WATCH — TTC blames 12-year-old boys for jokes about its new POO crew

CBC

24-07-2025

⭐️HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW⭐️
The Toronto Transit Commission has revealed a new name for its fare inspectors.
They are now called Provincial Offences Officers.
People on social media were quick to point out that the acronym for the new name is POO.
In response, a TTC spokesperson compared the commenters to 'snickering' 12-year-old boys.
CBC Kids News asked kids what they think of the comparison.
Hear more from both sides and have your say in the poll below. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Transit fare inspectors in Toronto, Ontario, just got a new name, and some people are left wondering what they were thinking.
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) renamed fare inspectors on July 20. They are now called Provincial Offences Officers.
The name comes from a document from the 1990s, known as the Provincial Offences Act.
While that might not seem like a big deal, some on social media pointed out that the new name has a hilariously unfortunate acronym: POO.
A TTC spokesperson clapped back on X, comparing the critics to 'snickering, puerile 12-year-old boys.'
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, puerile means childish and silly.
CBC Kids News talked to some boys about having to take the blame.
'It's kinda their problem,' said 11-year-old Arian Alimohamadi in Vaughan, Ontario.
The TTC told us they didn't mean to point the finger at boys, specifically.
How did 12-year-old boys get pulled into this?
On July 21, Global News reporter Matthew Bingley posted on X that he saw POOs on the street, uploading a photo of the new officers working.
He questioned how the name was chosen.
An unnamed TTC spokesperson replied to the post, comparing the criticism to 'snickering, puerile 12-year-old boys.'
Press play to hear what kids had to say about the TTC's jab on X. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
The TTC's comment prompted a reaction on X.
One user posted: 'Yikes who thought this post was a good idea.'
Another chimed in, underlining the 12-year-old comment saying, 'Damn all the 12-year-old boys are ratioing you.'
In fact, X, and several other social media platforms don't allow kids under 13 to join or post on their site.
TTC says immaturity was the actual target
CBC Kids News reached out to the TTC for an interview.
Their media office responded in an email that the comment was being misrepresented.
It said the goal of the X comment was to call out immaturity.
'Our comment was in response to adults who think this is a laughing matter in a manner that a child might snicker at hearing a rude word,' the written statement said.
The TTC shared this image on X. Some people on social media were quick to make jokes about the name, with one replying 'POO?' to the post. (Image credit: TTCHelps/X)
According to the email, fare evasion is a 'serious issue' that the officers help put a stop to, and that not paying fares costs the TTC $140 million a year.
Kids 12 and under don't contribute to the fare evasion problem, since they ride for free.
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