Gwen who? Apparently Gwen Boniface is leaving her position as commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police.
The announcement is really just a formality. As far as I can see, Boniface hasn't actually been leading her 7,000 officers for a long time.
The news came yesterday morning, five months to the day after the native land occupation began in Caledonia.
How appropriate.
Boniface's complete lack of leadership during the Caledonia debacle absolutely had to result in her stepping down. There could be no other way. She was reaching the bottom of a deep, dark hole of public mistrust and contempt and was dragging the province's largest police service down with her.
When an entire town and a good number of your own officers call for your resignation, it's time to leave.
Gwen Boniface did nothing to end the dispute in Caledonia. She botched the early-morning raid on the protesters which led to near-anarchy in the town. She allowed a two-tiered justice system to emerge. She turned a blind eye as the law was broken -- over and over and over again -- in Caledonia. She did not communicate openly and honestly with the public.
And, worst of all, Commissioner Gwen Boniface didn't show her face.
She was missing in action when the OPP's "Reclamation Team" first arrived on the scene all those months ago.
She was deafeningly silent when native leaders, politicians, community activists and legal experts examined/discussed/ debated/opinionated on the mess at public forums and in the media. She sent emissaries to take part in meetings and negotiations.
When she was subpoenaed to appear in court before Justice David Marshall to explain why his orders to clear the occupied land of protesters had not been followed, she sent lawyers in her stead. When two television cameramen were attacked by natives while OPP officers stood by, she said nothing. When police leaders from across the province gathered in Hamilton recently for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police Conference to learn about crisis communications, she was conspicuously absent.
She did breeze into Caledonia for a few hours earlier this month. She met briefly with the town councillors and the Caledonia Citizens Coalition. People at those meetings say the commissioner was "nice."
Nothing more substantial than that.
Boniface didn't even show for her own swan song. It was Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Monte Kwinter who made the announcement that the commissioner was leaving to oversee Ireland's Garda, the national police force.
Actually, she's already there and will be working with former Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole and former Minneapolis Police Chief Robert Olson in Dublin.
The trio will advise the 13,000 member police service on best practices to promote reform, effectiveness and efficiency in the organization.
Kwinter said a Canada-wide search will begin to fill the OPP's top job.
Boniface started with the OPP in 1977 and was named commissioner in 1998. She holds a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School and received the Order of Ontario in 2001 for her work with First Nations communities and was invited to be a member of the First Nations Chiefs of Police.
Yet few members of the public -- and only slightly more OPP officers -- are likely to recognize Boniface if she walked into a room.
Kwinter insisted Boniface's departure has nothing to do with the situation in Caledonia.
Well, it ought to.
Leadership isn't about hiding. Or saving face. Or getting others to do your dirty work. Or having a wait-and-see attitude. It's about stepping up and taking control with confidence.
It's about standing by your decisions. Being accountable.
Leadership, like justice, should not only be done, but should be seen to be done.