Ford government considers arming more special constables but won't say who will get guns
Should Ontario's transit enforcement officers or campus security guards be allowed to carry guns?
That's a question raised by a change the Ford government quietly included in its latest proposed piece of omnibus justice legislation.
Buried in the middle of the Protect Ontario Through Safer Streets and Stronger Communities Act is a change that would allow Solicitor General Michael Kerzner to select groups of special constables who would be allowed to use firearms.
Special constables are a police-adjacent category of officials who work in areas like campus security or transit enforcement. The vast majority carry pepper spray and batons but cannot use firearms.
That could change if the omnibus bill, which is still being debated at Queen's Park, is passed into law.
'If passed, Bill 10 would allow the Solicitor General, through regulations, to permit groups of special constables to carry and use firearms,' a spokesperson for Kerzner's office told Global News.
Story continues below advertisement
Currently, in Ontario, only special constables who work for the Niagara Parks Commission or for an existing police force in another jurisdiction can carry guns. Other special constables do not.
'All special constables must meet mandatory training standards and adhere to a provincial code of conduct,' the spokesperson continued.
The solicitor general's office did not say which special constables it was considering allowing to carry firearms, nor did it say why it was making the move now.
Ken Price, a member of Danforth Families for Safe Communities, which advocates for gun control and reform, said the move was curious — and questioned why the government was considering expanding the number of officials who can carry firearms.
Get daily National news
Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
'Certainly, we would never begrudge — as Danforth families, any of us — would begrudge the police the kinds of resources they need to do their jobs, that's not what this is about,' he said.
'But I think when you're in the area of what special constables (do) and, most of them, it appears today, don't need weapons to carry out their jobs, so what's changed? Why does this need to be an element? When more guns in our minds is not a good idea.'
Danforth Families for Safe Communities was formed in the wake of the 2018 mass shooting on Danforth Avenue in Toronto, which killed two and left 13 injured.
Story continues below advertisement
The proposed change has been rolled out quietly by the province. It wasn't announced at a news conference, nor was it included in a detailed background briefing released when the legislation was tabled.
Sarah Strban, a criminal defence lawyer who read the proposed legislation, said how the move would be received depended entirely on who the solicitor general gave guns to.
'The important thing to remember is that a special constable is a very tightly-controlled category of law enforcement, and it applies to a really wide range of conduct,' she said.
Strban suggested it would be 'quite reasonable' for special constables working with police forces to carry firearms.
'They're involved in investigations and maybe helping with things like arrest and detention, interviewing subjects, executing searches,' she explained.
'On the other hand, you get special constables that are dealing with more community work roles, so special constables work in university settings, in transit, in community housing — sometimes with very vulnerable populations. And there I do have some concern where you're adding more firearms to those situations.'
The special constables who receive firearms will be decided through regulations issued by the solicitor general if the proposed law passes and won't be debated by the legislature.
Ontario Liberal MPP Karen McCrimmon said, given the potentially seismic change, there should be deliberate consultations.
Story continues below advertisement
'Carrying a firearm comes with the authority to use it, and we need to keep that threshold high,' she said in a statement. 'The rigorous training our officers receive keeps both us and them safe. Communities deserve a chance to consult on lowering these standards and taking on more risk.'
The solicitor general's office said it 'worked closely with policing and community safety partners to put forward the proposed changes' in the legislation.
McCrimmon suggested it was a dangerous, short-term measure.
'We need investment in a funded and experienced police sector, not a band-aid solution,' she said.
'Arming special constables with less training than police officers is not a proper solution. This government needs to ensure that anyone authorized to carry a gun is properly trained, which minimizes risk to the public and law enforcement.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
19 minutes ago
- Global News
Prime Minister Carney's G7 invite to Modi sends ‘wrong' message, Liberal MP says
Prime Minister Mark Carney is facing criticism from within his own party for inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the upcoming G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., despite allegations the Modi government orchestrated a campaign of violence in Canada. Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal, who represents a riding in Surrey, B.C. with a large Sikh community, disagrees with Carney and says dozens of his constituents have reached out to him in 'outrage.' 'It is sending the wrong message… that anyone can come into Canada and kill Canadians and they can walk away with impunity.' 1:28 Canada reaffirms RCMP's independence in ongoing assassination probe despite India's invitation to G7 'It's not only the Sikh Canadians I'm hearing from. I'm hearing from a wide range of constituents on this issue.' Story continues below advertisement Last fall, the RCMP accused India of homicide, extortion and violence on Canadian soil. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Former prime minister Justin Trudeau stood up in the House of Commons in September 2023, saying Canada had 'credible evidence' agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. 3:02 Carney asked if he believes Modi was involved in murder of B.C. Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar '[India] has got to be held accountable… and fully cooperate with this investigation,' said Dhaliwal, pointing out that Nijjar lived in the his B.C. riding. New Delhi has long denied any involvement in the killing and accused Trudeau of pursuing a 'political agenda.' Carney defended reaching out to Modi, saying, 'There are certain countries that should be at the table' for G7 discussions and that India has agreed to 'continued law enforcement dialogue.' Story continues below advertisement 1:55 RCMP unveils security operation plans for G7 summit On Saturday, Carney unveiled Canada's 'priorities' for the summit, which will place between June 15 and 17. They include securing partnerships, building energy security, and protecting communities and the world by countering foreign interference and transnational repression. 'The fact that leaders from a number of countries have been invited to [G7] meeting does not and should not detract from the importance of the independent investigation that is ongoing,' Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told journalists Saturday. Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, says the Carney government made the right call giving Modi a seat at the G7 table. 'We're in a different moment when it comes to international relations,' said Nadjibulla. India — the world's fifth largest economy — has been invited to the last six G7 meetings. Nadjibulla says Canada needs to recalibrate its relationships in the Indo-Pacific to reduce its 'overreliance' on the U.S. Story continues below advertisement 'From tariffs to the trade agenda and to the realignment that we're seeing around the world of different powers, I think it's important for Canada to approach diplomacy differently,' she said.
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Russian attacks on Ukrainian city of Kharkiv kill 4
Russian attacks targeting the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv killed at least four people and wounded more than two dozen others on Saturday, officials said, as hopes for peace dimmed further. The first wave on Ukraine's second-largest city was a large Russian drone-and-missile attack in the early hours. It killed at least three people and wounded 21 others, according to local officials. In the afternoon, Russia dropped aerial bombs on the city centre, killing at least one person and wounding five more, Kharkiv's mayor said. The warring sides also accused each other of trying to sabotage a planned prisoner exchange, nearly a week after Kyiv embarrassed the Kremlin with a surprising drone attack on military airfields deep inside Russia. Saturday's barrage — the latest in near daily widescale attacks on Ukraine — included aerial glide bombs that have become part of a fierce Russian onslaught in the all-out war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. Story continues below advertisement Kharkiv residents describe fiery trap As firefighters and emergency workers bustled around attack sites in Kharkiv, residents described the strikes that damaged their homes and nearly took their lives on Saturday morning. Alina Belous said that she had tried to extinguish flames with buckets of water to rescue a young girl trapped inside a burning building who had called out for help. 'We were trying to put it out ourselves with our buckets, together with our neighbours. Then the rescuers arrived and started helping us put out the fire, but there was smoke and they worried that we couldn't stay there. When the ceiling started falling off, they took us out,' she said. Local resident Vadym Ihnachenko said that he thought at first that it was a neighbouring building going up in flames. 'But when we saw sparks coming from the top, we realized it was our building,' he said. 1:51 Russian strikes on Kyiv a response to Ukraine's weekend airfield attacks 'More pressure on Moscow is required' Ukraine's air force said that Russia struck with 215 missiles and drones overnight, and Ukrainian air defences shot down 87 drones and seven missiles. Story continues below advertisement Several other areas in Ukraine were also hit, including the regions of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and the city of Ternopil, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in an X post. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'To put an end to Russia's killing and destruction, more pressure on Moscow is required, as are more steps to strengthen Ukraine,' he said. The Russian defence ministry on Saturday said that its forces carried out a nighttime strike on Ukrainian military targets, including ammunition depots, drone assembly workshops, and weaponry repair stations. There was no comment from Moscow on the reports of casualties in Kharkiv. Kharkiv's mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said that the strikes also damaged 18 apartment buildings and 13 private homes. Terekhov said that it was 'the most powerful attack' on the city since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. 2:25 Russia targets Ukraine with hundreds of drones, missiles in massive attack Children among the wounded Kharkiv's regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said the morning's attacks saw two districts in the city struck with three missiles, five aerial glide bombs and 48 drones. Among the wounded were two children, a baby boy and a 14-year-old girl, he added. Story continues below advertisement Six people are believed to be trapped under the rubble of an industrial facility in Kharkiv's Kyiv district, The Kharkiv prosecutor's office said in a statement on Telegram. Contact with those trapped was lost and rescue attempts have been ongoing since early afternoon, it said, without naming the facility. On Saturday afternoon, Russian aerial bombs struck Kharkiv again, killing at least one person and wounding five others, the mayor said. The morning strikes also wounded two people in the Dnipropetrovsk province further south, according to local Gov. Serhii Lysak. Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry said that its forces shot down 36 Ukrainian drones overnight, over the country's south and west, including near the capital. Drone debris wounded two civilians in the suburbs of Moscow, local Gov. Andrei Vorobyov reported. No breakthrough on a peace deal On Friday, Russia struck six Ukrainian territories, killing at least six people and wounding about 80. Among the dead were three emergency responders in Kyiv, one person in Lutsk and two people in Chernihiv. A U.S.-led diplomatic push for a settlement has brought two rounds of direct peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine, though the negotiations delivered no significant breakthroughs. But both sides remain far apart on their terms for an end to the fighting. Story continues below advertisement Prisoner swap called into question Later on Saturday, Russia and Ukraine each accused the other of endangering plans to swap 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action, agreed upon during direct talks in Istanbul on Monday that otherwise made no progress towards ending the war. Vladimir Medinsky, a Putin aide who led the Russian delegation, said that Kyiv called a last-minute halt to an imminent swap. In a Telegram post, Medinsky said that refrigerated trucks carrying more than 1,200 bodies of Ukrainian troops from Russia had already reached the agreed exchange site at the border when the news came. In response, Ukraine said Russia was playing 'dirty games' and manipulating facts. According to the main Ukrainian authority dealing with such swaps, no date had been set for repatriating the bodies. In a statement Saturday, the agency also accused Russia of submitting lists of prisoners of war for repatriation that didn't correspond to agreements reached on Monday. Story continues below advertisement It wasn't immediately possible to reconcile the conflicting claims. New video of airfield drone attack Ukraine's security service on Saturday released a video said to show its audacious attack on Russian air fields Sunday in which Kyiv said that 41 Russian military aircraft was destroyed. The video shows the flight path of one explosive-laden first person view, or FPV, drone – from takeoff from the roof of a modular building to the Belaya air field — where it appears to strike a Russian strategic bomber. Other aircraft are seen engulfed in flames, apparently from previous hits in Ukraine's 'Operation Spiderweb.' A previous round of negotiations in Istanbul, the first time Russian and Ukrainian negotiators sat at the same table since the early weeks of the full-scale invasion, led to 1,000 prisoners on both sides being exchanged. 0:28 Ukraine claims drone strike on Russian air bases as both sides prepare for peace talks –with files from The Associated Press' Joanna Kozlowska Story continues below advertisement
Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
Canadians facing device searches and detainment is ‘not a pattern,' U.S. ambassador says
The American ambassador to Canada is pushing back on Ottawa's travel advice, saying his country doesn't search phones at the border and arguing some Americans travelling here are having a tough time. 'We welcome Canadians to come in and invest, to spend their hard-earned Canadian dollars at U.S. businesses,' U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra told The Canadian Press in an interview Friday. 'If a Canadian has had a disappointing experience coming into the United States, I'm not denying that it happened, but I'm saying it's an isolated event and it is not a pattern.' In April, Ottawa updated its advice to Canadians travelling to the United States to warn them about the possibility they might be detained if denied entry. 'Expect scrutiny at ports of entry, including of electronic devices,' reads the new guidance. Story continues below advertisement There have been reports of Canadians facing intensified scrutiny at the border, having phones searched and, in some cases, being detained. Hoekstra insisted concerns about device searches are not grounded in reality. 'Coming to the U.S., that's a decision for the Canadians to make. Searching devices and all of that is not a well-founded fear. We don't do that. America is a welcoming place,' he said. He said some Americans have expressed similar concerns about Canada. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I've heard that from Americans coming into Canada as well, OK? Saying, 'You know, we've not received a warm reception when we've gotten to Canadian customs,'' he said. When asked if these reports from American travellers involve arbitrary phone searches and lengthy detainment, Hoekstra said there are consular cases of Americans complaining to the embassy about the Canada Border Services Agency. 'We've said, 'OK this may have been an isolated event. There may have been a Canadian border person who was having a bad day, and thought they'd take it out on, you know, somebody across the border,'' he said. Story continues below advertisement In a statement, the CBSA said its officers follow a code of conduct and the federal ethics code that both require them to treat everyone equally, and the agency investigates any complaints of mistreatment. 'Employees are expected to conduct themselves in a way that upholds the values of integrity, respect and professionalism at all times,' wrote spokeswoman Karine Martel. 'Treating people with respect, dignity and fairness is fundamental to our border services officers' relationship with the public and a key part of this is serving all travellers in a non-discriminatory way.' Hoekstra said travel to the U.S. is up to individuals. 'If you decide that you're not going to come down or whatever, that's your decision and you're missing an opportunity. There are great things to see in America,' Hoekstra said. He also noted the case of CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour, who recently said she prepared to visit the U.S. last month as if she was 'going to North Korea' — with a 'burner phone' that didn't carry any personal information — only to experience a warm welcome. 'It's like, (let's) get past the rhetoric and let's look at the real experiences that people are having here,' Hoekstra said. Airlines have been cutting flights between Canada and the U.S. due to a slump in demand, and Flight Centre Travel Group Canada reported a nearly 40 per cent drop in flights between the two countries year-over-year in February. Story continues below advertisement A survey in early May conducted by Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies found 52 per cent of respondents feel that 'it is no longer safe for all Canadians travelling to the United States,' with 29 per cent disagreeing and 19 per cent saying they were unsure. Roughly the same proportion said they personally feel unwelcome in the U.S. LGBTQ2 groups have opted against attending World Pride events in Washington and United Nations events in New York, citing scrutiny at the border as the Trump administration scales back protections for transgender and non-binary people.
