Under the Police Act, the Edmonton Police Commission (Commission) may terminate the services of a police officer for reasons other than disciplinary reasons.
Guidelines:
- Section 37(2) of the Police Act grants the Commission broad statutory authority to terminate the services of a police officer for reasons other than disciplinary reasons, notwithstanding the provisions of a collective agreement.
- No process for non-disciplinary terminations of police officers who have completed their probationary period has been agreed to in the relevant collective agreements.
- The Commission shall abide by the requirements of natural justice and procedural fairness in effecting a non-disciplinary termination.
Procedures:
- Where the Edmonton Police Service (Service) believes that the non-disciplinary termination of a police officer is warranted, the Chief of the Service or designate shall provide its recommendation as such to the Chair of the Commission, including written submissions outlining the rationale for the recommendation and attaching supporting evidence.
- The Chair shall notify the Commission Legal Counsel (LC) of the recommendation. The LC shall send correspondence to the affected officer, including the recommendation and written submissions, and shall invite the affected officer to provide any written submissions in response and inquire as to whether the affected officer requests an in- person hearing.
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- The timeline for any written submissions or request for an in-person hearing from the affected officer shall generally be within 30 days of receipt of the correspondence.
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- If the affected officer provides written submissions, the LC shall provide same to the Service with the opportunity to provide reply submissions.
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- The timeline for any reply submissions from the Service shall generally be within two weeks of receipt of the affected officer’s submissions.
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- If the affected officer requests an in-person hearing, the LC shall coordinate with the Service, the affected officer, and the Commission to arrange a suitable date and time.
- After review of the written submissions from the Service and affected officers and following the in-person hearing should such a hearing occur, the Commission shall decide whether to terminate the services of the affected officer for non-disciplinary reasons and shall advise the Service and affected officer of its decision in writing.
References:
1. Police Act, RSA 2000, c P – 17, s 37