The Ontario Provincial Police Association put out two election ads in an unprecedented attack on Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak Monday.
“We work hard every day. We risk our lives. Tim Hudak says he’s a friend but Tim wants to cancel our contract, cut our pay and cut pensions for new hires,” said one of the ads from the organization that represents about 9,000 OPP employees.
“We’re here for you. Who’s Tim Hudak here for?” is the tag line for the two 15-second video ads.
The ads, which were available Monday morning on the OPPA website and YouTube page, were taken down sometime Monday afternoon but reappeared on their YouTube page not much later. The videos were re-edited to say “We’re the OPPA” instead of “We’re the OPP.”
The OPP is currently investigating deleted emails regarding the Liberals decision under former premier Dalton McGuinity to cancel two gas plants prior to 2011 election at a cost of $1.1 billion. Former OPP commissioner Chris Lewis had said that criminal mischief charges could be laid.
Ontario’s Police Services Act lays out specific rules for how police can act politically. It says that a municipal police officer cannot “on behalf of the police force” express “views supporting or opposing” candidates or their positions.
OPP members are bound to the Public Service of Ontario Act, which says public servants must not “associate his or her position with political activity” or “engage in political activity while wearing a uniform associated with a position in the public service of Ontario.”
The Toronto Police Association used to offer endorsements in municipal elections butstopped the practice in 2004 amid controversy.
PC MPP and energy critic Lisa MacLeod is called on OPP Commissioner Vince Hawkes and Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne to condemn the “unprecedented attack ads.”
“It’s clear that some union elites within the OPP organization have decided to be union leaders first and police officers second,” MacLeod said in a telephone interview.
MacLeod stopped short of calling on another police organization to take over the gas plant and Ornge investigations but said the PCs would consult with their lawyers and legislative team on the issue.
“It’s important that the that work [be] impartial and puts the public interest first and obviously, we hope that work will continue,” she said of the investigations. “The problem that the OPP has put itself in is that many in the public are now questioning that impartiality. That’s why the OPP commissioner should come out and clearly condemn these ads.
“This doesn’t happen in Canada and it shouldn’t happen in Ontario. There are other parts of the world where police intervention does happen in elections…but it doesn’t happen in democratic communities.”
A spokesperson for the OPP said the organization does not offer any position on election politics and the opinion of the OPPA is out of its hands.
“These ads are clearly sponsored by the OPP Association and don’t reflect at all in regards to the opinion of the OPP,” Sgt. Pierre Chamberland said. “The OPPA is an independent organization that does not report to and is not controlled by the OPP so we can’t control what they say.
“This is not something that has been sponsored in any way, shape or form, by the Ontario Provincial Police.”
The OPP’s association says it is not endorsing either the NDP or the Liberals, just that it does not want Hudak as premier, who has promised to cut 100,000 public service jobs.
“For the first time in the sixty year history of the OPPA, Tim Hudak has given us no choice but to engage in a publicity campaign during an election,” Jim Christie, president of the Ontario Provincial Police Association, said in a statement.
“A Tim Hudak led government would launch a direct assault on the Collective Agreements of Police Associations right across the Province. His positions on arbitration, public sector pensions and further wage freezes, among others issues, are unacceptable to our members who put their lives on the line for their communities every day.”