Scarborough Councillor Michael Thompson says he’s free again to speak about Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair after colleagues on the Toronto Police Services Board withdrew a complaint against him.
Thompson, the board’s vice chairperson, applied in March for judicial review of a board decision the previous month which found the councillor had "potentially" breached the board’s code of conduct in remarks to a journalist about Blair.
"I won’t be intimidated by anybody," Thompson said in an interview this week after announcing the board had reversed its position in a letter sent to him Friday.
Thompson said two fellow board members brought the complaint after he remarked Toronto’s police service "needed to have a shake-up" and he did not support renewing Blair’s contract.
The board’s move meant Thompson would not be able to speak about or vote on whether Blair gets a five-year extension at his post, a decision board members must make this year.
He argued it couldn’t be a violation of board conduct to criticize the chief, and said he filed for a judicial review as "the only lawful way that was available to me."
In a statement, Thompson said the board’s letter, which has not been released, told him Ontario’s solicitor general ministry and Civilian Police Commission both determined "no further action is warranted" on Thompson’s remarks, and that the board would close the matter.
Thompson said he stands by what he said, adding he feels Blair, like any public official, can be criticized respectfully, and that he is compelled to speak his mind about the chief’s performance and how the service spends a budget of nearly $1 billion.
"The whole public would hold me in contempt if I didn’t speak about it," said the Scarborough Centre councillor. "It’s a big issue many of my residents talk to me about."
In a statement, Thompson’s lawyer Clayton Ruby called the complaint against his client an "experiment in censorship."
Thompson said he can’t talk about how costs in the court case were resolved, but added it "didn’t cost me a dime."
He identified two board members, lawyer Marie Moliner and Dr. Dhun Noria, a physician well-known in Scarborough for her work with The Scarborough Hospital, as those who brought the complaint against him in a closed February meeting.
Neither Dr. Alok Mukherjee, the board’s chairperson, nor Noria could be reached for comment by press time.
Thompson said he will remain a board member and won’t seek an apology from colleagues who brought or supported the complaint. "I’ll leave it all to their conscience," he said on Tuesday.
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