Over
1000
Members
Over
966
Square KM's of Jursidiction
Over
500,000
Residents Protected
Our History
The Halton Regional Police Association was formed when legislation creating the Regional Municipality of Halton was enacted on January 1, 1974. The four municipal police associations of Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills were merged to create what is now the Halton Regional Police Association. At the time this occurred, the membership consisted of approximately 200 sworn members and 45 civilian members.
The Association's objective at that time mirrors that of its objective today, which is to improve the working conditions, wages, benefits, pension, and the workplace in general for members of the Association. The first President of the Halton Regional Police Association was Mr. Burrell Gailing, who held the office of president from September 1974 through August 1975.
The Association's objective at that time mirrors that of its objective today, which is to improve the working conditions, wages, benefits, pension, and the workplace in general for members of the Association. The first President of the Halton Regional Police Association was Mr. Burrell Gailing, who held the office of president from September 1974 through August 1975.
View all past hrpa presidents
Al Ruelens |
Jim Dawson |
Tom Sinkovich |
Bill Henshaw |
Bill Gall |
Dave Atkinson |
Bruce Richards |
Bob Waller |
Charles Gardner |
Duncan Foot |
Garry Bogue |
Rob Todd |
Ron Southgate |
Barry Hughes |
Colin Vrooman |
Clayton Gillis |
At the time the HRPA was created, the Executive Board was made up of sworn members only, but in September 1979, the Executive Board determined it was necessary for a civilian member of the association to have a seat at the executive board table.
The first civilian member of the HRPA Executive Board, as of October 1979, was Mr. Basil Cormier. Mr.Cormier is the father of retired Superintendent Paul Cormier and retired Staff Sergeant Ken Cormier. He is also the grandfather of current HRPA members Greg Cormier and Lyndsey Cormier.
Merging the four municipal police associations into one regional police association was a difficult task for all involved. Equally difficult for the new association executive, was bargaining the new regional police association's first collective agreement.
Negotiations were prolonged as the task at hand was daunting, attempting to take the four municipal police association collective agreements and mold them into one new collective agreement. While agreement was reached on some minor issues, the majority of the major issues remained in dispute between the association executive and the employer at that time, known as the Halton Regional Board of Police Commissioners. As a result, the Association and Board of Police Commissioners had little choice but to ask an independent third party to resolve their differences and proceeded to binding interest arbitration. The arbitration hearing was held on September 10, 1974 in Toronto, and the arbitrator, Mr. George S.P. Ferguson, Q.C. informed the parties of his decision in writing October 21, 1974. Since this arbitration in 1974, the Halton Regional Police Association has gone to arbitration on only one other occasion. That was in 1980.
Over the years, the Halton Regional Police Association has developed a strong reputation for collective bargaining, and is well respected by other Police Associations in Ontario and across Canada. This has been accomplished by the hard work and dedication of the many elected representatives of this Association dating back to its inception and beyond.
It's important for current members of the Halton Regional Police Association to appreciate those who played such a key a role over the years improving the standard of living we all currently enjoy.
Over the years, the Halton Regional Police Association has developed a strong reputation for collective bargaining, and is well respected by other Police Associations in Ontario and across Canada. This has been accomplished by the hard work and dedication of the many elected representatives of this Association dating back to its inception and beyond.
It's important for current members of the Halton Regional Police Association to appreciate those who played such a key a role over the years improving the standard of living we all currently enjoy.