In focus

Should the Chief of Police be bilingual?

Colour photograph of two older men and a young woman in a park. The woman and one of the men wear the dark blue uniform of the Ottawa police. The other man wears the red uniform of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The man in red presents a police badge to the woman; they are looking at each other. The other man looks directly at the camera. All three have big smiles.

Photograph of Ottawa police officer Julie Richer receiving her badge from her father, RCMP officer Marc Richer, in the presence of Vernon White, Chief of the Ottawa Police. The image illustrates Charles Thériault’s article, “Huit nouveaux policiers bilingues à Ottawa” (Eight new bilingual police officers in Ottawa), published in Le Droit, September 24, 2009. Photo: Patrick Woodbury, Le Droit.

 

Le Droit, 090924 graduation police109.

In July 2006, City of Ottawa Chief of Police Vince Bevan, who has held the position for more than five years, announces his retirement. A replacement must be found, and the hiring process involves a heated debate about whether or not the future Chief should be able to speak in both official languages. It should be noted that the Ottawa Police Services Board is not subject to the City of Ottawa’s 2001 bilingualism policy, and that, in 2006, it does not even have a language policy.

In the ensuing controversy, the Board chooses to apply the City of Ottawa bilingualism policy in the process of hiring its future chief. This policy requires that all positions at levels 1 to 3, which would include a Chief of Police, be bilingual. It also follows the City’s policy of allowing exceptions for internal candidates who, up to December 31, 2009, can be promoted without meeting the language requirements set out in the policy.

The successful candidate, Vernon White, former head Durham Regional Police Service, is bilingual. Francophone associations in the region are delighted. Following this more or less happy episode in Ottawa’s history, the Police Services Board puts in place an official languages ​​policy in January 2009. It makes explicit reference to the mandatory bilingualism of the Chief of Police.