Alan Heisey
Encyclopedia
Alan Milliken Heisey is a Toronto lawyer who was chair of the Toronto Police Services Board
in 2004 when it voted not to renew the contract of Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino
.
He was raised in Don Mills, Ontario and attended Osgoode Hall Law School
, graduating in 1978. In 1981, he joined the firm of Blake, Cassels & Graydon, practicing development and labour law, before becoming a partner in the firm of Kerzner, Papazian, MacDermid in 1985. Since 2001, he has been a partner in the firm of Papazian Heisey Myers. He was appointed a federal Queen's Counsel by the short lived government of Kim Campbell in 1993.
His father, Alan Heisey, Sr., was a North York alderman from 1976 to 1980 and ran for Mayor of Toronto in 1997.
An avid cyclist Heisey, was a member of and chair of the Toronto Parking Authority from 1992 to 2001. During his tenure, revenues increased, and he oversaw introduction of the world's first wireless, solar-powered pay-and-display consoles that accept credit cards thereby increasing Toronto on street parking supply and the Authoritys revenues by 15%. He also saw the introduction of Sunday street parking charges. Toronto was the first City in North America to replace its parking meters with pay and display machines which had been in common use in Western European jurisdictions for over 20 years at that time. Most North American jurisdictions have followed suit. After removal of the parking meters the remaining meter posts had bicycle parking rings installed on them significantly increasing the Citys supply of bicycle parking.
In his law practise he has acted for large industries and environmental groups. He was retained by the City of Toronto to represent the environmental group Save the Rouge in the Oak Ridges Moraine Ontario Municipal Board hearing in 2000-2001. The hearing was stopped by the passage of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act in 2001 by the Province of Ontario. The Act preserved from development an area of the Province of Ontario north of Lake Ontario 160 kilometers long by many kilometers wide.
He was elected chair of the Toronto Police Services Board in 2004 after Norman Gardner
was forced to resign following allegations that he had accepted a gift of gun from a firearms manufacturer and ammunition from Toronto police officers.
He was appointed by Toronto City Council, under the leadership of Mayor Mel Lastman, as a civilian representative on the Police Services Board in 2001 and concerned himself with issues such as racial profiling
and the police complaints system. He declined to use the limousine that was provided to the Chair as part of the job and preferred to take public transit and ride his bicycle to meetings in the City.
A week after becoming chair, Heisey was the target of a leaked internal police memo which depicted him as sympathetic to child pornographer
s. Heisey refused to step down as Chair and was
subsequently cleared by Justice Sydney Robins of the Ontario Court of Appeal of any wrongdoing in a ruling that found he was the target of a smear campaign
.
In June 2004, he announced that he would not be seeking a renewal from the city of his appointment as a board member meaning that he would also end his term as chair in September 2004, nine months after winning the position. As a result of the suspension of Norm Gardner as a Board member the Board had only 6 members and not the 7 members which is full complement. Many important votes would fail by 3 to 3 vote splits and the Board was effectively paralysed.
The Board however did unanimously endorse Heiseys recommendations to reform the Police Complaints system and the legal framework that the Police in Ontario operate under.
He proposed that there be a single tribunal to determine all disputes and complaints concerning police. A new tribunal would have dealt comprehensively with all matters concerning complaints and compensation, other than criminal charges, against police officers. Any civil actions for damages, disciplinary proceedings and Human Rights Code complaints against police officers would be dealt with by one tribunal to reduce costs and increase fairness to officers and complainants. The Toronto Police Services Boards recommendation for reform of the police complaints system was not accepted in the Report on the Police Complaints System authored by Judge Patrick Lesage dated April 22, 2005 and not acted upon by the then Solicitor General for Ontario, Monte Kwinter.
Heisey had previously said he would resign if the "dysfunctional" board did not regain its composure. In announcing his decision to leave the board, he told the media "The police board job is kind of like being a general. There's a peacetime general and there's a wartime general. And I think the peacetime chair job would have been quite manageable with my other responsibilities."
Later in June, the Board voted not to renew Chief Fantino's contract.
It was reported in the media that Heisey voted against the contract renewal.
Toronto Police Services Board
The Toronto Police Services Board is the civilian oversight of the Toronto Police Service. It was called the Metropolitan Toronto Police Services Board from 1990 until 1998 and the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission from 1955 until 1990 when the name of the body was changed as a result of...
in 2004 when it voted not to renew the contract of Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino
Julian Fantino
Julian Fantino is a retired police official and the elected Member of the Parliament of Canada for the riding of Vaughan following a November 29, 2010 by-election...
.
He was raised in Don Mills, Ontario and attended Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...
, graduating in 1978. In 1981, he joined the firm of Blake, Cassels & Graydon, practicing development and labour law, before becoming a partner in the firm of Kerzner, Papazian, MacDermid in 1985. Since 2001, he has been a partner in the firm of Papazian Heisey Myers. He was appointed a federal Queen's Counsel by the short lived government of Kim Campbell in 1993.
His father, Alan Heisey, Sr., was a North York alderman from 1976 to 1980 and ran for Mayor of Toronto in 1997.
An avid cyclist Heisey, was a member of and chair of the Toronto Parking Authority from 1992 to 2001. During his tenure, revenues increased, and he oversaw introduction of the world's first wireless, solar-powered pay-and-display consoles that accept credit cards thereby increasing Toronto on street parking supply and the Authoritys revenues by 15%. He also saw the introduction of Sunday street parking charges. Toronto was the first City in North America to replace its parking meters with pay and display machines which had been in common use in Western European jurisdictions for over 20 years at that time. Most North American jurisdictions have followed suit. After removal of the parking meters the remaining meter posts had bicycle parking rings installed on them significantly increasing the Citys supply of bicycle parking.
In his law practise he has acted for large industries and environmental groups. He was retained by the City of Toronto to represent the environmental group Save the Rouge in the Oak Ridges Moraine Ontario Municipal Board hearing in 2000-2001. The hearing was stopped by the passage of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act in 2001 by the Province of Ontario. The Act preserved from development an area of the Province of Ontario north of Lake Ontario 160 kilometers long by many kilometers wide.
He was elected chair of the Toronto Police Services Board in 2004 after Norman Gardner
Norman Gardner
Norman "Norm" Gardner is a politician and administrator in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is a former North York and Toronto City Councillor, serving most recently as chair of the Toronto Police Services Board .-Private life and career:...
was forced to resign following allegations that he had accepted a gift of gun from a firearms manufacturer and ammunition from Toronto police officers.
He was appointed by Toronto City Council, under the leadership of Mayor Mel Lastman, as a civilian representative on the Police Services Board in 2001 and concerned himself with issues such as racial profiling
Racial profiling
Racial profiling refers to the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement...
and the police complaints system. He declined to use the limousine that was provided to the Chair as part of the job and preferred to take public transit and ride his bicycle to meetings in the City.
A week after becoming chair, Heisey was the target of a leaked internal police memo which depicted him as sympathetic to child pornographer
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
s. Heisey refused to step down as Chair and was
subsequently cleared by Justice Sydney Robins of the Ontario Court of Appeal of any wrongdoing in a ruling that found he was the target of a smear campaign
Smear campaign
A smear campaign, smear tactic or simply smear is a metaphor for activity that can harm an individual or group's reputation by conflation with a stigmatized group...
.
In June 2004, he announced that he would not be seeking a renewal from the city of his appointment as a board member meaning that he would also end his term as chair in September 2004, nine months after winning the position. As a result of the suspension of Norm Gardner as a Board member the Board had only 6 members and not the 7 members which is full complement. Many important votes would fail by 3 to 3 vote splits and the Board was effectively paralysed.
The Board however did unanimously endorse Heiseys recommendations to reform the Police Complaints system and the legal framework that the Police in Ontario operate under.
He proposed that there be a single tribunal to determine all disputes and complaints concerning police. A new tribunal would have dealt comprehensively with all matters concerning complaints and compensation, other than criminal charges, against police officers. Any civil actions for damages, disciplinary proceedings and Human Rights Code complaints against police officers would be dealt with by one tribunal to reduce costs and increase fairness to officers and complainants. The Toronto Police Services Boards recommendation for reform of the police complaints system was not accepted in the Report on the Police Complaints System authored by Judge Patrick Lesage dated April 22, 2005 and not acted upon by the then Solicitor General for Ontario, Monte Kwinter.
Heisey had previously said he would resign if the "dysfunctional" board did not regain its composure. In announcing his decision to leave the board, he told the media "The police board job is kind of like being a general. There's a peacetime general and there's a wartime general. And I think the peacetime chair job would have been quite manageable with my other responsibilities."
Later in June, the Board voted not to renew Chief Fantino's contract.
It was reported in the media that Heisey voted against the contract renewal.