Dr. Anjali Menezes and Councillor Cameron Kroetsch have brought forward motions to cut the police budget. Pictured: Hamilton City Hall. Photo Credit: City of Hamilton/X.
The Hamilton Police Services Board (HPSB) has undergone a number of changes since 2024 budget debates which saw two board members, Dr. Anjali Menezes and Councillor Cameron Kroetsch (Ward 2 – Downtown Hamilton), bring forward motions to cut the police budget.
In years past, budget meetings have also been overtaken by “abolish the police” activists, the city hall forecourt has been occupied by protesters, and a group of people even showed up at a former mayor’s home in the dark to demand immediate defunding of the police.
Delegations to the board and Council about the Hamilton Police budget are almost always dominated by activists as well.
With the City of Hamilton heading into 2025 budget discussions, and with the police budget determined by both the HPSB and City Council, here’s an overview of what has changed and what to expect going forward.
The HPSB is made up of seven members: three provincial appointees, three representatives of City Council (including the Mayor), and one citizen appointed by Council.
Currently, Geordie Elms and Don Robertson are provincial appointees, but one position is vacant. It is unclear if the province will be filling the position prior to formal budget deliberations.
Elms was on the board last year and supported the Hamilton Police Service (HPS) request for a $16 million (8.4 per cent) increase in funds.
Elms, who was appointed in April 2019, currently serves as Chair of the board. His term is set to end on March 6, 2025 and it remains to be seen if he will be reappointed.
Pat Mandy, who was Chair during last year’s budget talks and supported the increase to the police budget, left the board after her provincial appointment ended.
Fred Bennink, who served as vice-chair last year and also supported the increase, left as well since new provincial legislation was passed that stipulates that a former auxiliary officer cannot serve on the board for the service with which they previously volunteered.
Bennink used to volunteer with HPS.
Don Robertson, a realtor and the owner of the Dundas Real McCoys hockey team, was appointed by Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General beginning April 1, 2024.
He was also formerly the vice president of the Ontario Liberal Party.
It remains to be seen how he will vote in upcoming budget deliberations.
Next, the three representatives of City Council are Mayor Andrea Horwath, Councillor Esther Pauls (Ward 7 – Central Mountain), and Councillor Cameron Kroetsch (Ward 2 – Downtown Hamilton).
Horwath and Pauls both supported the increase to the HPS budget last year.
However, Kroetsch brought forward measures to cut the police budget and also voted to reject the budget at the final Council vote.
Kroetsch has tweeted multiple times in support of defunding the police and also supported a group called Defund HPS which was led by now Member of Provincial Parliament Sarah Jama.
Defund HPS called for an immediate 50 per cent reduction to the HPS budget.
Their protests also went further, calling for the police to be “abolished and dismantled.”
It is unclear whether or not he intends to once again bring forward measures to cut the 2025 police budget.
It is also unknown whether or not he will even have the ability to do that this year because outgoing HPSB Chair Mandy filed a complaint against Kroetsch to the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC) in March 2024.
The complaint alleges that Kroetsch violated the board’s code of conduct by failing to act “loyally, faithfully, and impartially” and failed to “inspire public confidence in the abilities and integrity of the board.”
He is currently suspended from the board while the investigation is completed.
Kroetsch’s board ally attempting to cut the police budget last year was civilian appointee Dr. Anjali Menezes, a family physician who specializes in anti-racism and has a background in activism.
She remains on the board for the upcoming budget talks.
It is unclear if she will bring forward any motions to cut the police budget this year and it is also unclear whether or not she could bring those forward if she no longer has Kroetsch on the board to second her.
Beyond the police board, police budgets also have to be approved by Council as a whole.
In 2024, Council voted 10-6 to accept the HPS ask for an increase to the budget.
The six opposed to the police budget were Councillors Kroetsch, Maureen Wilson (Ward 1 – Chedoke-Cootes-Westdale), Nrinder Nann (Ward 3 – East Hamilton Centre), Tammy Hwang (Ward 4 – Hamilton East), Craig Cassar (Ward 12 – Ancaster-West Flamborough), and Alex Wilson (Ward 13 – Dundas-Central Flamborough).
With HPS asking for a $12.8 million (6.2 per cent) increase to their budget this year, it remains to be seen if activists and sitting Councillors will attempt to derail that discussion once again.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
