Her final day on the board was last Monday, just over a year after the Police Act was amended to no longer require mayors to chair their municipality’s police board.
Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins has resigned from the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board after nearly two decades of service, citing a conflict of interest as the primary reason for her departure.
Her final day on the board was last Monday, just over a year after the Police Act was amended to no longer require mayors to chair their municipality’s police board.
Desjardins said that being a co-chair of the board while also serving as mayor created an “inherent conflict of interest,” explaining that she often felt she had to hold conflicting positions on key issues, especially budgetary ones.
“It’s really important now that I can speak freely and clearly about the public safety issues and concerns for my community,” she said, noting that she can now represent her council’s perspectives without the “dual responsibility” of police board membership.
Holly Courtright, Esquimalt municipal appointee on the board, said she’s grateful for the many years of service Desjardins has contributed.
Courtright said that one solution to ongoing budget challenges would be the creation of a joint police force, adding that recent concerns “identify the need for a more regionalized policing situation here in Greater Victoria.”
Vice-chair Elizabeth Cull said the board and both municipalities are in favour of regionalization, adding that it would solve many of the financial issues related to regional policing.
Desjardin’s resignation comes after Esquimalt voted against new funding for the Victoria police budget in March.
After the vote, Desjardins said her municipality wouldn’t benefit from the proposal for increased police visibility in downtown Victoria, which would cost Esquimalt $125,000.
Victoria and Esquimalt have had a shared-policing agreement since 2002, but long-standing budgetary disputes led the township to start exploring a re-establishment of its own police force.
Desjardins said she hopes her departure will make the board amend its policy that elected officials can’t be paid for their work, adding that the $8,000 annual stipend should be paid to all members to promote fairness.
She said she’s not sure who from Esquimalt council will replace her, but expects the role to be filled by the fall.
[email protected]