A Matter of Life and Death /

Police training is ultimately the responsibility of the Ontario government, and it is in the public interest to examine what direction, if any, it provides to police for de-escalating such situations and avoiding, where possible, the use of lethal force. [...] This, even as the costs of inquests, investigations by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) and all the court proceedings that can flow from police shootings continue to mount, to say nothing of the cost in human terms, not only for the victims but the officers involved, and all their loved ones. [...] In addition, two distinguished former police chiefs were asked to serve as special advisors to the investigation: Senator Vern White, former chief of the Ottawa Police Service, Durham Regional Police Service and former assistant commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; and Mike Boyd, former chief of the Edmonton Police Service and former deputy chief and interim chief of the Toronto Poli [...] We also reached out to the Police Association of Ontario, the Ontario Association of Police Educators, the Ontario Association of Police Services Boards and the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police. [...] According to the Commission, in the context of disability it is always preferable to refer to the person before the disability, i.e.,, it is preferable to refer to a “person with a mental health disability” rather than an “emotionally disturbed person.” The Commission has recommended that the term “EDP” be abandoned and replaced by one that focuses on behaviour, not on the person, and avoids using