Espanola town council votes to disband local police force and hire OPP

The small town police force in northeastern Ontario will soon be a thing of the past, with the last holdout community, Espanola, deciding to switch to the Ontario Provincial Police. 

Town council voted unanimously Tuesday night to accept a cost proposal from the OPP, expected to save the town of 5,000 people about $5 million over the next decade.

Councillor Ron Duplessis acknowledged that the decision is "divisive" and "contentious," but also that it shouldn't be "based on emotions."

"I know it was asked: 'Will we see a reduction in tax bills?' Not likely," he told council Tuesday night.

"But what the savings may do indirectly is not save them at cost on their tax bills this year or next year, but save the amount that we have to increase to provide these services and infrastructure."

Several citizens spoke at the start of the meeting, all warning that disbanding Espanola police will see the town lose jobs and increased policing costs in the years to come.

"It's going to come back to haunt us," Jim Bailey told council.

"I think it's going to go sky high and I'm not really happy with that being a taxpayer in Espanola," Sheri Commission said at the meeting.

"I'm totally against going OPP."

Exactly when the changing of the guard will take place and how many of the 20 employees of the Espanola Police will move over to OPP is not yet known.

Espanola joins a long line of towns in the north that have moved over to the OPP in recent years including Wawa, Temiskaming Shores and West Nipissing, which is expected to disband its local police department later this year.