Welcome to Canada, where your local police commissioner thinks he can run the city over Zoom from an entirely different country 4,500 miles away.
Commission chairman John McDougall says he's done living in Canada, but claimed this week that there's no reason for him to resign his commission leading the Edmonton police force.
'I suspect that I will probably remain here. If there is a need to go back, I will,' he said in a Zoom interview from Portugal. 'This is not unusual, to conduct business by Zoom. It started with COVID, and the majority of organizations now have a hybrid program … I don't think the geographical difference is big.
'I have a long history, not only with Edmonton but with the commission and with the communities that I'm part of, and that does not end just because I get on an airplane,' he said. 'I'm not doing this to make money. I'm not in this for anything other than the fact that I believe in the work.'
He believes in the work so much, he's moving to a different country rather than stay in the city he's sworn to protect.
Apparently in 2021, Edmonton scrapped the part of the job description that made living in Edmonton mandatory for the police. This came during McDougall's seven-year tenure as police commissioner.
'I still have connections in the city. I still have part of my community in the city. … The fact that my feet are not geographically placed there, I don't think in the short term, presents any problems,' he said.
'The internet: it works in Portugal. Secondly, we [commissioners] are a very communicative group … we are not isolated islands, we are an island together that work together, share information together, to ensure that we all have the right information to make decisions.'
McDougall said he did not notify the commission nor city council he was moving because it's his personal business: 'I'm entitled to a private life.'
Of course, Edmontonians were nonplussed.
Ward papastew Councilor Michael Janz said,
I want a police commission that is filled with Edmontonians. This is the Edmonton police commission, it is not the provincial Alberta police commission, it is not the Portuguese police commission. We are a city of 1.1 million people. It's a missed opportunity to have a local representative who's invested in the crime, safety, and well-being of our community. There should be a residency requirement.
We're a province of four million people. Surely we can find someone to step in.
But honestly, can you blame McDougall for wanting to make the change?
This is Lisbon, Portugal, in December.
Unfortunately for McDougall, the flak he was receiving was a bit too much.
It is clear that my residency would be an unwelcome distraction from the important work of the commission, which is not fair to the citizens who rely on us to provide governance and oversight of the Edmonton Police Service.
It seems McDougall will remain in Portugal, where winters are much more enjoyable than in Edmonton.
No word yet on whether or not Lisbon is looking for a police commissioner!
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