One name that caught my eye is that of Pat Dolan. Pat Dolan is a volunteer firefighter in Montague, and as such is naturally on the side of the current Reeve and Council when it comes to the Great Defamation Divide in the township.
However, the thing that makes Mr. Dolan's candidacy interesting is the fact that he is also the Deputy Chief of Police in the adjoining municipality, the town of Smiths Falls.
Section 46 of the Police Services Act, available here states:
46. No municipal police officer shall engage in political activity, except as the regulations permit. R.S.O. 1990, c. P.15, s. 46.The regulation concerned is O.Reg. 554/91, updated to O.Reg. 89/98. This regulation contains sections that permit police officers to stand for election and serve as municipal councillors, provided that there is no conflict of interest and that they do not involve themselves in matters relating to the Police Services Board. The officer need not take a leave of absence to campaign and need not resign if elected to municipal office under these specific conditions:
(3) Despite subsections (1) and (2), a municipal police officer may seek to become a candidate or may be a candidate in an election for municipal council without taking a leave of absence if,
(a) the election is in a municipality that does not receive police services from the municipality in which the police officer is employed; and
(b) seeking to become or being a candidate does not interfere with the police officer's duties as a police officer and does not place, or is not likely to place, the police officer in a position of conflict of interest. O. Reg. 89/98, s. 1.
7. (1) A municipal police officer who is elected in a federal or provincial election or in an election for municipal council shall immediately resign as a police officer. O. Reg. 89/98, s. 1.
(2) Despite subsection (1), a municipal police officer need not resign as a municipal police officer upon being elected in an election for municipal council if,
(a) the police officer is elected a member of the municipal council of a municipality that does not receive police services from the municipality in which the police officer is employed; and
(b) being a member of the municipal council does not interfere with the police officer's duties as a police officer or does not place, or is not likely to place, the police officer in a position of conflict of interest. O. Reg. 89/98, s. 1.
However, the preceding section of the regulations, section 5, specifically excludes Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of police from the following sections:
5. Sections 6, 7 and 8 apply to a municipal police officer other than a chief of police or a deputy chief of police. O. Reg. 89/98, s. 1.So it would appear from this that Mr. Dolan may not stand and may not be elected as a councillor in Montague, unless he has left his position as Deputy Chief of Police in Smiths Falls. I am talking to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services and trying to confirm if this is a correct interpretation of the regulations.
