An unrepentant Community Safety Minister Sylvia Jones is refusing to rule out hiring another pal of Premier Doug Ford as head of the Ontario Provincial Police despite the controversy that derailed the Ron Taverner appointment.

Her comments came Thursday as the lawyer for former deputy OPP commissioner Brad Blair — who was fired after blowing the whistle over possible conflicts in the Taverner appointment and a customized van sought by Ford — threatened to sue the province for wrongful dismissal.

“I’m not going to presuppose who the next commissioner is,” Jones replied when asked if the next hiring process will different than the one in which Taverner was able to apply only after the rank qualifications were lowered. Taverner’s former Toronto police boss, who is now deputy minister of community safety and dismissed Blair on Monday, was on the interview panel.

“I believe that the process was absolutely appropriate and when the integrity commissioner releases his report we’ll have more details on that,” Jones added in reference to a probe by ethics watchdog J. David Wake into political interference in the hiring of Taverner, a Toronto police superintendent.

Opposition parties jumped on the remarks from Jones a day after Ford’s office announced Tavener, 72, was withdrawing from the appointment, which had been on hold since December pending the Wake report.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said she was “disgusted” by Jones’s response, given widespread concerns about the independence of the OPP with a Ford crony at the helm.

“If the government hasn’t learned that yet then we are in big trouble. That’s why a public inquiry is necessary,” Horwath said of her push for Wake to broaden his probe, which has seen Ford and others interviewed privately.

Wake’s report is due in the “near future” and will be posted on the integrity commissioner’s website, said spokeswoman Cathryn Motherwell.

Ford, who showed up in the legislature’s question period for the first time this week, has been “tone deaf” to the concerns about police independence, charged Green Leader Mike Schreiner.

“Twenty seven people applied for the job,” Schreiner said. “Surely we can find an OPP commissioner who’s qualified to do the job who’s not friends with the premier, creating an unacceptable conflict of interest.”

“It’s like the minister doesn’t get it,” added interim Liberal Leader John Fraser.

Jones said no decisions have been made on hiring the next OPP boss, and maintained that her deputy minister Mario Di Tommaso will remain involved despite criticisms of bias regarding Taverner and Monday’s high-profile firing of Blair.

“He will have a role, as is completely appropriate,” added Jones, who further defended the hiring process for Taverner, a Toronto police officer for five decades.

“When an individual is as active and engaged with the public as the premier is, when someone who has served for 50-plus years in the city of Toronto, it would have frankly amazed me that they didn’t know each other,” she said.

The premier has repeatedly denied any role in the Taverner hiring, saying it was handled by the civil service and a private executive recruitment firm.

In the legislature’s question period, Ford angrily called New Democrats the “police-hating party” and was twice censured by Speaker Ted Arnott.

The premier said Taverner was the best candidate to “fix the systemic problems that we’re hearing non-stop” in the OPP. “The stories I’ve heard are appalling.”

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Ford did not elaborate but has previously spoken of low morale and promised “help is on the way” for front-line officers.

Lawyer Julian Falconer said Blair “will seek full accountability and compensation for the actions leading to his termination.”

Taverner’s surprise exit bolsters the former deputy commissioner’s case and “vindicates Brad Blair’s unwavering resolve to protect the OPP from political interference,” he wrote. “It is sad in the extreme that the destruction of a good man’s career is the price to be paid for exposing political cronyism and abuse of power.”

The Taverner debacle has taken a toll on Ford and his government.

Blair’s lawsuit, which asks the Ontario ombudsman to probe the Taverner appointment, revealed Ford’s quest for a customized OPP van with a powered reclining leather sofa, 32-inch TV with Blu-ray DVD player, and a minifridge.

The lawsuit also exposed private — and profane — conversations in which the premier pressed to have only officers he “trusts” on his OPP security detail.

“It feels like I’m not being heard, like I’m getting f — ed around by the OPP and I’m getting more pissed off,” he added, according to dialogue reported in a July 18, 2018 email and revealed in Blair’s court filings.

“I’m going to call the commissioner and sort this out,” the premier continued. “If I have to, I will drive up there to see him face-to-face so he can see how serious I am about this. If he can’t sort this out then maybe a new commissioner can make it happen.”

Vince Hawkes retired as OPP commissioner last fall. Interim commissioner Gary Couture will remain at the helm until a replacement is found.

Read more:

Ron Taverner, Ford’s longtime friend, abandons controversial appointment as OPP commissioner

Ethics probe into Taverner hiring as OPP commissioner interviews Ford’s policing minister

Ron Taverner was considered for other top jobs with province, sources say

Robert Benzie is the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie Rob Ferguson is a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robferguson1

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