The Chief of Windsor Police says he's excited for what a helicopter in the city will provide to the service.
Jason Bellaire says he wasn't surprised to see that the 2025 Ontario Budget included funding for a helicopter for the Windsor Police Service.
The budget was released Thursday afternoon, with one portion including $57-million for two new H-135 helicopters to support Niagara Regional Police and Windsor Police with increased patrols, security and enforcement at key entry points at the U.S. border.
Bellaire says there is still a lot to be worked out with this announcement, but that this helicopter would be able to assist not only Windsor Police, but the Ontario Provincial Police, and the Canada Border Services Agency as well.
He says this will be an important tool to assist with other units.
"Especially those times where we have to cover a lot of territory to look for somebody who might be in danger due to exposure to weather, mental health capacity, violent crimes where people are fleeing into remote areas. I think you have to get away from the idea of having just a helicopter flying up and down the Detroit River, and understand that it would be more of a regional safety resource."
Bellaire says there will need to be conversations with the province about how this asset is funded in the future.
"There's a lot of reasonable people involved, and I think they'll come to a reasonable solution to ensure that they local taxpayer is not specifically hit with that cost. And I think it's going to be something that is looking long into the future of how to integrate that into the region, and treat it as a shared service."
He adds that he's excited for what this will provide the region.
"The world is evolving, and the technology to provide for a safe community is going to require those investments, and I think to implement that from our regional strategy is the way to go. And I'm happy to hear that the provincial government is looking at it that way."
He says at this point in time he doesn't know what the staffing for this type of operation - in the helicopter and on the ground - will look like.
Bellaire adds that he's unsure what the timeline looks like for receiving the helicopter, but anticipates it will be between one to two years.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford indicated in December 2024, as well as in February of this year that Windsor Police would be getting a helicopter to address border security.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened hefty tariffs unless security at the border was improved.