Province to remove Thunder Bay lawyer John Cyr from city's police services board

The provincial Ministry of the Solicitor General says it intends to remove John Cyr from the Thunder Bay Police Services Board.

Cyr was sworn in as the board's newest member on Tuesday. A provincial appointee, he was to serve a three-year term.

In 2017, Cyr penned a letter to the editor in which he stated now-suspended Canadian senator Lynn Beyak's comments on residential schools were "balanced and thoughtful." The letter was published in a Thunder Bay newspaper, and has been circulating on social media this week.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler called for Cyr to resign from the police services board later Thursday. On Friday, Fiddler said that "you've got to give credit where credit is due and I commend [Solicitor General Sylvia] Jones and the provincial government for taking corrective action."

As for the province's decision, CBC News was notified in an email from a ministry spokesperson, which arrived on Thursday night. It states, simply, that the government "intends to remove Mr. Cyr from the Thunder Bay Police Services Board."

In a follow-up email, Marion Ringuette, the press secretary to Jones, said the government made its decision "as soon as we became aware of Mr. Cyr's past views."

She did not indicate how long it would take to find a replacement on the police board.

When asked about the letter Thursday, Cyr told CBC News he agreed with the Canadian Senate's recent decision to suspend Beyak over racist letters posted on her website.

"Those things should not be on the website of somebody who is holding a public office," Cyr said. "They're mean-spirited and simply don't represent, I think, what most people feel."

Cyr said he applied to join the Thunder Bay police board because it can do a lot of good for the community and that he was looking forward to addressing "issues that need to be addressed, but with a view to them being positive outcomes all-around, for all parties."