The Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners

The Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners is made up of the Mayor of the City of Saskatoon, two members of Saskatoon City Council and four volunteer members of the Public.

Board Roles and Responsibilities

Under The Police Act, 1990, the Board is responsible for:

• the delivery of policing services within the municipality of Saskatoon; 

• providing general direction, policy, and priorities; and

• developing long-term plans for the Police Service and monitoring their implementation

COMMISSIONER John Lagimodiere - VIce-Chair

John Lagimodiere is the owner of ACS Aboriginal Consulting Services. He has been facilitating Indigenous awareness seminars and strategic and communications plans for a variety of organizations since 1997. His clients have included SaskTel, the Province of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon Police Service, Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, Nutrien, CIC and the University of Saskatchewan. John had a 25-year career in the media as Publisher/Editor of Eagle Feather News, a monthly newspaper and daily news website. He retired from the media in 2022.

Born and raised in Saskatoon, he has volunteered in the community as a basketball and hockey coach and has been on numerous boards and committees including United Way Saskatoon-Leadership Committee on ending homelessness in Saskatoon, Affinity Credit Union, Canadian Chamber of Commerce as Chair of the Indigenous Affairs Policy Committee and as the Chair of the Batoche Historic Site Shared Management Board.

John has had a long interest in policing and justice. He studied Sociology at the University of Saskatchewan and worked in community corrections before he began his business. He was a volunteer in the SPS Peacekeepers Program and a graduate of the Community Police Academy. He has also worked with the Saskatoon Police Service delivering Indigenous awareness and facilitating plans with the Elders advisory committee.

He is a recipient of the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal, the 2006 of the City of Saskatoon Living in Harmony Award, and the Queens Jubilee Medal in 2012. ACS received the 2009 ABEX for Aboriginal Business. John is a citizen of the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and a member of CUMFI Local #165.

COMMISSIONER / MAYOR CHARLIE CLARK

Mayor Charlie Clark became a member of the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners in January 2012 and has been appointed to the Commission by City Council each year since that time.

First elected to Saskatoon City Council in 2006, then-Councillor Clark represented Ward 6 until 2016 when he successfully contested the Mayor’s position in the October 2016 civic election.  

Mayor Clark holds a Bachelor of Arts in Conflict Resolution from University of Winnipeg and a Certificate in Conflict Resolution from the Justice Institute of British Columbia. He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts in Environmental Studies from York University in addition to extensive training in the fields of planning, local government, and community capacity building.

Commissioner / Mayor Clark has previously served on the Boards of Directors of the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority, Downtown Saskatoon Business Improvement District and the Broadway Business Improvement District and was recently recognized for his contribution as a Board member with the Canadian Association of Police Governance. Currently, he serves as a Board member with the Meewasin Valley Authority, Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan and with the City of Saskatoon’s Standing Policy Committee on Transportation as well as its Governance and Priorities Committee.

Commissioner Clark’s top priorities as a member of the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners are the establishment of an integrated multi-party system that effectively addresses street stabilization issues and ensures the Police Commission connects with Saskatoon residents in its conduit role with the community. 

COMMISSIONER HILARY GOUGH

Councillor Hilary Gough was appointed to the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners in January 2022.

She was first elected to Saskatoon City Council in 2016 and subsequently re-elected in the October 2020 civic election.

Born and raised in Saskatoon, Commissioner Gough studied at the University of Saskatchewan and later the University of Manitoba. She and her partner, Arlin call Caswell Hill home.

Commissioner Gough is passionate about health and equity and strives to support collective action for healthy community development. Prior to her election to City Council, she was the Operations Manager at a not-for-profit agency promoting action on the social and economic roots of health inequities. She is a dedicated volunteer, most recently engaging in the development and work of the Saskatoon Interagency Response to COVID-19. 

As a City Councillor, Councillor Gough is leading Council’s strategic priority area of Community Wellbeing and Safety with a focus on affordable housing and rental property issues, poverty alleviation, and crime prevention. She also maintains an attentive focus on progress towards a safe and convenient mix of transportation options as well as sustainable and balanced residential development.

Councillor Gough also sits on several City of Saskatoon Boards & Committees including the Governance and Priorities Committee, Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities & Corporate Services, Vice-Chair, and Standing Policy Committee on Transportation. 

Outside of her civic duties, Councillor Gough serves on the Saskatoon Public Library Board, 33rd Street Business Improvement District Board of Directors, South Saskatchewan River Watershed Stewards Inc., Tourism Saskatoon Board of Directors, and the Wanuskewin Heritage Park Board of Directors.

Katharine (Kathy) Grier, K.C.

Katharine Grier recently retired after practicing law for 37 years. Her main focus throughout her career was criminal law, initially with Saskatoon City Legal Aid and then as a prosecutor with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and later Saskatchewan Justice. 

From 2002 and 2004 Kathy was a member of a consultation group to the Saskatchewan Commission on First Nations and Métis People and Justice Reform. She also spent over two years working on Indian Residential School files with Justice Canada.  She has a keen interest in justice issues, in particular with respect to youth and Indigenous communities. 

As a Crown Prosecutor, Kathy was part of a team which provided training to Saskatoon Police Service members in the areas of detention and arrest, search and seizure, domestic violence, and report writing.

She is a long-time community volunteer and currently sits on the boards of L’Arche Saskatoon and the Cecilian Singers choir.  In 2011 she was named the Saskatoon Community Service Village Honorary Village Citizen in recognition of her contribution to the original Village board.

Kathy is a long-time 2SLGBTQ+ ally and advocate. She believes in a collaborative, community-based approach to safety, and that addressing mental health, poverty, addictions and marginalization is the key to moving forward.

Kathy grew up in a military family and lived in 6 provinces but has called Saskatoon home for over 40 years. She received a B.A.(Hons.) in French and History from York University and an LL.B. from the University of Saskatchewan. In 2020 she was honoured with a King’s Counsel designation from the government of Saskatchewan.