Councillor Shelby Ch'ng (Adam Riley / Acadia Broadcasting)

The Thunder Bay Police Service will be getting some reinforcements as it works to tackle the ongoing issue of guns and gangs in the city.

Two officers, with the option of a third from the Ontario Provincial Police will be working with city police, at a yet to be determined date.

Councillor Shelby Ch’ng says provincial officials were very open to discussions regarding guns and gangs at a municipal conference earlier this week.

“The Solicitor General’s office actually gave us a bit more time to talk about our issues, and they were very open with like trying to figure out how we can move things forward.”

The two officers will be funded through the province, the third position however isn’t funded and could require the city to pick up the tab should the province be unable to foot the bill.

Discussions included the future of pathology services in Thunder Bay.

Earlier this year the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre announced it would no longer be performing autopsies at the facility, resulting in all procedures having to be conducted in Toronto.

Ch’ng says the city delegation was very focused on keeping the lab off the backs of city ratepayers.

“It does belong with the Solicitor General’s office to cover those costs. We are working on some short term solutions and temporary solutions that will ease off our tax base and will also still hopefully maintain the service.”