- Two days after the job opening is posted, the requirements are reduced to allow a close friend of the Ford family (Ron Taverner) to qualify for the position. He met with Doug Ford several times before the position was filled and dined with members of the hiring panel that would be interviewing applicants. Following the outcry that greeted his appointment, the province’s Integrity Commissioner began an investigation of the matter and Taverner decided not to accept the appointment until this investigation was completed.[1]
- Brad Blair, Deputy Commissioner of the OPP, a person with the qualifications to meet the job requirements before they were watered down, and also an applicant for the Commissioner position, was quite critical of the process followed in hiring Taverner.
- On Monday March 4, Blair was fired from his position by the Deputy Minister of Community Safety Mario Di Tommaso, allegedly for improperly releasing certain information in the course of registering his complaints about the Taverner appointment.
- Di Tomasso had been Taverner’s supervisor in the Toronto Police Service and was appointed Deputy Minister by Ford this past October.
[1] Before I could post this blog, Taverner announced that he was withdrawing his bid to become OPP Commissioner.