THUNDER BAY -- Depending on what it hears from the public, the province could completely overhaul its Police Services Act.
The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services is holding nearly 30 public meetings across Ontario as it looks to make changes to the act through its Strategy for a Safer Ontario.
In Thunder Bay Tuesday night MPP Bas Balkissoon, who is parliamentary assistant to minister Yasir Naqvi, said they want to hear about the public's interactions with police to make changes from sensitivity training to the police services board.
"And the work that police do what we can do to improve it," he said before the meeting at the North End Recreation Centre started.
"It's really an open session."
Balkissoon said so far he's been hearing about the need for more sensitivity training, from diversity to mental health, along with questions about whether police boards have the right tools to do an appropriate job. The strategy's four themes are community safety and well-being, the role of police in the 21 st century, education and training and accountability to the public.
"Once you open the act, it's open for a complete overhaul so it all depends on what we hear from the public," Balkissoon said.
