The mayor says while he’s saddened by his time away from the police services board, he’s looking forward to getting back to work now that he’s been reinstated.
Keith Hobbs will return to the Thunder Bay Police Services Board Dec. 20 after being removed during an investigation by the Ontario Civilian Police Commission that he breached confidentiality by discussing things from an in camera board meeting.
Hobbs said he predicted the final decision in March when he was first removed from the board.
“I told them (OCPC) right up front I’m guilty and they concurred with me that it was a technical breach, however it was not serious enough to remove me from the board,” Hobbs said Wednesday.
The investigation was launched after former police chief Bob Herman lodged a complaint with the police commission alleging that Hobbs divulged information from an in-camera session of the local police board to a third party.
The board agreed and had a duty under the Police Services Act to inform the OCPC, said board chair Coun. Joe Virdiramo.
“We felt that we had the duty to report the situation as we are instructed by the regulations,” Virdiramo said Wednesday at a tight-lipped media conference.
“We reported that and then left everything up to the commission to carry on their investigation.”
When asked whether the board was satisfied, Virdiramo said it will work with the mayor in the future. He was then asked a second time by reporters whether or not the board was satisfied with the ruling.
“That’s all I’m saying,” Virdiramo said in response to the repeated question.
“When people tend to cross the line, no matter how much of the line is crossed, one has to be careful and one has to be accountable to their actions.”
Hobbs said he wants to start focusing on issues that he believes can make the community safer, like zone-based policing.
“I don’t hold grudges. (The police board) did what they thought they had to do and I was told by OCPC to play nice in the sandbox. Sometimes I’m abrupt in my delivery and they told me that maybe I should tone down my delivery in some ways and I recognize that so I’ll try and do better in the future.”
That said, Hobbs said he will continue to be outspoken.
“I’m not going to change I am who I am I ran and I got elected because I’m an outspoken person. My delivery maybe needs to be honed a bit,” he said.
Hobbs needed a city lawyer and one in Toronto for the proceedings, which came at the city’s expense.
While he didn’t know how much those costs were, he said he doesn’t think it was worth it.
“No one wins but the lawyers in these kinds of issues. Could it have been handled differently? I suppose so. I’ll let others judge that.”
He added that he had spoken with OCPC officials about better educating new members of the Police Services Boards throughout the province about procedure.
Virdiramo was asked several times by media whether the police board needed a lawyer, and said that the board always seeks legal counsel on certain matters.
Legal costs for the investigation will be available next week.
