LaSalle asks province to address ‘inequities’ in police funding

The Town of LaSalle is asking the provincial government to address what it believes are “inequities” in financial support for some police services.

Requested by the LaSalle Police Services Board, the letter points to differences in funding for OPP-patrolled communities compared to municipally led police forces.

In 2024, in response to a spike in OPP costs, the Ford Government announced $77 million in one-time funding for affected municipalities. This year, the province has pitched an 11 per cent cap on costs for OPP-policed municipalities.

So far, similar measures have not been introduced for communities operating their own municipal police forces, which face the same pressures.

As requested in the letter, Michael Pearce, the Chief of the LaSalle Police Service, said there’s a need for more clarity on provincial measures.

“So as a chief, it’s not clear to me whether or not services are being reduced to the 11% or whether... those services are being subsidized,” Pearce told CTV News.

“So we have a responsibility to explain to our taxpayers that, yes, you’re paying the full cost of policing, you know, it appears that other municipalities are not.”

The letter states the funding structure has created a “two-tier system” that leaves municipally-policed communities to shoulder the full impact of rising police costs.

The LaSalle police budget for 2025 was approved at $10.4-million, a $1-million increase over 2024, due to wages and benefits, transfers to reserves, and administrative staff.

Pearce said the service received $600,000 in grants from a pool of funding that is open to police forces, including OPP.

“Never in my 24 years of policing have we needed more police officers than we have in the last few years, and so because it’s a highly competitive market, police services need to attract and retain talent,” Pearce said of the rising costs.

Pearce noted the issues stand with how municipalities are being billed, but it is not intended to be an “attack” on OPP services.

The letter asks the Ministry of the Solicitor General to acknowledge inequities created by recent OPP funding, provide equivalent relief to municipally-led forces, and work with municipalities to improve the funding framework.

— With files from AM800’s Dustin Coffman