Edmonton police commissioner plans to stay on from new home in Portugal

The chair of Edmonton’s police commission says he plans to stay on as a commissioner from his new home in Portugal.

John McDougall made that revelation in a retirement announcement Friday afternoon.

McDougall says he will refuse payments for serving on the commission, is willing to travel back to Edmonton if needed, and will not seek the chair position after his term ends on Dec. 31.

“I can assure Edmonton that my continued service adheres to all rules regarding my new accommodation, as there are no residency requirements for commissioners appointed by the City of Edmonton or the Government of Alberta,” he wrote in a statement.

“To be clear, residency requirements are not stipulated in the Police Act or the City’s Police Commission Bylaw.”

But Ward Papastew Coun. Michael Janz told CityNews that McDougall should resign if he’s moving out of the country.

“It’s not the Portuguese police commission, it’s the Edmonton Police Commission. And I think it’s really important for the legitimacy of the commission to have people who live, who work, who play, who sleep, who breathe in Edmonton,” Janz said.

“I wish John well in his retirement, he served his country and who wouldn’t want to get out of this weather, but this is just a bridge too far.”

Lawyer Tom Engel also criticized McDougall’s plans in an interview with Global News and former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk suggested in a social media post that an Edmontonian should take over.

McDougall is a provincial appointee and said in his statement that Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis supports his decision.

But that’s not what Ellis said when asked about it at an unrelated press conference in Calgary on Friday morning.

“I was not aware that he would be performing his duties while overseas. That’s the first I’m hearing of this,” Ellis told reporters.

“My understanding is that he will be in Edmonton while performing his duties and that only when he is done and retired will he be moving to Portugal, where his partner lives.”

In a follow-up statement,  Ellis said he supports McDougall staying on the commission at this time because he’s “regularly in Edmonton and engaged with the daily activities of the commission.”