Fantino to head OPP, sources say

McGuinty expected to name former Toronto chief to direct provincial force

KEITH LESLIE
Oct 12, 2006
Canadian Press - printed Global and Mail

TORONTO -- Former Toronto police chief Julian Fantino will become the new commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police.

Government sources told Canadian Press that Premier Dalton McGuinty will announce before the end of this week that Mr. Fantino will replace former provincial police commissioner Gwen Boniface.

The sources say a professional recruiting firm experienced in dealing with police executives conducted a Canada-wide search and determined that Mr. Fantino "was the best person for the job."

"This appointment follows that recommendation," one source said.

Chief of Canada's largest municipal police force from 2000 until 2005, when he was appointed Commissioner of Emergency Management by Mr. McGuinty.

He was chief of York Regional Police from 1998 to 2000, chief of the London, Ont., police service from 1991 to 1998, and worked for 23 years as a Toronto policeman.

Although some police chiefs keep out of the political fray, Mr. Fantino has never shied away from public battles with politicians. For that reason, his name frequently comes up during election campaigns.

Most recently, he was courted by Liberal Senator Jerry Grafstein as a possible contender to run against Toronto Mayor David Miller.

Mr. Fantino is close to many senior Liberals, both provincially and federally, and he had close ties to former Conservative premier Mike Harris's government because of its tough stand on law and order.

There have been suggestions that Mr. Fantino, who lives in Woodbridge, would run as a Tory candidate in the 2007 provincial election.

When the Liberals announced Mr. Fantino's position as Commissioner of Emergency Management, they held a ceremony in the atrium of police headquarters.

New Democrats accused the Liberals of staging the perfect photo opportunity, suggesting that the governing party did not want Mr. Fantino to run against provincial Finance Minister Greg Sorbara in his Vaughan-King-Aurora riding, where the Conservatives had long wanted to field Mr. Fantino as a candidate.