海角社区官网

鈥淏oth Ron Taverner and Premier Ford shared the same concerns that the appointment was being overly politicized and it鈥檚 in the best interests of front-line officers for Taverner to withdraw,鈥� a senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal deliberations, told the Star.

Community Safety Minister Sylvia Jones 鈥� who, along with Ford, repeatedly defended Taverner as the best person for the job and denied any hand in his Nov. 29 appointment 鈥� confirmed the 72-year-old dropped his name from consideration.

鈥淚t is very unfortunate that the opposition has chosen to politicize this process rather than focusing on how we can support our front-line officers,鈥� Ford said in a statement.

The premier, who remained unrepentant about the Taverner hiring, added he is 鈥渃oncerned about the countless negative stories I have heard directly from front-line officers.鈥�

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Taverner, who did not return messages from the Star, said in a statement released by the premier鈥檚 office 鈥渢his decision is not an easy one for me to make.鈥�

鈥淚 believe the OPP requires new leadership and a change in culture at its most senior levels,鈥� the 海角社区官网superintendent said.

In her brief statement, Jones said 鈥渨e will have more to say about the role of the commissioner in the near future.鈥�

The imbroglio has taken its toll on Ford鈥檚 Progressive Conservatives, with the premier ducking the legislature all week and avoiding questions from the opposition and calls for a public inquiry.

Indeed, the retreat is a personal setback for the premier, who had championed his friend as 鈥渁 cop鈥檚 cop,鈥� and a victory for rivals, with Green party Leader Mike Schreiner saying the Taverner bid made Ontario look like a banana republic.

鈥淭he separation of political interference from the police is a fundamental tenet of our democracy,鈥� said Schreiner. 鈥淚t separates us from countries where corrupt leaders use the police to do their dirty work.鈥�

NDP Deputy Leader Sara Singh praised Taverner for making the 鈥渞ight decision鈥� but said she hopes Ford has learned his lesson on the dangers of hiring a friend to head the OPP, given that he did not acknowledge those concerns in his statement.

鈥淭he premier really needs to answer questions with respect to why he would even think that鈥檚 the right thing to be doing,鈥� Singh added in an interview.

鈥淭his mess could have been avoided. It took so long because Mr. Ford thought he was going to be able to get away with this.鈥�

In December, Ford insisted 鈥渢here has never been a more popular police officer in this province than Ron Taverner.鈥�

鈥淲e look forward to having Ron Taverner as the commissioner of the OPP. You look at his credentials, speaks for itself, 50 years of policing around the province,鈥� the premier added at the time, saying it鈥檚 鈥渢oo bad we couldn鈥檛 have a straight-up vote because Ron Taverner would win with 95 per cent of the front-line OPP officers that I鈥檝e heard from crossing the province.鈥�

That month, Taverner rescinded his resignation as superintendent of three 海角社区官网police divisions in Etobicoke, and returned to his role as unit commander.

Taverner鈥檚 exit 鈥� on a day when media attention was fixated on the SNC-Lavalin scandal on Parliament Hill 鈥� follows the Ford government鈥檚 firing on Monday of deputy OPP commissioner Brad Blair, who was passed over for the top job and took legal action.

Blair鈥檚 lawsuit to force the Ontario ombudsman to investigate Taverner鈥檚 appointment exposed the premier鈥檚 efforts to get a customized van with a powered reclining leather sofa, 32-inch TV with Blu-ray DVD player and a minifridge 鈥� dubbed a 鈥渟ouped-up man cave on wheels鈥� by the NDP.

Earlier Wednesday, Blair鈥檚 lawyer called the dismissal 鈥渙utrageous鈥� and said it鈥檚 鈥渂izarre鈥� he was ousted without any official warnings or proceedings under the Police Services Act despite protestations from Ford that he violated the law by releasing information about the hiring and the $50,000 van conversion.

鈥�God help you if you cross the premier. That鈥檚 the message,鈥� Julian Falconer added in a 42-minute conference call with reporters.

鈥淲hile they throw around references to the Police Act, they鈥檙e not using it. This is exactly what abuse of power looks like.鈥�

The collateral damage of the flawed decision to appoint Taverner is 鈥渁n absolute shame,鈥� said Singh.

Taverner is a veteran 海角社区官网police superintendent who applied for the OPP job last fall when qualifications were lowered two days after the initial posting, allowing someone of his mid-level rank into the running.

Ford has always denied any political interference in the appointment, which has been under investigation by provincial integrity commissioner J. David Wake following a complaint from the NDP.

Wake interviewed the premier late last week and previously questioned his chief of staff, Dean French, for more than two hours as part of the probe.

Taverner has been in limbo since requesting in December that his appointment be put on hold until the ethics investigation is completed. Jones said interim OPP commissioner Gary Couture will remain at the helm for now. The last full-time commissioner, Vince Hawkes, retired in the fall.

Policing experts, including former RCMP commissioner Bob Paulson, had repeatedly warned concerns about potential conflicts of interest would always linger if Taverner were to head the force, which can be called in to investigate any wrongdoing by government 鈥� as occurred under a previous Liberal government.

In that case, the OPP鈥檚 anti-rackets squad laid charges over deleted documents in the wake of the scandal over gas plants cancelled before the 2011 election. Former premier Dalton McGuinty鈥檚 chief of staff, David Livingston, was criminally charged, convicted at trial and served five weeks in jail.