa can make it difficult for Stubbs to make changes, he added.
Kempa alluded to the uneasy relationship between the Ottawa Police Association and Sloly, the first black police chief who came into the job with a mandate to change the force’s internal culture. Sloly himself, in recent testimony before a parliamentary committee, spoke of these tensions.
“He’s going to have to get used to, as an RCMP officer, working with a very well-developed union here in Ottawa that will chew out an outsider whose agenda they don’t agree with,” Kempa said of Stubbs.
Biography
Stubbs first became an RCMP officer in 1993, serving in six BC communities, including Prince George.
In 2014 he moved to RCMP headquarters in Ottawa as director general of national criminal operations, where he remained until 2017 with a portfolio that includes national use of force policy, operational policy, traffic services and the operational research unit.
In 2017 he returned to BC to direct the overall strategic direction, leadership and operations of central police functions in the province.
It’s a portfolio that includes oversight of 125 RCMP detachments and specialized units such as emergency response teams, indigenous policing, highway patrol and more.
The move to hire an interim chief in February ended badly
Briefly in February, the Ottawa Police Services Board was poised to bring in a new interim chief, but that process ended with a dramatic board overhaul and the withdrawal of the candidate.
This event was analyzed this week in the ongoing public inquiry.
Former Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly resigned in February amid international protests that rocked downtown Ottawa for three weeks. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
Following Sloly’s resignation, Coun. Diane Deans was removed from her role as board chair after offering the job to an outside candidate without consulting the board.
After the oversight board upheaval, Bell stayed on as interim chief.