Police commission won't advise Sudbury board on Lougheed

The Ontario Civilian Police Commission won't be advising the Greater Sudbury Police Services Board on how it should handle the fact that its chair is part of an OPP investigation.

Fran Caldarelli, the vice-chair of the Sudbury board, said Friday the commission decided not to offer them guidance.

"They said to us they were not planning to take any action at this time," Caldarelli said. "So nothing has changed. I can't say any more."

The board made a formal request Feb. 26 to the commission for direction after several members of the public expressed concern about chair Gerry Lougheed Jr., who is part of the investigation related to the Sudbury byelection scandal.

Members had already voted Feb. 11 to keep Lougheed as chair until the outcome of the OPP investigation into the scandal is complete.

The board decided to seek the commission’s advice after an Elections Ontario ruling that Lougheed and Liberal party campaign director Pat Sorbara may have broken Ontario's Elections Act.

In an email to Northern Life in March, commission spokesperson Ani Asik said they couldn't comment on the request from Sudbury.

“Due to confidentiality provisions in the Police Services Act, the commission cannot provide additional information with respect to the matters you raise,” Asik wrote, while offering a link to their website that details “general information about our processes.”

Lougheed and Sorbara are part of an investigation into allegations by former Liberal candidate Andrew Olivier, who provided the OPP with audio recordings of two conversations – one with Lougheed, the other with Sorbara.

Olivier said the two offered him a job or an appointment if he agreed to step aside in the Feb. 5 election in favour of Glenn Thibeault, who ended up winning the seat for the governing Liberals.

The police board voted to keep Lougheed as chair until the OPP decide whether to lay criminal charges. Police interviewed Kathleen Wynne last month as part of the investigation.

Lougheed has said he would step down if the OPP concludes he did something wrong.