Meet Don Robertson, Hamilton's newest police board member

Hamilton's newest police board member is joining at a turbulent time with recent tensions around the police budget and an ongoing investigation into a member's conduct, but Don Robertson says it's too early to weigh in. 

Robertson, who lives in rural Ancaster, is a realtor and former vice president of the Ontario Liberal Party. He's filling a vacancy on the board that opened up after Pat Mandy, the provincial appointee, recently announced her departure as board chair and another member, Fred Bennink, became acting chair. 

Ontario's Ministry of the Solicitor General appointed Robertson to a three-year term beginning April 1, the Hamilton Police Service Board said in a news release. Robertson has a history of community work, including sitting on the board of the Ontario Hockey Association, and also owns the Dundas Real McCoys hockey team. 

Robertson says he's about 'common sense'

Ahead of his first meeting on April 25, Robertson spoke with CBC Hamilton about why he wanted to join the board.

"I'm pretty common sense and sometimes I think that can help," he said. "Not to suggest that there isn't lots of common sense on various boards, including the police services board."

He said that while he values policing and knows a few retired officers, he doesn't have ties to the institution or family members who work in the field. Prior to this, "Probably my biggest interaction with the police department was seeing if I could get a speeding ticket reduced," he said.

Robertson said Hamilton's police service — which includes 829 officers and 414 civilians — is being asked to do a lot, and expectations must be taken into consideration when budgeting. 

He compared policing with Ontario's healthcare system, which has experienced short-staffing and a lack of resources. Continually doing more with less is an "impossible dream," he said. He's not ready to weigh in on the budget process, however, until he learns more as a police board member.

The 2024 Hamilton police budget was vigorously debated this year, with city council voting to send it back to the board to look for savings.

The board did not make changes and council ended up approving the $214.8 million budget, which disappointed some, including board member and Coun. Cameron Kroetsch.  

Kroetsch is now facing an investigation after some of his fellow board members made a complaint against him, and has temporarily stepped down. He previously said in a statement in March "I consider the board's actions to be procedurally unfair, an abuse of process, biased, and personally motivated."

Robertson said he doesn't know enough to comment. 

He also opted not to comment on how the board can best address systemic racism in policing saying he needs to learn more about what the board knows and is doing first.

"I'm going to approach this like I've approached any other community initiative that I've been involved with," Robertson said. "It seems like a cliche, but you want to try and leave things in a better place than you found them and if that goal can be attained, then I think we win."