Toronto Police Services Board

Toronto Police Service Board
Abbreviation	TPSB
Predecessor	Metropolitan Toronto Police Services Board
Formation	January 1, 1998; 26 years ago
Type	Police board
Headquarters	40 College Street; Toronto, Ontario
Chair	Ann Morgan
Budget	CA$1.076 billion (approved police operating budget, 2020)
Staff	Toronto Police Service
Website	www.tpsb.ca

The Toronto Police Service Board (TPSB) is the civilian police board that governs the Toronto Police Service (TPS). The board is responsible for approving the annual police budget, defining objectives and policies for TPS, and hiring Toronto's police chief.

The role of police service boards are outlined in sections 37-39 of the provincial Community Safety and Policing Act. The board makes decisions governing the structure and environment of the police service, but the chief of police leads the day-to-day operation of the police. Neither the board or its members can direct members of the police service. Only the chief of police, who is responsible to the board as a whole, receives direction on objectives, policies and priorities.^[1]^[2]

Membership of the board includes the mayor of Toronto (or a designate), two city councillors, one civilian member appointed by city council and three civilian members appointed by the province.

The board is administrative in nature and it does not investigate police conduct or complaints, as is the mandate of the Special Investigations Unit, Ontario Civilian Police Commission or Office of the Independent Police Review Director, which are oversight agencies.

Membership

The board comprises seven members, three appointed by the Province of Ontario and four by the City of Toronto. Three civilian members are appointed by the province and one by the city; two city councillors and the mayor of Toronto as the head of council sit on the board. A chair (presently Ann Morgan) and vice-chair are elected from its membership. The Community Safety and Policing Act requires the board to meet at least four times a year.^[3]

The Community Safety and Policing Act also stipulates that a judge, justice of the peace, police officer, or a person who practices criminal law as a defence counsel may not be a member of a police board.

As of December 2023^[update], the board members are:^[4]

Name	Position	Appointed by	Joined board
Ann Morgan	Chair	Province	March 27, 2021
Lisa Kostakis	Vice-chair	Province	September 13, 2020
Lily Cheng	Councillor	Toronto City Council	November 23, 2022
Nadine Spencer	Member	Toronto City Council	April 3, 2023
Nick Migliore	Member	Province	May 18, 2023
Amber Morley	Councillor	Toronto City Council	August 10, 2023
Jon Burnside	Councillor	Toronto City Council	August 10, 2023

History

Prior to amalgamation, the Metropolitan Toronto Police were governed by the Metropolitan Toronto Police Services Board from 1990 until 1998. Previously, it was called the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission (or Board of Police Commission) from 1955 until 1990, when the name of the board was changed as a result of amendments to the Police Services Act.^[5]

Former chairs

Body	Chair	Tenure
Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission	Charles O. Bick	1956–1977
	Philip Givens	1977–1985
	Clare Westcott	1985–1988
	June Rowlands	1989–1990
Metropolitan Toronto Police Services Board	June Rowlands	1990-1991
	Susan Eng	1991–1995
	Maureen Prinsloo	1995–1998
Toronto Police Services Board	Norm Gardner	1998–2004
	Alan Heisey	2004
	Pam McConnell	2004–2005
	Alok Mukherjee	2005 – July 31, 2015
	Andrew Pringle	2015–2019
	Jim Hart	2019–2023
	Ann Morgan	2023–present
Source: Toronto Police Services Board^[6]