Thank you very much.
Good afternoon. On behalf of the Peel Regional Police, my chief's management group, and me, I would like to thank you for this opportunity to address this committee with regard to the roles and responsibilities of Peel Regional Police during the G-8 and G-20 summits.
I was the designated command lead for Peel Regional Police, and I was responsible for the overall operation. During the summits themselves, I was the assigned incident commander for Peel police at the unified command centre in Barrie.
I'd like to begin by giving you an introduction to Peel Regional Police.
The Peel Regional Police, being the second-largest municipal police organization in the province of Ontario, provides policing services to the 1.2 million residents of the cities of Brampton and Mississauga. There are 1,891 uniformed personnel and 764 civilian staff within our organization.
Police services are made available through five divisional facilities, eleven community stations, the Emil V. Kolb facility, and police headquarters. The service delivery area is 538 square kilometres. The city of Toronto is on our eastern border and the regional municipality of Halton is located on our western boundary.
The Region of Peel borders Lake Ontario, and our marine unit patrols all accessible shoreline, including inland bodies of water and 272 square kilometres of water to the international border with the United States. Canada’s busiest airport, Lester B. Pearson International Airport, is situated in the city of Mississauga. It is policed by Peel Regional Police under a full-cost-recovery agreement with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. An estimated 32 million passengers pass through the airport annually.
The mandate of the Peel Regional Police is to maintain peace and good order, protect lives and property, investigate and resolve criminal activity, prevent crime, and respond to our community’s needs. Balanced by sensitivity to the importance of successful major crime resolutions, the organization is committed to community-based policing, the development of effective and proactive initiatives, crime prevention programs, and victim services, as delineated by Ontario's Police Services Act.
With respect to Peel Regional Police's G-8 and G-20 summit involvement, in July of 2009 the Peel Regional Police were invited to partake in meetings with the integrated security unit in preparation for the G-8 summit. It was believed that Lester B. Pearson International Airport was being considered as a possible arrival point for dignitaries and their families. The degree of involvement for our organization in the summit was unknown at that time.
When the announcement was made in September of 2009 that Canada would also be hosting the G-20, it was anticipated that the Lester B. Pearson International Airport would play an integral role in the movement of those heads of state who were considered to be internationally protected persons. This would necessitate the involvement of the Peel Regional Police in the protection of these individuals.
It was at this stage of the process that the Peel Regional Police selected a lead planner and a small dedicated group to begin preparing preliminary operational plans for the summits. The responsibilities of the planning team included airport security, motorcade security, accreditation, and security checkpoints, as well as maintaining ongoing airport division operations.
As a member of the integrated security unit, Peel Regional Police ensured that in coordinating and developing their security plans they fully integrated with our policing partners.
In December of 2009 it was announced that Toronto was to host the G-20 and that Lester B. Pearson International Airport was to become the main port of entry for several heads of state and their delegations. As a result of this announcement, Peel Regional Police had to increase its initial G-8 planning team to support the additional functions and scope of the G-20 summit. This process involved the following list of activities or tasks: development of integrated operational security plans; implementation of a community relations group to engage with citizens, area businesses, and the community impacted by the summits; gather intelligence and conduct investigations; development of logistical plans; development of financial plans associated with the overall security of the operation; and procurement of supplies and equipment, as well as the identification and implementation of infrastructure upgrades.
All areas within our organization participated in the preparation of the operational plans for the G-8 and G-20. These areas included tactical and rescue, explosive disposal unit, canine, criminal investigations, forensic identification, traffic services, bicycle units, intelligence, fleet management, telecommunication systems and services, information technology services, uniform patrol—and I'll add to the list I originally provided communications, finance and administration, and public affairs.
It is important to identify that the Peel Regional Police formed strong partnerships with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority and the emergency management teams from the Region of Peel, Cities of Mississauga and Brampton, as well as our partners from fire and EMS. Their contributions were essential in the overall development of our plans.
The Peel Regional Police were fully committed to the RCMP-led integrated security team. We were involved in over 30 committees and working groups. We participated in all the mandated exercises, which were conducted in preparation for the summits. Training programs were provided for our officers at all levels in preparation for the summits, which included the incident management system, incident command system, incident command, and CBRNE training.
The mobilization process for Peel Regional Police effectively began on Monday, June 21, 2010, and concluded on Monday, June 28, 2010. All regular days off and vacation time were cancelled during this time period. Peel Regional Police personnel were phased in during the week of mobilization. During the peak times during the summits approximately 650 personnel were used each day.
Peel Regional Police had executive representation on the steering committee and assigned incident commanders to the unified command centre in Barrie and the Toronto area command centre at Lester B. Pearson International Airport. We did not have representation in the other command areas for the summits.
Peel Regional Police also provided assistance to our policing partners in Toronto. A memorandum of understanding was prepared for ten motorcycle officers, four marine unit officers, and two video producers to provide assistance during the week of the summits.
On Friday, June 25, 2010, the Toronto Police Service made a request to have the Peel Regional Police public safety unit attend the city of Toronto for support. This request was approved, and 81 Peel Regional Police officers were subsequently assigned to Toronto. The public safety unit has two commanders and supervisory staff within its structure. They worked in Toronto under the direction of the Toronto Police Service until released on Monday, June 28, 2010.
On Saturday, June 26, 2010, the Peel Regional Police received a request from our integrated security partners for additional uniform resources to be assigned to the city of Toronto. The Peel Regional Police provided an incident commander and supervisory staff, as well as 128 uniform officers to the Toronto Police Service for June 27, 2010. Again, these officers were subject to the command and direction of the Toronto Police Service.
We would like to recognize the commitment and professionalism of our partners within the integrated security unit. The combined efforts and extensive planning of our partners were exceptional.
In closing, the G-8 and G-20 summits were the largest security undertaking in the history of the Peel Regional Police. The safe and efficient policing operations at Lester B. Pearson International Airport were integral to the success of the G-8 and G-20 summits. We are extremely proud that we were able to ensure the safety and security of the general public and heads of state during the summits. This is a tribute to the men and women within our organization.
Once again, thank you very much for the opportunity to speak today.