Updated: May 23, 2023
Executive Summary
Mayor Pageau has been actively working with France Gélinas and other key stakeholders to keep our community's Noëlville OPP Detachment open. To date, a petition has been circulating that supports keeping the Noëlville detachment open.
Letters of support from the community, as well as businesses and surrounding municipalities, have also been collected and forwarded to OPP decision-makers.
On April 18, the Municipality was granted a meeting with the Solicitor General during the OGRA conference in Toronto. During the meeting, it was expressed how important it is to keep our OPP detachment in Sudbury East. The Minister brought in Deputy Solicitor General Mario Di Tommaso, who is a former police officer and has been tasked to investigate our request. They were both surprised at how much square km our detachment covered in Sudbury East and our First Nations.
At the end of our delegation, the Minister assured us that he and the Deputy Solicitor General would be looking into the closure and the reasons for it and that he would get back to us shortly.
The Minister and Deputy Solicitor General met with Deputy Commissioner Hawkins shortly after our meeting. Our message and concerns were heard loud and clear as Deputy Commissioner Hawkins instructed the Chief Superintendent to contact us immediately to set up a meeting.
At the meeting, the Chief Superintendent informed us that the closure was now put on an official cautionary hold so that we have time to work out a feasible plan to meet the needs of all parties. He was further instructed to work with Infrastructure Ontario to obtain available options and all legal requirements the Municipality would need to meet for a stand-alone detachment. Or to look at the cost of updating the current location as a viable option.
Once Chief Superintendent Pilon has done the research and shared all this information with us, a meeting will occur between all stakeholders.
The Municipality is now preparing to outline its proposal and how we plan to work with OPP.
We would like to thank everyone who helped aid in the campaign, which has had a considerable effect.
To sign the petition, please follow this link: Petition - Keep the Noëlville OPP Detachment Open.
Timeline
January 2023
Mayor and Council were made aware of the potential closure of the Noëlville OPP detachment.
February 15, 2023
The Mayor provided an update on recent developments in regard to the potential closure of the OPP Noëlville Detachment, of meetings and discussions with representatives with OPP, Sudbury East Mayors and Chief Restoule from Dokis First Nation.
A petition to keep the Noëlville OPP Detachment open prepared by France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt is being circulated, it is available on her website for electronic signature or to download.
February 18, 2023
CTV Northern News post: Northern communities' campaign to keep local OPP station open
March 31, 2023
Sudbury Start post: French River could lose its OPP detachment.
April 18, 2023
Delegation with the Minister/Solicitor General during the OGRA conference in Toronto. As a result of the meeting the Closure of the Noëlville Detachment is on an “Official cautionary hold” to allow for more time to research options.
May 3, 2023
Council meeting update:
The Mayor provided an update regarding the discussions had with the Minister and the Deputy Solicitor General. At that time, they assured us that they would look into our concerns regarding the proposed closure of the Noëlville OPP Detachment and that they would meet with the Deputy Commissioner. Since then, meetings have been held with OPP and Chief Superintendent Pilon, who informed us that OPP has heard us loud and clear and is placing the closure on a precautionary pause.
This time will allow the opportunity to consider feasible options such as but not limited to, renovating the existing building or building a new one that would meet their needs.
Next Steps
Waiting for a response from OPP for a meeting between Infrastructure Ontario and the Municipality to outline a proposal for discussion. A meeting will be scheduled between the OPP, the Ministry of Infrastructure, and the Municipality to discuss options.