Bisson calls on province to force Lougheed from police board

A day after members of the Greater Sudbury Police Services Board decided to keep Gerry Lougheed Jr. as chair, the NDP is calling on the province to remove him until the results of an investigation into a byelection scandal are known.

In an open letter to Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Yasir Naqvi, Timmins-James Bay MPP Gilles Bisson said keeping Lougheed on as chair impairs public trust in the board.

“As you are aware, prominent Liberal Party organizer Mr. Gerry Lougheed Jr. is currently under investigation by the OPP and Elections Ontario for attempting to bribe Mr. Andrew Olivier with a 'appointment or job' in exchange for his withdrawal from the Liberal nomination race in the Sudbury byelection,” Bisson wrote.

“As minister responsible for oversight of the police services board, it’s imperative that you maintain the integrity of all police services boards, including that of the GSPS.”

Olivier ran for the Liberals in the June election and had declared he was running for the nomination again in the Feb. 5 byelection. But in December, he was told by local Lougheed, Liberal campaign director Pat Sorbara and Premier Kathleen Wynne that Glenn Thibeault was going to be the candidate and tried to convince Olivier to support him.

Oliver held a news conference Dec. 15 where he made the information public, and alleged Lougheed and Sorbara had offered him an appointment or job if he agreed. When he was challenged on whether he was telling the truth, he released recordings of his conversations with Lougheed and Sorbara, prompting an ongoing investigation by Elections Ontario and a criminal investigation by the OPP.

While Thibeault won the Feb. 5 vote, the investigations are ongoing. In his letter, Bisson writes that public trust in the work of the police board could be undermined by the controversy surrounding Lougheed.

“There is ample precedent when someone is under criminal investigation to step aside from their duties until the investigation is complete,” he wrote. “It’s unprecedented that the chair of a police services board, who is on the public payroll, under criminal investigation, remains as the head of the police services board.

“This type of arrogance profoundly undermines the GSPS and the public’s confidence in our police services.”

Since it was the province who appointed Lougheed, Bisson wrote that it's up to Naqvi to intervene now.

“Given that the OPP believe that Mr. Lougheed committed a crime, the onus is on you and your government to do the right thing to restore confidence and integrity into the police services board and remove Mr. Lougheed as board chair.”

Lougheed has said he intends to stay on the police board unless the OPP and Elections Ontario investigation conclude that he has done something wrong.