Policing Costs in Ontario: How to Back Away From a Breaking Point

The rising costs of delivering local policing in Ontario has long been an issue of concern. In 2014, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario president called the current trend of police salary increases “unsustainable,” noting that Ontario municipalities pay the highest policing costs in Canada. This talk surveys the fiscal impacts of rising police salaries for Ontario’s municipalities, then goes on to present research about best practices for controlling costs. IMFG Graduate Fellow Robert Scherf further evaluates the major proposals for reform, with a focus on moving this issue forward in a timely and effective way.

SPEAKER

Robert Scherf is the 2014-2015 Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance Graduate Fellow. He is currently finishing his Master’s degree in Public Policy at the University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy and Governance. A former political staffer, Robert is very interested in the intersections of policy, politics, and the public interest.