Saturday August 27, 2016
Most Ottawa residents believe police Chief Charles Bordeleau made a mistake by using his personal authority to hire a Somali-Canadian recruit who failed a background check, a new poll suggests.
Most Ottawa residents believe police Chief Charles Bordeleau made a mistake by using his personal authority to hire a Somali-Canadian recruit who failed a background check, a new poll suggests.
The poll, conducted by Forum Research Inc., found that the controversy has eroded the traditionally high approval ratings enjoyed by Bordeleau and Mayor Jim Watson, who has consistently backed the chief during what has been a turbulent summer for the police service.
“While the mayor and the police chief maintain approval levels in the majority, they are down sharply since just last month, and it is apparent that citizens are not entirely on their side,” said Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff. “The chief has taken a hit.”
In fact, according to the poll, Ottawa Police Association president Matt Skof now enjoys a higher approval rating (59 per cent) than does Chief Bordeleau (54 per cent).
Bordeleau’s approval rating tumbled 20 percentage points in one month, according to Forum Research, while Watson’s approval rating fell eight percentage points to 66 per cent — a level of support that continues to be exceptionally high for a civic leader.
“The mayor’s job is a hard job so these ratings are even more impressive in that regard,” Bozinoff said in an interview Friday.
Mayors of major Canadian cities typically have approval ratings that hover around 50 per cent, he said.
The polling firm surveyed 859 Ottawa voters by telephone over two days earlier this week.
The poll suggests that voters are paying keen attention to the drama at police headquarters: 71 per cent of respondents said they knew that the chief was embroiled in controversy.
Most (55 per cent) said they disagreed with Bordeleau’s decision to stand by a Somali-Canadian recruit, whose background check revealed that he had four licence suspensions and 16 convictions under the Highway Traffic Act. A background investigator, Christina Benson, resigned in early August after learning that Bordeleau had overruled her recommendation not to hire someone she believed would be a “liability” to the organization.
A significant majority (70 per cent) of those surveyed said the controversy has had a negative effect on public trust in the police.
Said Bozinoff: “This controversy has had a significant impact on the way Ottawans view those who serve and protect them.”
Almost four in ten respondents (39 per cent) said they thought Bordeleau should resign his post, while slightly more (44 per cent) said he should stay.
Earlier this week, Watson, Bordeleau, Skof and Police Services Board chair Eli El-Chantiry held a closed-door summit in an attempt to hammer out their differences, and put an end to the public spectacle that has made headlines for months.
Union leaders have accused Bordeleau of applying more lenient standards of conduct to senior officers than to rank-and-file members. Officers have complained about low morale, and the union has slammed the police board for poor oversight. Meanwhile, Watson has remained a staunch supporter of Bordeleau’s and has accused the police association’s leadership of undermining public confidence in the force. He also invited unhappy officers to resign.
The tensions at police headquarters first spilled into the public realm earlier this year after Postmedia reported on misconduct allegations levelled against Bordeleau, who admitted phoning courthouse employees to inquire about his father-in-law’s traffic ticket. A civilian police watchdog has since cleared him of any wrongdoing: It found that no clear policy governs how officers ought to deal with family members when they’re before the courts.
The police union charged that the incident highlighted a troubling “double standard”: that police brass tended to be quickly excused from wrongdoing, while rank-and-file members faced discipline even for minor misconduct.
The police association later called for the resignation of the police board chair, saying El-Chantiry had abdicated his oversight role.
In the Forum Research poll, El-Chantiry enjoyed the approval of a majority of respondents (53 per cent), and most of those with an opinion (41 per cent overall) felt he should not resign.
El-Chantiry and Bordeleau have both steadfastly maintained they will remain in their roles.
The poll was conducted by the firm as a public service. In theory, in 19 cases out of 20, the poll results would not differ by more than three percentage points from results obtained by interviewing every adult in the city.