William Sterling "Bill" Blair, OOM is the current[police chief of Toronto, Ontario. He was selected in a 4–2 vote of the Toronto Police Services Board in early April 2005,[2] and formally appointed Chief of the Toronto Police Service on April 26, 2005.[1] He succeeded Mike Boyd, who had served as interim chief after the expiry of Julian Fantino's contract.[2] Prior to his appointment as chief, Blair worked for approximately 30 years as a Toronto police officer, with assignments involving drug enforcement, organized crime and major criminal investigations.[1]
As of 2010[ Blair is president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.[1] In 2007, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces.[3] He is a Member of the Venerable Order of Saint John.[4]
At a June 28, 2010 protest, Blair was criticized for giving orders that led to the detention of nearly 1000 demonstrators during the protests of the 2010 G-20 Toronto summit.[5]
Responding to questions about a controversial regulation enacted by the Cabinet of Ontario to increase police powers during the summit, Blair was supportive, stating that "[i]t was passed in exactly the procedure as described in our legislation in Ontario".[6] Post-summit reports revealed that on June 25, prior to the start of the summit and shortly after Blair defended a widely-reported misinterpretation of the regulation in a press conference, the police department received a government bulletin clarifying the misinterpretation and explaining that the new regulation accorded them no additional power to demand identification outside of the summit perimeter.[7][8] Blair's spokesperson stated that as of the press conference, Blair was unaware of the clarification;[7] however, Blair did not retract his prior remarks to the press after receiving the bulletin.[8] When interviewed after the summit, Blair confirmed that there was never an extraordinary legal requirement for the public to present identification within 5 m of the perimeter fence, but that he "was trying to keep the criminals out".[8]
] References
1.^ a b c d Official biography from the Toronto Police Service
2.^ a b NOW, April 14, 2005: Bill Blair's inside job Discusses the Toronto Police Services Board's decision to choose Blair as the new police chief.
3.^ Office of the Governor General (29 March 2008). "Government House". Canada Gazette (Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada) 142 (13): 840. http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2008/2008-03-29/pdf/g1-14213.pdf. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
4.^ Office of the Governor General (29 April 2006). "Government House". Canada Gazette (Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada) 140 (17): 870. http://www.gazette.gc.ca/archives/p1/2006/2006-04-29/pdf/g1-14017.pdf. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
5.^ Peaceful protesters demand resignation of Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair on BlogTO
6.^ [1] from the CBC website as updated on Friday, June 25, 2010
10:37 PM ET
7.^ a b [2] from the Globe and Mail website as updated on Tuesday, Jun. 29, 2010 9:27PM EDT
8.^ a b c [3] from the Globe and Mail website as updated on Tuesday, Jun. 29, 2010 9:27PM EDT