– Where Is The Regional And Provincial Government On This?
A Commentary by Doug Draper
Most of us, if not all of us, look up to our police as models and protectors of the law, and almost each and every one of our police officers earn and deserve that kind of respect for the difficult and dangerous work we expect them to do.
Niagara Regional Police officer continues to collect pay while awaiting sentencing for “international criminal activity” in a Buffalo, New York court
They, along with our firefighters and our paramedics, are among the first responders we count on during times of trouble and emergency.
But there are times when that respect is shaken and the news that came first from CBC this Tuesday, November 13 may, for at least some of us, be one of them.
According to a CBC report, Niagara Regional Police Constable Geoff Purdie, who pleaded guilty in a Buffalo, New York courtroom this past October of smuggling thousands of dollars of steriods across the border from the United States to Canada, and “flashing his badge” at customs authorities while he was doing it, will be allowed to continue collecting his salary – money that comes out of the wallets of Niagara, Ontario residents – at least until he is sentenced this coming February 28 to up to 10 years in jail and a $500,000 fine.
Yet a so-called “disciplinary tribunal,” run by the Niagara Regional Police, decided at a hearing in St. Catharines, Ontario this November 12 to allow Purdie to go on collecting his salary, which could easily range above $80,000 annually give the wages of police these days, until he is sentenced. And that is apparently because Purdie reportedly “declined to enter a plea” during the tribunal hearing.
The fundamental question we all should be asking our elected representatives at the regional and provincial government level is this? Why should we go on paying the salary of anyone in public service who has been found guilty in a court of law of committing a criminal act?
With respect to a police officer, who should be a protector of and role model for the rest of us, here is a little refresher course on what the U.S. government court authorities said when Purdie was in Buffalo to plead guilty this October.
“It is particularly egregious when a member of law enforcement violates his oath of office in order to engage in international criminal activity,” said U.S. attorney William Hochul after Purdie tabled his guilty plea. “Such conduct will continue to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Added U.S. attorney James Spero; “This conviction highlights an egregious breach of the deep trust place in law enforcement. The defendant (Purdie) used his position to smuggle illegal contraband into Canada for his own financial gain. Citizens of the United States and Canada need to know that they can count on law enforcement to do the jobs they entrust us to do each day. The defendant breached that trust and will be held accountable.”
Yet as egregious a violation of trust Purdie’s acts may be across the border in the United States, he was never caught or charged on the Canadian side of the border with what the U.S. court described as “international criminal activity.” No, no, no. As much as Canada’s federal government, and its tough-talking justice minister Rob Nicholson of Niagara Falls, claims they want to get tougher on drug crimes, we can’t seem to catch them as well as our American neighbours can.
And now, even following Purdie’s guilty plea and conviction, he continues to suck dollars out of the pockets of Niagara residents whose trust he violated, and that seems to be acceptable under the laws (or lack of them) we have in Canada for these crimes too.
What the hell is going on here? If I were a Niagara Regional Police officer, and there are lots of good ones working for us, thank God, I would feel appalled that this guy is allowed to run out the clock on collecting payment from his fellow citizens, right down to the moment he is possibly sentenced to spend real time in jail for a crime he has already plead guilty to. The good people on the NRP, and there are many, don’t deserve to be on the same payroll as Purdie.
Then finally, we should all be asking our municipal and regionally elected, and our provincially elected representatives, what kind of rules or laws we have in place that allow someone who has been found guilty of committing criminal acts to continue ripping us off for a pay cheque?
The CBC report on this quoted an NRP Inspector Scott McLean saying that the guidelines now at work under the Ontario Police Act allow characters like Purdie to remain on the payroll, even after they have admitted their guilt to a serious crime.
Then obviously, of course, there is something awfully damn wrong with the Ontario Police Act around this and other matters we won’t go into here. Where are our provincial members of parliament on this? We should all be calling them up and pressing them for answers.
(Niagara At Large invites you, and ONLY YOU who share your real first and last name with your views, to comment on this post in the space below.)
Niagara At Large 
The system protects its own, at our expense. Democracy – don’t ya love it!
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Well, I understand your final question, Doug, is rhetorical but I am sure we would all agree that if any of us, school teachers, journalists, librarians, public service employees, etc. did such an egregious thing, we’d be in the slammer tout suite. But Nooooo……. not the NRP.
We all know about the Special Investigations Unit that never once has found any wrong-doing among its colleagues….. of course not.
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If this were “YOU or I” they would throw away the key …..BUT…… it seems the overblown Salaries and Budget of the NRP is what they, the Empire builders, feel is their RIGHT>>>>While YES! IT is Seen as a “RIP-OFF” by many of the CASH STRAPPED Citizen of the Niagara Region who fight each and every day to keep a roof over their heads, food to feed and clothing to buy for themselves and children their children…… WHILE TAXES CONTINUE TO SPIRAL out of Control due to excesses such as this……….A continuing sick Scenario in Niagara Region
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Typical of elected representatives – Tax money is nobody’s money.
Notice how uncommon is common sense.
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Many years ago a commission was set up to investigate the NRP I believe it was called the Archer Report it was a damning report, and it brought out ,about guns that had been confiscated , many collectors pieces that were to be sent to Stelco to be melted down, wound up in the locker of a high ranking officer for his own personal collection, they also found nepotism and cronyism to be rampant. within the force,nothing ever became of that investigation, The NRP get the highest wages in Ontario and yet some of them think that is not enough, my son has a degree from McMaster and a MBA yet he never made that kind of money, that a minimal educated police constable, on our force receives. I get information through the grape vine which seems to say that the problem is very big. I lost my repect for our force a long time ago, I knew Chief Harris who lived close to me and I had an opportunity to join ,when Regional Government first started up. I now fear their ideals are tainted, so they wan’t more money this budget year, I thought under new rules when a force makes a huge drug bust, the force gets to keep some of the proceeds, to off set the costs involved, so why do they keep asking the tax payers to pay more.?
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All of Purdie’s income, bank accounts, vehicles, houses, etc can all be seized as proceeds of crime. Let this be a warning to all government officials abusing their position to commit crimes.
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If Purdie is not jailed and fired, no one will have any respect for a cop.
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The NRP, just like regular society, is comprised of honest citizens as well as a mix of deviants and degenerates. That is why the union does not want us, their employer, to have them tested randomly and regularly for intoxication due to drugs and alcohol. They know what the results will be.
The police forces in Ontario would be well advised to get a handle on this because unfortunately this situation is not isolated.
Now consider these thoughts:
1) That a police officer is now judge, jury and executioner when it comes to certain violations. No longer are we presumed innocent until PROVEN guilty in this province in particular. Add to that we have a force that is comprised of just as many degenerates as normal society (15% I would guesstimate). This is the reason why we HAD a system where one is innocent until proven guilty in the first place.
2) That police corruption is not a new thing. Since the beginning of time police have been implicated in crime. From the days of prohibition to current times as we can see.
All this while we pay them outrageous salaries for what I consider to be one of the safest jobs in Canada. On a per capita basis I maintain that compared to construction workers, truck drivers, anyone who drives our highways to get to work and farmers, injuries and deaths amongst police forces are the same or less. And who doesn’t need a roof over their head or food on their table. Consider that our soldiers “SERVING” Canada oversees will never see this kind of compensation.
The problem, is the union and the protection it affords this public service. We have been blackmailed by this union before and it won’t stop until some pretty advanced legislation deals with this problem. That being specifically the elimination of unions in the public service in general. Since when do the “so-called” rights of the workers supercede the rights of the employer?Especially when you consider the benefits these unions are going after these days. While the union may have served a purpose at one time (50 years ago), it certainly has outlived it usefulness in my opinion.
Funny thing, I used to be a union member. Thankfully no longer. I was a hard worker who worked too hard and was too productive. Got the blackbook waved in my face too many times for this reason. Plus they were corrupt as well. Fixing strike votes etc…. What an outdated, counter-productive organization!
I shudder to think what would happen if our armed forces became unionized!! Pretty scary no?
Sad to say, but just sayin……..
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If anyone wants to change the rules governing the payment of police officers awaiting trial then they should think about attacking the McGuinty government if it’s still around? The fact is that these terms are set by the Province and only Dalton and his gang can change them, not the local police force which has ZERO say in this corrupt meting of justice given this criminal has already pleaded guilty. Meanwhile, the so-called “Association” aka Police Union stands silent on the issue.
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There should be an Independent Task Force to investigate not only the police but all Government Officials from the Prime Minister to Municiple Councillors and Town Staff. It is time that the Police were held accountable for their actions and the politicians started working for the people who voted for them rather than themselves.
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