Chewing over Hamilton Police Board muzzle

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There is more fallout today regarding the decision to muzzle members of Hamilton’s Police Services Board.

A member of the board, who believes all members should be able to speak to the media, came out in defence of mayor Fred Eisenberger today.

Walt Juchniewicz, who sits on the board as a citizen appointee, is one of two members who voted to allow dissenting members to speak privately to the media. He says Eisenberger is not attempting to muzzle board members; in fact his motion does the opposite.

“What the mayor has done is he has actually kept the policy alive by recognizing the division of the board and sending it back to the governance committee for a second opportunity to reach consensus.”

Police board chair Lloyd Ferguson insists no one is being muzzled. “The decision at the last board meeting was simply to refer the media policy back to the governance committee to allow our board administrator to see what the other top 12 police boards do around the province to make sure we are fully informed before we lock and load this policy.”

Staff will be reporting back to the Hamilton Police Services Board at the end of the month.