The chair of Peel’s police board says he does not recall making a female member of the force feel “uncomfortable” when he gave her a hug at an event last month.

A media report last week was critical of Amrik Ahluwalia’s alleged behaviour at the function, even though the board says it is not aware of any formal complaint over the hug and it’s not clear what exactly the chair allegedly did to make the woman uncomfortable. Ahluwalia has remained silent, until now.

“My wife and I were at the Race against Racism event on Oct. 27,” he said in an email to the Star Tuesday. “During the event, my wife and I greeted many people who approached us — both men and women. Sometimes that greeting was a handshake. Sometimes it was a friendly embrace which is quite common in our culture.”

Ahluwalia is a Punjabi-Canadian. He said a few days after the event he was made aware that a female employee of the force “reportedly felt uncomfortable” with a hug he had given her. “My wife nor I do not recall anyone feeling uncomfortable. That being said, I have communicated my sincere regrets to this person if she felt uncomfortable in any way whatsoever. That certainly was not my intention.”

Paul Black, president of the Peel police union, was asked to detail what Ahluwalia allegedly did that made the female employee uncomfortable and if a formal complaint has been filed. He did not respond.

Last week, according to an article in the Toronto Sun, Black said, “There was no contrition but our member seems to be alright at this stage … She is satisfied that she has received an apology, albeit weak, and wishes the matter be put to rest. While we might have taken a different view, the wishes of the member are paramount and we support her decision.”

Black was asked to explain what he meant when stating the police association “might have taken a different view.” He did not respond.

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, a member of the police board, who along with Ahluwalia, Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey and other members has been calling for sweeping changes to policing in Peel, was asked if this latest controversy is part of a pattern over the last year that has seen the board’s relationship with the force deteriorate.

“As a board member I fully support Chair Ahluwalia and I am satisfied with his response,” Crombie wrote in an email to the Star Tuesday. “The community needs the Peel Police Board and our force to have a positive relationship as we work together to modernize policing in Peel. That is everyone’s primary goal and objective.”

That relationship has been strained, particularly with police chief Jennifer Evans after Ahluwalia and the board voted in June for a sweeping equity and diversity audit of the force. The move came after Crombie challenged Evans last year on the controversial practice of carding, known as street checks in Peel. Evans refused a board request, after a vote, to suspend the controversial practice after the force’s own data, revealed by the Star last year, showed that black individuals were three times more likely to be stopped in a street check by Peel police than whites.

On Friday the board grilled Evans at a board meeting for using a community survey with questionable methodology to claim there is overwhelming support for the force. Board members pointed out that a separate survey of the force’s own staff showed less than half feel the force is being run properly.

Evans was asked if the controversy over the hug could further damage the relationship between the force and the board that oversees it.

“As I have said repeatedly, I have and continue to be committed to working with our Police Services Board to ensure a safer community together,” Evans wrote in an email to the Star Tuesday. Asked if she has been involved in the matter over the hug, a police spokesperson said because of policies to protect the “confidentiality and integrity” of members questions about the incident should be directed to the board.

Police board executive director Robert Serpe said, “The board has no knowledge of a formal complaint.”

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Ranjit Khatkur, who has delegated to the board about the need for policing reforms and was a driving force behind the soon-to-be initiated equity audit, says she’s concerned about this latest controversy. “Look, the concerns of the member who felt uncomfortable about the hug are the priority. If she was in any way disturbed or hurt by this, her well being is the absolute priority,” said the chair of the Peel Coalition Against Racialized Discrimination.

“What concerns me is the way the union has handled this. Without any formal complaint the union is clearly trying to discredit and harm the reputation of the chair. They also attacked him in June after he led the decision to get a comprehensive equity-diversity audit done.”

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