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At least 80 police officers in Ontario were on suspension with pay during a three-week period this summer, including a Durham Police officer who has amassed more than $600,000 since first being suspended in 2008, a National Post investigation has discovered.

According to figures gathered in the Post’s snapshot study, the suspensions were costing taxpayers a minimum of $13,635.59 per day.

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Ontario is the only province in Canada where officers facing charges must be suspended with pay until they resign, are terminated, or reintegrated, in a process that can take several years.

The debate over whether unpaid suspension should be allowed has been rekindled because of the recent case involving former Waterloo police officer Craig Markham.

If an officer’s misconduct is likely to lead to dismissal, the suspension should be without pay

Markham wrote an email, which was made public, thanking Waterloo Police for a “nice gift” that allowed him to “sit home, take courses, travel, and play lots of golf” after earning about $350,000 during a three-year suspension.