The acting head of the Ontario Provincial Police has asked a court to rule whether the provincial ombudsman can review the hiring process that saw Toronto police Supt. Ron Taverner named as the next OPP commissioner.The move came Friday, after Ontario ombudsman Paul Dubé turned down a request earlier in the week from Interim Commissioner Brad Blair to probe “potential political interference” in the appointment.Taverner, a close friend of Premier Doug Ford, is expected to be sworn in as commissioner on Monday. In his original request to the ombudsman on Tuesday, Blair asked that Taverner’s installation to be delayed pending his requested review of the appointment.According to a statement late Friday afternoon from Julian Falconer, the lawyer who is representing Blair both personally and in his role as interim commissioner, Dubé “refused to exercise his jurisdiction to review Commissioner Blair’s request.”In response, and in what could be one of his final acts as interim commissioner, Blair filed an application to a divisional court “to determine and enforce the jurisdiction” of the ombudsman to review the OPP commissioner hiring process.“If the Ombudsman does not review the complaint, the independence of the OPP will continue to operate under a cloud of suspicion,” reads the application.“This is a serious matter as the independence of the OPP — a body that can be called in to investigate provincial politicians — must be seen as legitimate in the eyes of the citizenry.”Falconer expects the case could be heard by the courts early in the new year.According to Friday`s application, the Ombudsman first declined to investigate due to jurisdictional issues, stating that Taverner`s appointment `is ultimately a decision of cabinet` and thus not within his scope to review.Blair`s lawyers clarified, saying they were asking for a review of the hiring process before the decision was ...
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