Mayor walks away amid questioning about ex-Windsor, Ont., police chief’s racist remarks

We begin with Windsor's mayor and mayoral candidate walking away amid questioning Thursday about a former police chief's racist remarks. It comes one week after a Meet the Mayoral Candidates event put on by the Black Council of Windsor-Essex. Jason Veo is here to break it all down. Jason, there are some gaps to fill in here. You've been covering this from the very beginning, and you were the one asking Drew Dilkins new questions earlier. Walk us through what's going on. Well, acting as chair of the Windsor Police Services Board, Drew Dilkins has been head of the oversight police body of Windsor Police. Now, he essentially helps hold the chief and deputy chiefs accountable. Last year, an internal investigation substantiated allegations that former police chief Jason Belair made racist remarks to a black officer at work. The allegations, the internal findings and the subsequent discipline for Belair weren't made public until CBC News published its reporting based on sourced information. Now, the Black Council said last week that there's, quote, little public acknowledgement or condemnation of racism from the organization or from your office. And he's referring to Drew Dilkens. Have a listen to some of what Dilkens told the Black Council. And so for me, you know, calling it out is number one. And then working to find the, you know, the most appropriate pathway to address things from a workplace perspective, recognizing that we have legal obligations in the workplace and can't always discuss every single issue with the general public, but take those matters very seriously. So you heard those comments from Drew Dilkens from the other day. What happened next? Well, I attended a media event at the Riverfront this morning. He was there with his many supporters as he's seeking re-election for mayor of Windsor. Now, at the end, I had to ask him about what he said last week to the Black Council and how that compares to the board's handling of the situation. Here's some of that exchange. That was very public. I mean, that wasn't a hidden process. Everyone knew we were having those conversations. Everyone knew that there was a remedy proposed and that the board approved that remedy. And we moved forward. But you said it was very public. Did the board make that public? Well, I think it was very public that we had the conversation and that, you know, with the investigation came back and that the board actually discussed the matter and remedies were put forward. Now, I also asked him if he'd like to say anything to the black community, acting, about the comments that the former chief made. And Dilkens did add that he condemns all forms of racism. In the end, though, he did walk away from the conversation, refusing to answer any more of my questions on this topic. Have a listen. OK, and what about the consequence in this case? It was, as you mentioned, sensitivity training, EDI training for the chief. I mean, that's something that's mandatory. I'm here to talk about the campaign. No, I know, but this is something you said. We've talked about the campaign. i'm good there's no more questions you want to ask or answer about this you have questions about the campaign well you said this last week while you were campaigning i i said this to the black council and i've addressed the question that you put forward so if there's any other well i do have more questions any questions about the campaign well it is i think people care about it it's not you're not asking questions about the campaign so i've answered the questions with respect to the board the actions that the board undertook with respect to the investigation those actions have been followed through. I've answered those questions. What other questions do you have? Because I'm not going to go through a circle. No, no, no, no. I have two more on this topic, if you'll let me ask them. No, it's okay. I'm good. And just for clarity to the audience, that was you behind the camera filming all of this. How has the Black Council of Windsor-Essex reacted? Well, I did speak with Leslie McCurdy, who's past chair of the Black Council of Windsor-Essex, and she calls Dilkin's most recent comments disingenuous. Have a listen. So for the mayor to say all that, It's just, it's not quite living up to the truth of how it occurred. Jason, I know you mentioned earlier that you had more questions for Drew Dilkins that you didn't get to ask. So what were those? Well, you heard me kind of ask one of them in the clip there that we saw, essentially why Dilkins thought EDI training was the most appropriate form of discipline for Belair. And it's something that all officers are already required to do. And one advocate previously told me that it doesn't amount to anything. And I also wanted to ask him how he describes his personal relationship with Belair because the former chief has appeared in videos on the elections pages of Dilkens talking about the two working together. You can watch the full exchange, unedited, of my interaction with Dilkens on this topic today on our website, cbc.ca slash Windsor. Okay, Jason, thanks for this reporting. Appreciate it. Thanks, Acton.