Halifax police board seeks money to hire independent lawyers as needed
Board asks for $100,000 in this year's city budget after some disagreements with municipal lawyers
The oversight board for police in Halifax is asking city council for funds to hire outside legal help, saying it's an important step toward more independence.
Halifax regional council has advanced a request from the Board of Police Commissioners for up to $100,000 in the 2023-24 budget year to spend on external legal counsel when needed.
The board has a dedicated municipal lawyer, but after some differences of opinion in recent years regarding the board's powers, members say access to independent advice is increasingly important.
Coun. Lindell Smith, board member and past chair, said the funding request arose after board members pushed for a civilian review of the way Halifax police handled the evictions of people from homeless camps on Aug.18, 2021.
"It was the city's view that the commission did not have as much authority as we thought we had. We disagreed," Smith said Wednesday.
The board did get outside legal advice in that case, and has since moved forward with a review.
Smith said there have also been disagreements about the board's role related to the 2019 report that revealed Black people were six times more likely to be street checked than white people between 2006-2017.
Smith said a dedicated budget would allow the board more flexibility to hire outside lawyers in future, and to work toward the level of independence of most police boards in Canada.
"It takes time, and council has to get more cultured into understanding that this is what really creates true independence for this oversight body. So we'll get there hopefully," Smith said.
Coun. Waye Mason spoke in favour of the move during Tuesday's council meeting, and said he'd ultimately like to see the board have its own staff and meet outside city hall.
"What's happening right now is we've got the worst of both worlds; you're independent, sort of but not really, but we're still gonna take responsibility for stuff, but really it's your responsibility," Mason said.
The funding request will come back to council during budget deliberations this spring.
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