Toronto Police Service chief Myron Demkiw, left, is joined by York Regional Police chief Jim MacSween, centre, and YRP deputy chief Ryan Hogan at a press conference to announce the results of police corruption probe Project South on Feb. 5.Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press
Police accountability advocates are calling on Toronto’s city council to order a public inquiry into a crisis of corruption within the city’s police service, after the arrests of seven of its officers and a retired constable.
Investigators said members of organized crime were buying data and addresses from Toronto Police Service officers, which were then used to co-ordinate shootings and other crimes – including an attempted hit on a corrections officer who was allegedly targeted at his home.
“This is a major, major crisis,” John Sewell, co-ordinator of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, said of the allegations laid out by the York Regional Police Service, whose Project South police corruption probe led to the arrests. “We haven’t seen anything like this in Canada.”
Mr. Sewell, who was mayor of Toronto from 1978 to 1980, is particularly concerned by the allegations of organized crime involvement. “It’s very, very serious,” he said.
Conspiracy to traffic Toronto Police uniforms alleged in Project South police corruption probe
Under the Municipal Act, the city has legal authority to initiate a public inquiry by an Ontario judge. Such an inquiry was called in the early 2000s into a computer-leasing scandal between the city and MFP Financial Services Ltd. of Mississauga.
Other investigations have already been announced in relation to the Project South allegations. The province’s top police watchdog, Inspector-General of Policing Ryan Teschner, has vowed to hire an outside official to conduct a provincewide review of police corruption. And Ontario’s Law Enforcement Complaints Agency and the office of Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner have also said they will be conducting probes.
Mr. Sewell said the situation at Toronto Police warrants a more focused and urgent inquiry. Mr. Teschner’s work will take years, he suspects – and Toronto’s will be one of 45 services probed.
“You’ve got to have a real focus on Toronto and figure out what went wrong and how to fix it,” he said.
In an e-mail Monday, a spokesperson for Mr. Teschner said his priority “is to begin this province-wide inspection promptly, while ensuring it is carefully designed and comprehensive so that it is effective, independent, and does not interfere with any ongoing criminal investigations or prosecutions.”
“This inspection is intentionally province-wide because effective policing depends on public confidence across the entire system, not just within any single service,” Rima Amri, spokesperson for the Inspectorate of Policing, said.
“The inspection will evaluate police services and police service boards, including the Toronto Police Service and Board, in five defined areas – including screening and vetting, supervision, access to databases, evidence management, and substance abuse and fitness for duty – with the ability to examine additional areas if needed.”
Ontario Privacy Commissioner opens investigation into Project South allegations
Mayor Olivia Chow, who responded to The Globe through a spokesperson, did not address the call for a public inquiry, but expressed support for the Inspector-General’s independent review.
“She has been clear that the review must be thorough, evidence-based, and legally sound to ensure accountability and deliver credible results for the people of Toronto,” press secretary Braman Thillainathan said in an e-mail Monday. “The Mayor will continue to meet with the Chief and the Board Chair to reinforce that rebuilding trust is non-negotiable and that the Inspector General’s recommendations must be implemented promptly.”
Mr. Sewell said a public inquiry must probe not just the specific criminal allegations, but the broader police culture that fostered it, the managers who were in charge of the affected units, and the role of the Toronto Police Services Board in holding the entire system accountable.
“When neither the Board nor senior police service management are interested in enforcing the law or ensuring that officers tell the truth in court, the municipality must step in to ensure accountability, transparency, and proper stewardship of public dollars,” Mr. Sewell said.
In an e-mail, Toronto Police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said that in addition to the existing investigations related to Project South, “the Toronto Police Service is taking internal steps to strengthen investigative standards, supervisory oversight, and accountability measures. There is significant independent scrutiny underway.”
She also stressed that the prosecutions must take precedence, and that any parallel review would “need to be structured carefully to avoid interfering with those proceedings, including by creating materials that could be subject to criminal disclosure. As a result, the timing of any potential public inquiry would be shaped by those practical and legal realities.”
The Toronto Police Services Board did not respond to a request for comment Monday.