Governance
Legal Indemnification Policy

Policy No: 05/01


Date Approved: November 21, 2001

Dates Amended: September 28, 2005; June 27, 2018

Reporting Requirements: As Required

Legislative Authority: Police Services Act 1990; Safer Ontario Act, 2018 : Schedule 4;2016-2019 Uniform and Civilian Working Agreements; 2016-2019 Senior Officers Working Agreement.

Note: Sections in this policy related to the Ontario Special Investigations Unit Act, 2018 come into force upon proclamation of the Act.

Policy Statement

The Regional Municipality of York Police Services Board (“Board”) supports the retainer of legal counsel services, from time to time, to represent Members of York Regional Police in various matters in accordance with the Uniform, Civilian and Senior Officers Collective Agreements.  Under these circumstances, the Board is committed to the cost-effective purchase of quality legal services.

Policy requirements set out in this document shall form part of the Police Services Board policies and the Chief of Police shall comply with these requirements in directing the York Regional Police in the administration and operation of the Service.

1. Purpose 

This Policy promotes the cost-effective purchase of quality legal services by outlining the expectations of the Board when indemnifying members and auxiliary members of York Regional Police. It establishes guidelines to be followed when requests for legal indemnification and legal accounts submitted for approval by members of York Regional Police. 

2. Application and Scope

This policy applies to requests for legal indemnification submitted to the Board pursuant to the Uniform, Civilian or Senior Officers’ Working Agreements and requests submitted by Auxiliary Members of York Regional Police.

3. Policy Guidelines

A) INDEMNIFICATION OF MEMBERS OF YORK REGIONAL POLICE

  1. Members of York Regional Police may be entitled to legal indemnification in accordance with applicable working agreements.  Such indemnification is subject to the conditions set out in the applicable working agreement, including the requirement for prior approval of counsel by the Board. 

  2. The approval of the Board will be granted in accordance with the provisions of the applicable working agreements. Where approval of counsel is granted payment of legal accounts for approved counsel shall be subject to the following conditions:

    1. legal accounts submitted by approved counsel for payment by the Board must comply with the conditions set out in section “E” of this policy and the Board shall adhere to the provisions of section “E” when reviewing such accounts;

    2. the request for approval must specify the lawyer who will be acting on the Member’s behalf and the Member must obtain the prior approval of the Board if an additional lawyer or lawyers is/are being retained to act on the Member’s behalf;

    3. the approved counsel shall submit interim accounts upon the request of the Board;

    4. in matters where the Member’s right to legal indemnification is contingent upon the outcome of the matter, the Board may request that interim accounts be submitted for review by the Board’s insurers to avoid disputes regarding the accounts upon the completion of the matter;

    5. the Board’s review of legal accounts and assessment of the appropriateness of such accounts shall be based upon the principles set out in section “D" of this policy;

    6. disputed legal accounts may be referred to a mutually acceptable third party for review and mediation, if necessary; 

    7. the Board may impose other conditions upon the approval of legal counsel which shall be specified at the time approval is granted, including payment of mileage expenses.

  3. Where an investigation is commenced by the Special Investigations Unit pursuant to Section 113 of the Police Services Act a Member’s entitlement to legal representation shall be determined in accordance with the applicable Working Agreement and the S.I.U. Procedure, until such time as the matter is brought to the attention of the Board. When the matter is brought to the Board for approval, it shall be governed by the provisions of the Working Agreement with respect to entitlement and this policy with respect to payment of accounts. Requests for legal representation where criminal charges are laid as a result of an SIU investigation shall be governed by the provisions of the Working Agreement. 

B) INDEMNIFICATION OF AUXILIARY MEMBERS

  1. Auxiliary members may be entitled to legal indemnification in respect of actions or proceedings arising out of acts or omissions by the Auxiliary Member in his or her capacity as an Auxiliary Member with York Regional Police.  For the purposes of this policy “action or proceeding” includes all civil actions, provincial offences or administrative proceedings, except those arising under the Highway Traffic Act, municipal parking or traffic by-laws, or Criminal Code.

  2. Subject to the provisions of this policy, in an action or proceeding against an Auxiliary Member, the Board shall defend or represent the Auxiliary Member in such proceeding in the name of and on behalf of the Auxiliary Member.

  3. An Auxiliary Member may retain his or her own legal counsel for the defence of representation in an action or proceeding in lieu of the defence or representation provided by the Board, provided that the Board shall not reimburse the Auxiliary Member for his or her legal costs except where the Board has declined to defend or represent the Auxiliary Member because either:

    1. the Board has determined that it would be inappropriate for the Board to defend or continue to defend or represent the Auxiliary Member; or

    2. the Board is satisfied that the interests of the Board and the Auxiliary Member conflict.

  4. The Board shall not reimburse the Auxiliary Member under this policy unless it has approved the selection of legal counsel retained by the Auxiliary Member.  Such approval shall be conditional upon the requirements set out in sections C, D, E and F of this policy.

  5. Where an Auxiliary Member is charged with and subsequently acquitted of an offence under the Criminal Code or the Highway Traffic Act because of any act done or any failure to act or allegations of same in the attempted performance or performance in good faith of his or her duties as an Auxiliary Member, the Auxiliary Member shall be indemnified by the Board for the necessary and reasonable legal costs incurred in defence of such charges or allegations.  The Auxiliary Member may be entitled to receive payment from the Board for a retainer for interim legal costs incurred in the defence of such charges or allegations to a maximum of $5,000, at the discretion of the Board. 

  6. Where an Auxiliary Member is the subject of an investigation in a matter which may result in charges being laid against the Auxiliary Member under the Criminal Code or other provincial statute or regulation, because of any act done or any failure to act or allegations of same in the attempted performance or the performance of his or her duties as an Auxiliary Member, the Auxiliary Member may be entitled to receive payment from the Board for a retainer of and/or interim legal costs, not exceeding $5,000, to obtain legal representation during the investigation, at the discretion of the Board.

  7. As a condition precedent to the Board making payments in respect of the costs pursuant to paragraphs 5 or 6 above, the Auxiliary  Member must agree in writing to repay the Board, if the Auxiliary Member is convicted of an offence, all sums paid by the Board including the legal retainer as provided for in paragraphs 5 and 6.

  8. Where an investigation is commenced by the Special Investigations Unit pursuant to Section 15 of the Ontario Special Investigations Unit Act, 2018 and it appears to the Chief of Police that an Auxiliary Member requires legal counsel in responding to the investigation, the Chief of Police may arrange for legal counsel to provide counsel to such members in connection with the investigation on such terms as the Chief considers appropriate, until such time as the matter is brought to the attention of the Board. As soon as practicable, the Chief shall bring his/her action and recommendation to the attention of the Board who may approve or alter the terms of retention of such legal counsel or the Chief’s recommendation in respect thereof. Neither the Board nor the Chief shall provide legal counsel after the completion of the investigation or the laying of charges.

C) COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Unless otherwise specified, communication of administrative matters (ie. accounts) shall be addressed to the Regional Solicitor.  All other communications, including requests for legal indemnification, shall be addressed to the Chief of Police.

 D) REPORTING

  1. The Regional Solicitor will review all legal accounts prior to their submission to the Board for approval

E) FEES AND DISBURSEMENTS

  1. Once the Board has approved the selection of legal counsel, the Board expects that outside counsel will review staffing assignments and, as a result, will not pay for any of the following:

    1. a review of the same correspondence or document by more than one lawyer;

    2. education of counsel as to an issue of law which should be known or readily available to a lawyer due to his or her expertise;

    3. time spent familiarizing a new lawyer with a file when another lawyer leaves, is removed or is unavailable;

    4. other staffing inefficiencies caused by the unavailability of firm personnel;

    5. revisions to routine correspondence addressed to the Chief or the Board;

    6. redrafting the work of associates or clerks;

    7. interoffice conferences that are not necessary strategy sessions;

    8. duplicate attendance at hearings, conferences, meetings, interoffice conferences, examinations for discovery, mediations or other similar occasions;

    9. routine administrative tasks such as form letters, file organization, preparation of accounts and scheduling examinations for discovery and meetings; and

  2. The hourly rates of a lawyer while in transit, however, mileage charges will be reimbursed at a rate not exceeding that established by the Regional Municipality of York.

F) ACCOUNTS

  1. Prior to accounts being submitted to the Board for payment, the Board expects legal counsel to review the account closely, exercising billing judgment and allowing only accurate and reasonable charges for efficient services. The Board expects the accounts to show the same high quality and care that outside counsel exercises in the performance of legal services.

  2. Every account submitted to the Board is to be addressed to the Regional Solicitor and must contain the following information:

    1. the name of the matter;

    2. the date the task was performed;

    3. by whom the task was performed (if initials are used, the full name should appear elsewhere on the account);

    4. his or her hourly rate;

    5. the time spent for each task (by tenths of an hour);

    6. a detailed description of the work performed specific enough to allow a person unfamiliar with the file to determine the function performed and its necessity;

    7. a detailed itemization of disbursements; and

    8. the cumulative total of fees and disbursements on the file to date.

  3. The following generic descriptions are not acceptable on an account rendered to the Board for payment unless accompanied by greater detail:

    1. review of case and issue;

    2. review correspondence; 

    3. review of documents; 

    4. conference; 

    5. meeting;

    6. telephone call; 

    7. preparation for meeting; 

    8. preparation of materials; 

    9. preparation for trial; 

    10. preparation for motion; 

    11. pleadings; 

    12. research; and 

    13. discovery.

  4. Accounts rendered to the Board that do not include all the required information will not be paid and will be returned to outside counsel for further clarification.  Solicitor-client privilege will be respected, however, the Board requires sufficient information upon which to base its approval of legal accounts submitted to it for approval.

  5. Interim accounts should not be rendered until the amount of the fees and disbursements incurred totals $2,000.00. Notwithstanding the foregoing, accounts must be rendered prior to December 31 of each year. 

  6. The Board will not pay for the difference between the hourly rate of a lawyer when the retainer is approved and any subsequent change in his or her hourly rate. The hourly rate at the time of approval will apply for the duration of the indemnification.

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