The Windsor Police Services (WPS) Board will again have a familiar advocate at its table.
At its meeting on Thursday afternoon, the board named Ward 6 Councillor Jo-Anne Gignac as its new chair.
Gignac is no newcomer to the civilian board, having previously served on the board from 2011 to 2019, and was the vice-chair. She returned to the board in 2022 as a member.
"It's an opportunity to serve again at the board level, and I welcome it," said Gignac. "I'm proud of the police service and it is a real privilege to serve as the chair."
Gignac said that now more than ever, Windsor police are dealing with unique challenges as a "border town" service.
"It's a huge impact," said Gignac. "We noticed that during the [Ambassador] bridge blockade, municipalities are dealing with things now that require police service to step into areas that we were never required to."
Gignac added that she was excited to see the changes in training that have been put into place to reflect the current community standards.
The new vice-chair is Sophia Chisholm. According to her bio, she is the Senior Vice-President of Finance at Windsor Family Credit Union (WFCU) and a board member of the Windsor Port Authority. She had been on the police board from 2016 to 2018 and rejoined in 2023.
-with files from Maureen Revait