The City is working on diversity plan for making appointments to the Toronto Police Service Board (TPSB).

A March 5 report by the City Clerk recommends that City Council adopt a diversity plan to elect members of the Police Service Board.

“This is a new issue,” the Clerk wrote. “It reflects requirements in the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, which came into force on April 1, 2024.”

Recent changes to provincial law require Council to adopt a diversity plan for appointments to the TPSB.

A section of the new act requires every municipality with a municipal board to prepare and approve a diversity plan to ensure that its members represent the diversity of the population.

 

“City Council must approve its Municipal Diversity Plan for appointments to the Toronto Police Service Board by April 1,” according to a report. “The plan must be published on the Internet in accordance with any regulations and revised at least once every four years.”

The composition of the Toronto Police Service Board is being reviewed. The board now has seven members, who includes the Mayor or designate, two City council members, a member appointed by Council and three members appointed by the province of Ontario.

The policy would include steps for advertising vacancies, including outreach to diverse communities in Toronto. The Act promotes availability of appointments and reflects the diversity of Toronto.

The City Clerk’s Office is also working to increase representation and reduce barriers to appointment for specific groups in Toronto, in accordance with Council-approved City’s Reconciliation Action Plan, the Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism and the Access Plan for Two-Spirit, Trans & Non-Binary Youth.

The Board members, including the full-time Chair, citizen Vice-Chair, and other citizen members, are compensated through a combination of annual honorariums and per diem payments, with the Chair earning a salary of $90,963.

Councillors Lily Cheng and Ward 3’s Amber Morley are the only non-whites on the TPSB.