OTTAWA POLICE SERVICES BOARD ELECTS CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, 20 January 2009

At a meeting on 19 January 2009, the Ottawa Police Services Board elected Councillor Eli El-Chantiry as Chair of the Board, and re-elected Jim MacEwen as Vice Chair for 2009. The Board elects a Chair and Vice Chair at the first meeting each year in accordance with Ontario’s Police Services Act.

Councillor El-Chantiry has served on City Council since December 2003, representing West Carleton-March Ward. He served on the Police Services Board from 2003-2006 and was Chair of the Board from October 2005 to December 2006; he was re-appointed to the Board by City Council in June 2007. In accepting the position of Chair, the Councillor stated, “I would like to thank the members of the Board for their support and am looking forward to continuing to build on the momentum we’ve established over the last two years, especially in our efforts to engage the community and improve communications. I would also like to extend sincere thanks to outgoing Chair Henry Jensen, who has committed an enormous amount of time and energy as Chair of the Board over the past two years.

Mr. MacEwen served on the Board from 2001 to 2004 as a provincial appointee and was re-appointed in March 2007 as City Council’s citizen representative for the current term of Council. During his 35 years with the Federal Government, Jim worked in various departments and finished his career as Director of Priority Administration at the Public Service Commission in Ottawa. He has an extensive background in labour relations, mediation and arbitration. Said Mr. MacEwen, “I am grateful to my colleagues for giving me the opportunity to play a role in the important work the Board performs on behalf of the residents of Ottawa, and I look forward to continuing to work in the best interests of the public.”

Other members of the Police Services Board are: City Councillors Maria McRae (River Ward) and Bob Monette (Orléans Ward); plus provincially appointed citizen representatives Henry Jensen – a retired Deputy Commission with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who currently chairs the Board of Directors of the National White Collar Crime Centre of Canada; Des Doran - a retired economist who has served on the City’s Advisory Committee on Equity and Diversity and is a past Co-Chair of the Community Council for Ethnocultural Equity of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board; and Diane Guilmet-Harris - a lawyer with the Government of Canada practicing primarily in the areas of human rights, privacy, access, employment and labour law.

The Ottawa Police Services Board is the civilian body responsible for governing the Ottawa Police Service and is responsible for ensuring the provision of adequate and effective police services in the City of Ottawa. For more information about the Board, visit ottawapolice.ca.

Contact: (613) 560-1270 or 580-2424, ext. 21618

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