Public speakers banned from the police commission: What's next?

You've heard the police commission is banning public speakers, and so many of you have asked: how do we fix this?

Bad news. City council can't overturn it. The commission is an independent board, and the Police Act keeps council at arm's length.

Council's appointee

But council does make appointments to that board. They appointed Ben Henderson, who is the chair. And it's worth taking a look at Henderson's bio:

While on City Council, he led initiatives that created the City of Edmonton’s Poverty Elimination Strategy, WinterCity Strategy, Public Engagement Strategy and Energy Transition Strategy. After stepping down as City Councillor, he started his own consulting company, specializing in public engagement, governance, government relations and Winter Cities.

Ben Henderson’s bio, Edmonton Police Commission

So wait. Who is it that's preventing the public from engaging with the commission?

It's probably worth letting council know that their appointee is doing a pretty shit job, and they should vet the next one better.

The call is coming from inside the house

The Police Act prevents council from stepping in, but it does grant one person power over police commissions: UCP Minister of Public Safety Mike Ellis. A former cop.

And will he? Well, the last Edmonton police chief, Dale McFee, was promoted to the role of most powerful public servant in the province by Danielle Smith.

The deputy minister running Ellis's department, Justin Krikler, came from EPS, and before that, from the police commission itself.

The call is coming from inside the house.

So what do we do?

So no, I don't see an immediate fix here. It's not left versus right. Henderson was a candidate for the federal Liberals, and the UCP is, well, the UCP. Nobody's fixing this tomorrow.

What we have to do is commit this to political memory. The people making these decisions need to own them in the next job, the next appointment, the next time they want something from the public.

And of course, vote. Municipally, provincially, and federally, for candidates that believe in real oversight and accountability.

Barring all of that, have a bit of a cry. It's all we've got.