Candidates interviewed for vacant seat on London Police Services Board
![Joseph Wabegijig - London - June 2023 London Police Services Board candidate Joseph Wabegijig waits to be interviewed by city council in London, Ont. on June 5, 2023. (Daryl Newcombe/CTV News London)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2023/6/5/joseph-wabegijig---london---june-2023-1-6428234-1685998465605.jpg)
On Monday, city council held a lengthy meeting behind closed doors to conduct individual interviews with five finalists selected to fill the vacant seat on the London Police Services Board (LPSB).
“We'll probably have five or six hours of interviews in the in-camera [confidential] session,” predicted Mayor Josh Morgan as the meeting began.
A final decision will be made after several councillors who were absent from Monday’s meeting have an opportunity to watch videos of the interviews.
In May, council chose the five finalists from a list of 54 candidates:
- Gita Canaran - Trauma therapist and clinical psychologist who focusses on the treatment of first responders
- Ryan Gauss - Director of operations and personnel for MP Peter Fragiskatos, 2022 campaign manager for Mayor Josh Morgan, worked 10 years in a civilian role with RCMP
- Joseph Wabegijig - Executive director of Atlohsa Family Healing Services, served on one of Ontario’s largest First Nations police boards, former senior policy advisor to federal government
- Stephen D’Amelio - Former president of Pride London who re-engaged relationship between the 2SLGBTQIA community and London police.
- Michele Anderson - Associate director of student experience-academic support and engagement at Western University and vice chair of the Inter-University Disabilities Issues Association of Ontario
Gauss and Wabegijig were the first and second place finishers during the original selection process in March.
However, Gauss’ appointment would have left the seven member LPSB with only one member from a diverse background.
On April 4, council paused the appointment process and referred the matter back to the committee for another vote.
Council will finalize its selection at its meeting on June 27.
Since the police board doesn’t schedule meetings over the summer, its newest member’s first meeting will be Sept. 21.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6948122.1719929857!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
DEVELOPING At least 60 are dead and scores are injured after a stampede at a religious event in northern India
At least 60 people were dead and scores were injured after a stampede at a religious gathering of thousands of people in northern India, officials said Tuesday.
Hurricane Beryl rips through open waters after devastating the southeast Caribbean
Hurricane Beryl roared through open waters on Tuesday as a monstrous Category 5 storm on a path that would take it near Jamaica and the Cayman Islands after earlier making landfall in the southeast Caribbean, killing at least four people.
'I would call this the silent eating disorder': What experts want you to know about ARFID
Unlike eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia nervosa, Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, or ARFID, isn’t concerned with body shape or size. People with ARFID are very limited in the foods they feel safe and comfortable eating
What a family lawyer says you should know before getting married
Barry Nussbaum, a Toronto-based family lawyer who has counselled countless couples, offers advice about the details you don't want to overlook before getting married.
This 12-year-old memorized the periodic table at age two. He's heading to NYU after finishing high school in just two years
Recent high school graduate Suborno Isaac Bari, 12, plans to start studying math and physics at New York University in the fall, but he’s already got his ambitious sights set on beginning a doctoral program.
Did WestJet cancel your flight? Here's what experts say you should do
WestJet cancelled more than 800 flights between June 27 and July 2, affecting tens of thousands of passengers. Here are the kinds of compensation experts say passengers affected by the cancellations may be entitled to, and how to go about advocating for it.
OnlyFans vows it's a safe space. Predators exploit kids there
When a Florida teen went missing, her parents searched her phone, desperate for clues. What they found shocked them. For months, she’d sent nude photos and videos of herself to a man they now feared had abducted her.
'We thought we were going to die': Thirty injured as 'strong turbulence' forces Air Europa plane to land in Brazil
Thirty passengers were injured after a flight from Madrid to Uruguay was hit by "strong turbulence" and had to make an emergency landing in Brazil, Spanish airline Air Europa said on Monday.
Tim Hortons' parent company inks two deals to bolster presence in China
Restaurant Brands International says it's spending up to $45 million on two deals intended to boost its presence in China and spur growth in what the company sees as a promising market.