The TPA Today
As the size of the police service and the needs of the membership have increased, so too have the services offered by the Association. From our humble beginnings with no full-time staff, we now employ nine full-time Directors seconded from the Service, a labour relations lawyer, a staff person who trains shop stewards and provides workers' compensation advocacy services, an administ
rator and ten full-time support staff. Working together, these personnel ensure that members enjoy salaries, benefits and representation that are second to none. Other than the provision of core services such as bargaining and contract administration, the TPA is active on a number of other fronts. For example, since 1991 we have sponsored an independent Financial Assistance for Legal Services Plan and Fund (known as the "LAP".) The LAP provides financial assistance benefits to members who have been charged in relation to acts done in the attempted performance in good faith of their duties as employees of the Service or who are embroiled in civil proceedings arising out of situations in which they were discharging their duties as employees of the Service. We have also been instrumental in recently forging a national coalition of major Canadian police associations (the "Big 10") which meets to discuss and share information and tactics on a host of important issues impacting the working lives of uniform and civilian police personnel.
