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11 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,F ebruary 11,2021 insidehalton.com The Halton Police Board did not have grounds to fire or even penalize the Halton police chief following his controversial trip to Florida, according to a resolution document shared on social media by the board's chair. Jeff Knoll, who recently re- placed Oakville Mayor Rob Bur- ton as chair, posted the board doc- ument on Facebook Jan. 26. The resolution provides additional in- formation about Tanner's Florida trip as well as the reasons for the board's decision. The resolution notes that on or about Dec. 21, 2020, Tanner re- quested from Rob Burton, then chair of Halton Police Board, per- mission to travel to Florida amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "Chief Tanner cited the essen- tial need to travel to address ex- tensive damage to a residential property for which he has a signif- icant personal financial interest," reads the board resolution. "He further needed to arrange the house's sale as the significant damage and the pandemic de- layed the ability to list the proper- ty for sale resulting in mounting financial losses and concern for him and his common-law part- ner." The resolution states Burton permitted Tanner to travel with- out seeking the board's authority and without the knowledge of oth- er police board members. According to the resolution, Tanner booked five weeks of time off for his planned trip to the Unit- ed States. His leave, which includ- ed three weeks away and two weeks in quarantine upon return- ing, was to be deducted from his vacation allocation under his em- ployment contract. The resolution states Tanner departed Canada on Dec. 26, 2020 and returned a week early, on Jan. 10, after learning of the sudden on- duty death of Det. Const. Michael Tidball. Tanner reportedly secured the necessary COVID-19 test required to fly home and entered quaran- tine immediately upon his return. Tanner's trip, which occurred at a time when Canadians were being urged to stay home to pre- vent the spread of COVID-19, prompted outrage from the public and members of the police service as well as calls for the chief to re- sign. "There are no air travel restric- tions to the United States other than Canada's Government de- claring a Level 3 Warning to Avoid non-essential travel. The govern- ment advises that 'It is up to you to decide what 'non-essential travel' means based on family or busi- ness requirements, knowledge of or familiarity with a country, ter- ritory or region, and other fac- tors," reads the board resolution. "There are no policies within the Halton Regional Police Ser- vice barring travel outside the country, providing staff follow quarantine requirements upon their return to Canada." The board found that Tanner violated no laws, orders, policies or contractual obligations that would constitute grounds for ter- mination nor a penalty under his contract, the Police Services Act or any other relevant statute. They noted Tanner is a highly successful officer with an exem- plary 39-year career -- featuring multiple public safety achieve- ments -- and is also a leader in professional policing associations in Ontario and Canada. While the board expressed dis- appointment in Tanner's decision to travel during the pandemic, they noted they still had full and unequivocal confidence in him to remain Halton Regional Police Service chief. Tanner has apologized to the board and the community for travelling despite public health recommendations. Burton apologized for granting Tanner permission to travel and on Jan. 11, resigned from his posi- tion as Halton Police Board chair and as a member of the board. In the resolution, the board al- so committed to reviewing its pol- icies related to vacations, leave, continuity of leadership and the pandemic (especially internation- al travel guidelines), and directs the chief administrative officer to subsequently develop and present amendment proposals for consid- eration at the earliest possible op- portunity. POLICE BOARD HAD NO GROUNDS TO FIRE CHIEF, SAYS RESOLUTION Halton Police Chief Stephen Tanner has expressed regret for his recent trip to Florida during the pandemic. Graham Paine/Metroland DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com NEWS