THUNDER BAY — POLICING & GOVERNANCE — The Thunder Bay Police Services Board (TBPSB) met on Tuesday, September 16, 2025 (10:30 a.m.) at 1111 Victoria Ave. E., advancing work on strategy, governance reforms, financial stewardship, and public-facing accountability.
Front and centre was the adoption of the Strategic Plan for 2025 to 2028. “The 2025-2028 Strategic Plan is a plan that serves as a framework for delivering community-centered, equitable, and accountable policing in our communities,” said Karen Machado, Board Chair.
“We are grateful and appreciative of the contributions and voices of our community members who contributed to this plan. This is a plan for all of our communities, to provide the best policing service to them, consistent with our goal of making Thunder Bay one of the safest cities in the country.”
Key Takeaways
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Strategic Plan 2025–2028: Firedog Communications presented the joint TBPSB/TBPS plan for Board consideration and adoption.
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CSWB Plan: Board appointee Jason Veltri updated activity and next steps for the City’s Community Safety & Well-Being (CSWB) renewal, emphasizing measurable outcomes, Indigenous partnership alignment, and transparent engagement.
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Governance Policies (for adoption):
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HR-006 Police Cadets — streamlines cadet appointments/training and emphasizes diversity in recruitment.
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LEG-007 DEI Policy — mandates anti-racism & human-rights training, Indigenous engagement, and annual public reporting.
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LEG-008 Chief’s Decisions on Secondary Activities — formalizes approvals/denials, monthly & annual reporting to the Board.
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LEG-009 Disclosure of Personal Information — sets criteria for public-interest disclosures while protecting privacy.
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Finance: The Finance Committee provided a 2025 YTD update. Based on the supplied comparison, total operational expenses stand at $673,604.55 against a $935,800 annual budget (~$262K under). Line pressures continue around Legal Fees (Indemnified) at $150,953.85 vs $50,000 budget.
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Operational Oversight: TBPS delivered Q2 reports on budget variance and public complaints, plus a Secondary Activities update (see below), inquest implementation progress, and SIU information postings.
Strategy & Community Safety
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2025–2028 Strategic Plan: Presented for adoption, the plan outlines Board/Service priorities and performance tracking.
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CSWB Advisory Committee: Chair/appointee Jason Veltri reported steady facilitation, equity-centred engagement design (neighbourhood sessions, focus groups, online survey), support for the Temporary Shelter Village as part of a broader care system, and alignment with ONWA’s safety plan for Indigenous women and girls. Next steps include clear indicators (e.g., crisis calls diverted, successful referrals for unsheltered residents) and regular public updates.
Governance & Policy (Consent Agenda – for adoption)
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HR-006 Police Cadets: Authorizes the Chief to appoint cadets under the CSPA, maintain training/assignment records, preference for diverse candidates, and annual reporting on cadet progression.
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LEG-007 DEI: Commits the Service to bias-free policing, Indigenous-led cultural training, identity-based data oversight, annual DEI reporting, and transparent complaint monitoring.
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LEG-008 Secondary Activities: Requires disclosure and decisions (approve/conditions/deny), with monthly summaries and an annual roll-up to the Board.
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LEG-009 Personal Information Disclosure: Balances safety and privacy; defines when the Chief may disclose information (public protection, victims’ updates, administration of justice) and requires reporting to the Board.
Finance & Administration
Board Budget (YTD snapshot provided):
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Operational expenses: $673,604.55 vs $935,800 budget (under by $262,195.45).
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Selected lines (YTD vs Budget):
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Legal Fees – Indemnified: $150,953.85 vs $50,000 (over).
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Legal Fees: $246,453.81 vs $300,000 (under).
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Professional Fees: $99,357.85 vs $250,000 (under).
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Consultant Fees: $29,205.12 vs $50,000 (under).
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Purchased Services: $78,893.66 vs $180,000 (under).
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Rental Office Space: $35,616.00 vs $42,000 (under).
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Supply Management Memo: Chief Darcy Fleury requested a minor amendment to align the Board’s supply thresholds with the City’s updated by-law and, due to a time-sensitive IT need (replacement of end-of-life server “scale nodes”), permission to proceed using three quotes (lowest-price vendor) rather than a full RFP under the current threshold.
CAPG Conference: Mayor Ken Boshcoff provided a verbal debrief from the 2025 Canadian Association of Police Governance conference (Victoria, B.C.).
Executive Director Recruitment: Chair Kristen Machado updated the Board on the process/status.
Reports from the Thunder Bay Police Service
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Q2 Variance Report (Operational Budget): Deputy Chief R. Hughes provided the overview.
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Quarterly Complaints (Q2 2025): Inspector J. Dampier presented a summary of April–June complaints and resolutions.
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Secondary Activities (Jun–Aug): Deputy Chief J. Pearson reported:
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Approved: nonprofit board work (Guitars for Kids); self-employment (gel nail technician); seasonal retail at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park (with conditions).
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Denied: Life-insurance agent role (potential conflict with policing duties/knowledge under CSPA s.89).
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Paid Duty: Requests processed through TBPS procedures.
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Inquest Implementation: Inspector J. Rybak updated progress on recommendations from the Inquest into the Deaths of Seven First Nations Youths (materials distributed separately).
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SIU Reports: Three files (Case #24-OCI-225, #23-OCI-107, #24-OFI-555) were noted as posted to the Board website for public access.
Closed Session (prior to public meeting)
Consistent with the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, the Board addressed matters related to legal advice, labour relations/negotiations, security of Board property, and personal matters about identifiable individuals.
Procedural Items
The Board considered routine motions to confirm the agenda/consent agenda and a Confirming By-law (PC21-2025) to ratify proceedings.
What’s Next
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Formal minutes will record outcomes on the Strategic Plan adoption and any direction regarding supply-management thresholds and the IT procurement request.
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Annual DEI, complaints, and secondary-activity reporting will continue under the newly tabled policies.