By JOE WARMINGTON
Hung out to dry. Or should that be left out in the rain?
Perhaps both.
That’s how so many people in the
Where’s the leadership? It seems to be anything goes with no solution in sight as sources tell the Sun the province is spending $3 million a month to station some 150 OPP officers there.
These officers come from other detachments around the province, said the source, who adds that means the whole province is feeling the squeeze.
It’s embarrassing. For the integrity of a civilized life in this great province it has to be sorted out sometime. Is there someone out there who can bring them all in from the rain, dry them off and help bring the sunshine out from the clouds once again?
Could that person be Julian Fantino? After the Sun’s Ian Robertson’s exclusive story yesterday — speculation is rampant the former
On vacation
Some say it’s a done deal, others say it won’t happen and some are crossing their fingers.
Fantino, on vacation with his wife, Liviana, was unaware of the talk but said his focus is on his vacation and not politics. “Livy and I are enjoying our time away,” he said yesterday from a train in the
“In the last week, I lost two good friends to cancer and that can sure make you think. It was my birthday yesterday which also made me think about my many good fortunes: My health, a loving family that includes four adorable grandchildren, a good job and many good and valued friends.”
The timing couldn’t be more important for both the OPP and for Premier Dalton McGuinty.
Both need help in any sentence with the world “
“It would be a good fit,” said former
“The premier needs to get someone who has been a chief and this would work because Fantino is already part of that government,” Bromell said. “And don’t forget Public Safety Minister Monte Kwinter is a hardliner.”
In addition, sources tell me, McGuinty, Kwinter and Fantino have a good working relationship. “I do have a lot of respect for the premier,” Fantino, 63, told me recently. “He’s a good man.”
No one doubts that. He just doesn’t seem to have the will to deal with this problem. With an election coming and opponent John Tory looking like he’d make a very good premier, McGuinty looks like he’s seen the ghost of Dudley George.
Fantino, even on a short-term contract, would solve that for him. There’s few tougher in 2006 policing. He’s concise and although difficult to deal with if you are on his bad side, he’s not afraid to make tough decisions.
Tough decisions are needed in
So many OPP officers are wondering where’s the premier and where was their own commissioner? “It’s now explained where she was for all of those months,” Bromell said. “She was off securing that job in
Others say she was forced out because of her hesitation to properly deal with this crisis but one insider said it’s simply not true.
“She’s an excellent cop,” said this source. “She just got a terrific opportunity in
Isn’t that nice for her. It’s deplorable that the top cop in this province would leave her men and women leaderless to feather her own nest.
No matter how good the opportunity, her focus should have been on the job we Ontarians entrusted her with. No wonder there is lawlessness there.
“I am a member of the Ontario Provincial Police and have been for 10 years,” said one officer. “Our morale has never been this low. Our commissioner abandoned us.”
Another wrote “what has happened to our once prestigious organization? She has made a mockery of it. For obvious reasons, please do not release my name, I don’t wish to serve in Moosonee!”
Another told me, “I have been extremely disheartened and disgusted with how
Fresh look
So who is going to come in and fix that?
McGuinty has a big decision to make. He’s got some good internal candidates — including deputy commissioners Jay Hope and John Carson to go along with outsiders like Fantino who might bring about a fresh look to the OPP.
Terrific Queen’s Park columnist Christina Blizzard was telling me yesterday, knowing the Liberal mindset as she does, she can see McGuinty skipping on Fantino.
“They don’t want somebody who will go in there,” she said. “Everybody is afraid of what happened at Ipperwash.”
But having said that, Blizzard is like me in the opinion that McGuinty could sure use some public relations help.
“It’s disgraceful,” she said of how it has been handled so far.
A lot of people agree and are wondering might the province call on a controversial, tough, straight-talking cop named Fantino to help solve this seemingly unending storm?