Ottawa priest secures position with Ontario Civilian Police Commission

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This is bizarre.

Scroll down.  Father Jeff King, a priest with the Archdiocese of Ottawa, Ontario,  former lawyer and late vocation  to the priesthood, has landed a part-time post with the Ontario Civilian Police Commission.

Some will recall that while he was yet a layman and practicing lawyer Jeff King who like Father Marc Ouellet, now Cardinal and then Rector at the Major Seminary in Montreal, assisted with the compilation of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops 1992 sex abuse guidelines, From Pain to Hope.  Those guidelines recommended, amongst other things, that legal fees of accused priest be picked up by the diocese, and suggested procedures be set to “reintegrate” convicted molesters  into active ministry.

Further to that, those who followed the Cornwall Public Inquiry will recall that Justice Normand Glaude was once upon a time a member of the Ontario Civilian Police Commission.

Further to that again, it was Jeff King, still a layman and lawyer, who, as I blogged during the Cornwall Public Inquiry,  assisted Father Frank Morrissey omi back in the late 80s find loopholes to try to ensure that bishops would not be legally compelled to disclose any information disclosed in their presence by suspect clerical predators.

What this all boils down to I have no idea, but it’s not sitting well with me.  With the shortage of priests everywhere are there not some more ‘priestly’ things Father King could do with his time?  Are there no confessions to heard?  no sick parishioners who would appreciate a visit, either in home or at hospital?  no one in need of spiritual guidance?  Aside the nearly $400 day per diem, It makes no sense.

……………………………

pdf file of the following text:  Father Jeff King member Ontario Civilian Police Commission

 

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Agency Details

(as on: Wednesday, March 06, 2013)

Ministry:  COMMUNITY SAFETY AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES

Agency:  ONTARIO CIVILIAN POLICE COMMISSION (SAFETY, LICENSING APPEALS AND STANDARDS TRIBUNALS ONTARIO)

Agency URL:  www.ocpc.ca

Address:  250 Dundas Street West 6 th Floor, Suite 605 Toronto M7A 2T3 ON

Tel.:  416-326-1189;1-888-515-5005

Fax:  416-314-2036;1-888-311-7555

Background:  Police Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.15, Part II, ss. 21(1); Adjudicative Tribunals Accountability, Governance and Appointments Act, 2009, S.O. 2009, c. 33, Sched. 5, s. 15; O. Reg. 126/10

Period:  N/A – N/A

Type:  ADJ

Prerogative:  Mandatory Legislation; Minister’s OIC

Function:  As an independent quasi-judicial agency, the Commission carries out a combination of duties, which are primarily adjudicative or decision-making in nature. These include hearing appeals to police disciplinary penalties; adjudicating disputes between municipal councils and police services boards involving budget matters; conducting hearings into requests for reduction, abolition, creation or amalgamation of police services; conducting investigations and inquiries into the conduct of chiefs of police, police officers and members of police services boards; determining the status of police service members; and, general enforcement authority relating to the adequacy and effectiveness of policing services.

As of April 1, 2013, the Ontario Civilian Police Commission is designated as part of an adjudicative tribunal cluster by regulation made under the Adjudicative Tribunals Accountability, Governance and Appointments Act, 2009.

Membership:  The Lieutenant Governor in Council determines the number of members to be appointed and may designate one of the members as chair and one or more members as vice-chair.

In accordance with the governance structure of the clusters, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint: an executive chair to be responsible for all of the adjudicative tribunals included in a cluster; an associate chair for each adjudicative tribunal that is included in a cluster; one or more of the associate chairs as alternate executive chairs of the cluster; one or more vice-chairs for each adjudicative tribunal that is included in a cluster. The executive chair and each alternate executive chair must also be members of each of the adjudicative tribunals in the cluster, and the associate chair and each vice-chair must also be members of the tribunal to which they are appointed as associate chair and vice-chair.

Term:  There is no limitation in legislation.

Meetings:  The Commission meets once a month in addition to conducting hearings.

Requirements:  Appointments to this tribunal follow a merit-based, competitive process that includes the following:

1. A job posting advertising the position will be posted for a minimum of ten days excluding Saturday, Sunday and holidays. The job posting will include the skills, knowledge, experience, other attributes and specific qualifications required for the position.

2. Applications received during the posting period will be reviewed to assess the following criteria: Experience, knowledge or training in the subject matter and legal issues dealt with by the tribunal; Aptitude for impartial adjudication; Aptitude for applying alternative adjudicative practices and procedures that may be set out in the tribunal’s rules.

3. Applicants that meet the above criteria will be considered for further evaluation in the selection process through personal or telephone interviews, enhanced reference checks or stakeholder consultations.

Reference: Adjudicative Tribunals Accountability, Governance and Appointments Act, 2009; Ontario Regulation 88/11

BOARD MEMBERS
No.   POSITION    MEMBER NAME    TENURE  REMUNERATION   LOCATION
1. CHAIR (FULL-TIME) GAVSIE, DAVID C. 19-FEB-2011 – 26-APR-2016 SMG3 ETOBICOKE
2. VICE-CHAIR (PART-TIME) EDWARDS, DAVID 22-JUN-2005 – 21-JUN-2013 RESIGNED ST. CATHARINES
3. MEMBER (PART-TIME) RODRIGUEZ, JOHN 04-MAY-2011 – 03-MAY-2013 $398 PER DIEM HANMER
4. MEMBER (PART-TIME) DHANANI, ZAHRA 19-DEC-2008 – 18-DEC-2013 $398 PER DIEM TORONTO
5. MEMBER (PART-TIME) MILLER, HYACINTHE 11-AUG-2004 – 11-SEP-2014 $398 PER DIEM SHARON
6. MEMBER (PART-TIME) CASTEL, JACQUELINE 03-OCT-2012 – 02-OCT-2014 $398 PER DIEM MISSISSAUGA
7. MEMBER (PART-TIME) KING, JEFFREY 21-DEC-2012 – 20-DEC-2014 $398 PER DIEM OTTAWA
8. MEMBER (PART-TIME) BEDARD, GEORGES 01-FEB-2013 – 31-JAN-2015 $398 PER DIEM OTTAWA
9. MEMBER (PART-TIME) CONACHER, ROY B. 16-MAY-2007 – 16-MAY-2017 $398 PER DIEM KINGSTON

6 Responses to Ottawa priest secures position with Ontario Civilian Police Commission

  1. Mike Fitzgerald says:

    This may sound like sour grapes, but I have to say it again. Regarding Jeff King and the Cornwall Inquiry et. al., if I were the devil and wanted to ruin souls, what better way than to infiltrate an organization at it’s highest level, and continue my efforts from within.
    That’s what this smells like to me. Mike.

  2. Bob says:

    Hmm. I’ve met Fr. Jeff King. yes, I know he was once a city councillor and lawyer, but he always struck me as a kindly and gentle man working through some pretty dense minefields. So he didn’t get it all right – who of us does?

    With respect to his prior legal career, we have to appreciate that in all court cases, all sides of a matter are usually professionally represented on principal. A lawyer’s job is to be advocate and representative of their client, whether that client is sympathetic or not.

    There’s nothing about being a priest (especially one with legal experience) that should disqualify a person from advising a police commission. If anyone knows of anything about Fr. King that suggests he would not be competent to review the matters coming before the tribunal, I have never been made aware of it.

    • Sylvia says:

      Canon 285 §3

      Can. 285 §1 Clerics are to shun completely everything that is unbecoming to their state, in accordance with the provisions of particular law.

      §2 Clerics are to avoid whatever is foreign to their state, even when it is not unseemly.

      §3 Clerics are forbidden to assume public office whenever it means sharing in the exercise of civil power.

      §4 Without the permission of their Ordinary, they may not undertake the administration of goods belonging to lay people, or secular offices which involve the obligation to render an account. They are forbidden to act as surety, even concerning their own goods, without consulting their proper Ordinary. They are not to sign promissory notes which involve the payment of money but do not state the reasons for the payment.

      Does a part-time position with the Ontario Civilian Police Commission constitutes public office? I think it does.

      Does “ensuring that adequate and effective policing services are provided to the community in a fair and accountable manner under the Ontario Police Services Act” constitute “sharing in the exercise of civil power”? I believe it does.

      • Leona says:

        Well done, Sylvia! This is particularly newsworthy information all around. It’s when people start to bend and break this seemingly innocuous rules that the abuse of power begins to happen.

  3. Mike Fitzgerald says:

    Bob, I agree that a lawyer’s “job” is to represent his/her interests in any one particular case. Apparently the judiciary does not recognize the awareness on the part of the lawyer to his/her innocence or guilt in the matter.
    However, when that lawyer is also a Roman Catholic priest, the whole picture changes. Are you saying that it is entirely appropriate and spiritually ethical for this lawyer/priest to turn his blind eye away in the face of either overwhelming guilt and/or innocence, as is common practice with lawyers in our judicial system today?
    I have very serious reservations about this appointment, and I believe Sylvia has voiced the concerns above. Mike.

  4. Mike Fitzgerald says:

    My pardons to all – in the above post I refer to his/her innocence as if I am referring to the lawyer.
    I meant it to infer innocence/guilt on the part of the lawyer’s client, not the lawyer. Mike.

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