Bradford and Innisfil mayors are asking the province to help pay the increasing costs of local police services, just as it has pledged to do for towns served by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
On Nov. 29, the province announced $77 million for municipalities that rely on the OPP, which has presented those towns and cities with cost increases ranging from 20 to 30 per cent or more in 2025, including Orillia facing 25 per cent, Midland facing 26 per cent, and Collingwood facing 37 per cent.
That same day, Bradford Mayor James Leduc and Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin penned a joint letter asking Solicitor General Michael Kerzner to provide similar relief to non-OPP towns, and a copy of the letter was included as part of the agenda for the regular meeting of Bradford council on Dec. 3.
“We are facing exactly the same financial pressures from rising policing costs,” the mayors said in the letter, emphasizing the funding announced so far “creates an uneven and unfair playing field.”
The two towns share the cost of the local South Simcoe Police Service, which is requesting a roughly 11.6 per cent increase for 2025, for a combined budget of about $29.85 million.
“It is a big number and it’s going to be hard to fit into our budgets, but (we’re) recognizing that it’s necessary,” Dollin said during the police services board meeting on Nov. 27 at Innisfil Town Hall.
During last week’s council meeting, Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu said Bradford was “lucky” to be able to offset the anticipated cost increase for the town’s 2025 budget with revenue from its automated speed enforcement (ASE) program.
Still, Sandhu felt it was time for the provincial government to “step in and carry some of that burden.”
Leduc noted the issue isn’t just impacting Ontario, where there are 52 non-OPP police services listed by the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police — some of which serve multiple municipalities — but also being felt in other provinces across the country.
“We’re looking forward to hopefully the solicitor general coming up with something that can help us and other communities that have local police services,” he said.
In addition to funding, upper levels of government could help address policing costs through better bail reform, according to Ward 4 Coun. Joseph Giordano.
“This catch and release is only making the police work five times harder,” he said. “It’s a bigger piece of the puzzle that needs to be addressed.”
While efforts have been made to reform the country’s bail system, the federal and Ontario governments still disagree on the correct approach.
Earlier this year, the provincial government also pledged $6.6 million over three years to help South Simcoe Police Service and other nearby services improve bail compliance.
— With files from Chris Simon, Alan S. Hale and The Canadian Press
