Ontario legislation could put police back in schools in Ottawa and across Ontario
Four years after a controversial police-in-schools program was cancelled in Ottawa, the province is introducing legislation that will require school boards to implement a program if it is available.
The Ottawa Police Service cancelled the SRO program in June 2021 after the city's largest school board decided to drop the 20-year-old program and publicly apologize for harm to marginalized students.
About a week after the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board cancelled the program, then-police chief Peter Sloly said since the OCDSB accounted for about half of the SRO program, police had decided to drop the program at all four Ottawa school boards and reinvest the resources.
The proposed legislation announced May 29 may help 'rebuild capacity,' said OPS in a statement.
School resource officer (SRO) programs will be implemented if local police have one, to take effect in the next school year, according to the province.
OPS said it has developed a specialized 'community youth unit,' launched in January, which currently includes four officers, with a proposal to add one additional officer per police district.
'These will not be new positions. The additions will reactivate existing roles that have remained vacant since 2021, when the previous SRO program was suspended.'
OPS is not reintroducing the former SRO program in name, but it has fully integrated many of its most effective elements into the new delivery model, said the statement.
'We recognize that some aspects of the former model — such as consistent and timely support during school-related incidents — were highly valued. While these elements are part of our long-term vision, current staffing limitations prevent us from fully realizing that level of coverage at this time. That said, the proposed provincial legislation may help accelerate our ability to rebuild capacity and restore more consistent service across Ottawa's schools.'
The decision to drop the SRO program at the OCDSB in 2021 came after months of controversy. Sloly argued that while some students distrust police, the SRO program is part of the solution to improve relationships and fight systemic racism. But a report from the OCDSB's equity and human rights office said the program had not been critically examined for its impact on Indigenous, racialized and minoritized students.
When the SRO program was cancelled, police were only permitted in OCDSB schools under certain circumstances, such as investigating a crime, responding to a safety concern or in response to an invitation from a school or the school board.
In May 2023, Ontario Premier Doug Ford weighed in after an invitation to an Ottawa police officer to attend a 'community helpers day' event at a Stittsville elementary school was rescinded if the officer wore her police uniform.
'This is a disturbing trend that needs to stop,' Ford tweeted, calling on OCDSB to immediately reverse the policy.
OPS introduced its new youth strategy in 2024, which guided the development of the community school engagement team launched in January. Created in collaboration with all four school boards, the program is delivered by Community Youth Unit officers and is designed to provide consistent, relationship-based support to schools, said OPS.
'However, participation is voluntary and based on each school board's decision to access our services. Should the proposed legislation pass, it may encourage greater uptake by supporting school boards in engaging with police services in a structured and transparent way.'
In June 2023, OCDSB Trustee Donna Blackburn attempted to introduce a motion to reopen discussions with OPS about establishing standards of practice that would allow for police support in schools. The matter was never debated on a point of order.
'I believe it's a positive development,' said Blackburn of the province's May 29 announcement. 'It's just sad that we were put in a position where (Education Minister) Paul Calandra was forced to say it.'
Blackburn signalled her intent to bring the matter back in another motion that had been scheduled for discussion on May 20, but has since been rescheduled to June.
Cancelling the SRO program in 2021 'not only affected the safety of staff and students at the OCDSB, we affected the safety of staff and students at the other three school boards,' said Blackburn in an interview.
She believes trustees may be open to discussing the matter again.
'We have seven new trustees since the OCDSB voted to get rid of the program,' said Blackburn. 'My motion gives all of us the opportunity to demonstrate we understand the importance of the role police can play in keeping school communities safe.'
Blackburn said in one recent incident, she was asked by the parent council at a Barrhaven school whether they could invite police to a school barbecue.
'I agreed that if there was any blowback to anyone, I would take responsibility for it. Thankfully, the police presence was a huge success and there were no negative repercussions whatsoever,' she said.
'We need to have a very clear message to the system if a school community wants the OPS to come to a barbecue, they can come in uniform, and they can come in a cruiser. If school communities don't want police doing that, then don't do that.'
But fellow trustee Nili Kaplan-Myrth said it's inappropriate for the Ministry of Education to centrally make a decision about police in schools.
'The work that was done in 2021 to end the SRO program and remove police from schools was very important to address the past and present discrimination and bias by police in interactions with Black and Indigenous and LGBTQIA, by women and girls who report violence and sexual harassment, by people with mental illnesses and disabilities and other marginalized groups in our community,' she said.
Trustees have a responsibility as elected representatives to advocate for the community, said Kaplan-Myrth.
'Vulnerable populations in Ottawa have made it crystal clear that, from an equity and social justice lens, cancelling the SRO program was the right thing to do. That doesn't mean that the OCDSB has no relationship with the Ottawa Police. We've been working with them in other ways. There's still a lot of work to be done to establish trust.'
SROs in schools are part of a broad proposed legislation that would give the minister of education more power to put schools under supervision.
The OCDSB is under financial investigation by the province.
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OPS said it has developed a specialized 'community youth unit,' launched in January, which currently includes four officers, with a proposal to add one additional officer per police district. 'These will not be new positions. The additions will reactivate existing roles that have remained vacant since 2021, when the previous SRO program was suspended.' OPS is not reintroducing the former SRO program in name, but it has fully integrated many of its most effective elements into the new delivery model, said the statement. 'We recognize that some aspects of the former model — such as consistent and timely support during school-related incidents — were highly valued. While these elements are part of our long-term vision, current staffing limitations prevent us from fully realizing that level of coverage at this time. That said, the proposed provincial legislation may help accelerate our ability to rebuild capacity and restore more consistent service across Ottawa's schools.' The decision to drop the SRO program at the OCDSB in 2021 came after months of controversy. Sloly argued that while some students distrust police, the SRO program is part of the solution to improve relationships and fight systemic racism. But a report from the OCDSB's equity and human rights office said the program had not been critically examined for its impact on Indigenous, racialized and minoritized students. When the SRO program was cancelled, police were only permitted in OCDSB schools under certain circumstances, such as investigating a crime, responding to a safety concern or in response to an invitation from a school or the school board. In May 2023, Ontario Premier Doug Ford weighed in after an invitation to an Ottawa police officer to attend a 'community helpers day' event at a Stittsville elementary school was rescinded if the officer wore her police uniform. 'This is a disturbing trend that needs to stop,' Ford tweeted, calling on OCDSB to immediately reverse the policy. OPS introduced its new youth strategy in 2024, which guided the development of the community school engagement team launched in January. Created in collaboration with all four school boards, the program is delivered by Community Youth Unit officers and is designed to provide consistent, relationship-based support to schools, said OPS. 'However, participation is voluntary and based on each school board's decision to access our services. Should the proposed legislation pass, it may encourage greater uptake by supporting school boards in engaging with police services in a structured and transparent way.' In June 2023, OCDSB Trustee Donna Blackburn attempted to introduce a motion to reopen discussions with OPS about establishing standards of practice that would allow for police support in schools. The matter was never debated on a point of order. 'I believe it's a positive development,' said Blackburn of the province's May 29 announcement. 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'I agreed that if there was any blowback to anyone, I would take responsibility for it. Thankfully, the police presence was a huge success and there were no negative repercussions whatsoever,' she said. 'We need to have a very clear message to the system if a school community wants the OPS to come to a barbecue, they can come in uniform, and they can come in a cruiser. If school communities don't want police doing that, then don't do that.' But fellow trustee Nili Kaplan-Myrth said it's inappropriate for the Ministry of Education to centrally make a decision about police in schools. 'The work that was done in 2021 to end the SRO program and remove police from schools was very important to address the past and present discrimination and bias by police in interactions with Black and Indigenous and LGBTQIA, by women and girls who report violence and sexual harassment, by people with mental illnesses and disabilities and other marginalized groups in our community,' she said. Trustees have a responsibility as elected representatives to advocate for the community, said Kaplan-Myrth. 'Vulnerable populations in Ottawa have made it crystal clear that, from an equity and social justice lens, cancelling the SRO program was the right thing to do. That doesn't mean that the OCDSB has no relationship with the Ottawa Police. We've been working with them in other ways. There's still a lot of work to be done to establish trust.' SROs in schools are part of a broad proposed legislation that would give the minister of education more power to put schools under supervision. The OCDSB is under financial investigation by the province. 'It's incumbent on us to pass this motion to demonstrate to the Ministry that the OCDSB can make good, common-sense decisions, particularly when we are being closely monitored,' said Blackburn.
