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Hamilton Spectator
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Should police officers be in Ontario schools? Province wants to revive controversial program with new legislation but not everyone agrees
The Ontario government plans to require public school boards to implement school resource officer programs in areas where they are offered by local police services, beginning in the 2025-26 school year. The proposal is part of the Supporting Children and Students Act, introduced May 29, which the Ministry of Education says aims to strengthen government oversight, accountability and transparency in public school boards, post-secondary education and children's aid societies. The legislation would also give the education minister enhanced powers to more easily put school boards under provincial supervision. School resource officers (SRO) have been a source of debate at school boards across the province, with critics raising concerns about negative impacts on racialized and marginalized students. In a news release , Police Association of Ontario president Mark Baxter said the organization endorses the government's initiative and looks forward to seeing the SRO program implemented, where available, at school boards provincewide. 'The school resource officer program plays a crucial role in fostering trust, safety and mentorship within our schools. Having experienced the positive influence of an SRO in my own life, I understand how impactful these programs can be for young people,' Baxter said. Ontario's largest educator union disagrees. Calling it an 'egregious overreach' the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) issued a statement opposing the plan. 'ETFO strongly opposes the Ford government's latest legislative proposal that grants the Minister of Education additional powers to more easily place elected school boards under supervision and that forces the presence of police officers in schools,' the union stated. ETFO described the bill as 'authoritarianism cloaked in the language of accountability,' saying the government is attempting to deflect blame, suppress dissenting voices and tighten political control over the public education system. The union added the proposed changes would transfer power from democratically elected trustees to Queen's Park, and would compel boards to reintroduce SRO programs 'despite their well-documented harm, particularly to Black, Indigenous, and other racialized students.' The Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association also criticized the proposal, calling it an attempt to erode local decision-making and divert attention from broader issues in the education system. 'Mandating school resource officers (SROs) is yet another move that undermines local decision-making,' the union said in a statement. 'Over the last decade, many school boards have chosen to end SRO programs after listening to experts and the voices of students, particularly those from Indigenous, Black and other equity-deserving groups who often felt surveilled and unsafe by the presence of police in schools.' The union added that mandating the return of police to schools sends the message that marginalized voices do not matter and ignores evidence that these programs have failed to foster trust between police and students. SRO programs have faced scrutiny from critics provincewide. The Hamilton-Wentworth School Board (HWDSB), for example, scrapped its police liaison program by a 7-3 trustee vote in 2020. Alex Johnstone, HWDSB chair at the time, said the program made some students feel unsafe — even if most students were indifferent to the police presence. 'It is incumbent upon us to have a duty to act to ensure that we have a safe and supportive school for all students. 'Most students' is not good enough,' Johnstone said in 2020. The Toronto District School Board voted to end its SRO program in 2017 following community consultation that found a regular armed police presence in schools was particularly harmful to vulnerable students. The proposed legislation would also mandate public disclosure of expense claims made by school trustees and other key personnel, requiring school boards to post expenses to a public-facing website. The move follows a number of high-profile expense controversies at Ontario boards. Last fall, a Brantford-area Catholic school board garnered headlines after it spent $145,000 to send four trustees to Italy to buy pricey art for schools. A trustee implicated in the scandal later said they 'deeply regret the trip' and vowed to remedy the situation. A portion from each trustee's biweekly honorarium payment is being deducted to repay the trip expenses, the Hamilton Spectator reported last month. The province proposes requiring school boards to implement School Resource Officer (SRO) programs where they are offered by local police services starting in the next school year. Disclaimer: Reader survey results are not scientific. As the informal findings of a survey presented to the readers of this site, they reflect the opinions of those who have chosen to participate. The survey is available online to anyone interested in taking it. This poll does not restrict the number of votes each person can cast. — With files from Metroland, the Hamilton Spectator and the Toronto Star Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CBC
25-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Canada Votes: Bail reform complex issue despite campaign slogans, says criminal lawyer
Social Sharing "Crime and lack of punishment for offenders ... 'catch and release.'" When CBC Windsor asked about the issues on your minds this federal election, that was one answer from a Windsor West voter. It's a sentiment shared by others. Other respondents to the survey identified "unsafe streets" and "freedom for criminals" as their biggest neighbourhood issues that will influence their vote. "I'm not surprised it's an election issue," said Jordan Gold, principal partner of Gold Law, a criminal defence law firm based in Toronto. "It's an easy talking point." "Not many potential voters are going to [say], 'Well, more people should be getting bail and not kept in jail.' It's very easy to get people emotional and excited about the prospect of being able to reduce crime. Everybody wants crime to be reduced." Gold has written articles on the subject for his firm's website. Last month, he dissected Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre's public statements on bail reform — particularly the slogan "Jail, Not Bail," and Poilievre's claim that he would end "automatic bail." "If the notion is that certain people are getting bail without a bail hearing... That is just not something that happens. There is no such thing as 'automatic bail,' and there never has been," Gold told CBC Windsor. Provincial governments and police associations have been calling upon the federal government to re-examine and revise the bail system. The Police Association of Ontario (PAO), the Ontario Provincial Police Association (OPPA) and the Toronto Police Association (TPA) called for reform in 2024, after officers were caught in a shooting between two groups while doing bail compliance checks. 'Effective bail reform must strike a balance between public safety and the rights of the accused," the associations said in a statement. "The public expects that in the name of public safety, violent and repeat offenders will not be released on bail unless there is a compelling reason and a sensible plan to ensure that they are not at risk of reoffending while awaiting trial." Natalie Delia, a criminology professor at the University of Windsor, acknowledges there's a public safety concern that must be balanced against individual rights in a free society. "Whenever you have people that aren't in jail or prison, crime of some sort is going to happen. The people that are most likely to commit those crimes happen to also be people who have been arrested for crimes," Delia told CBC Windsor. "But that doesn't mean that we can pro-actively put them all in jail or prison — although that would 'fix' the problem." For Delia, debate on denial of bail inevitably involves the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "What I'm saying is completely not controversial: In order to be incarcerated, you should have been convicted of a crime, right?" Both the Liberals and the Conservatives mention changes to the bail system in their policy platforms. The Liberals promise they'll make bail laws stricter for violent offences and organized crime. Those charged with home invasion or human trafficking, for example, will be subject to "reverse onus" — meaning it's the responsibility of the accused to prove to the court they're not a danger to public safety. The Conservatives promise they'll repeal Bill C-75 — the 2019 legislation that sought to "modernize and streamline" the bail system. Meant to reflect Supreme Court of Canada decisions on Charter rights, Bill C-75 codifies a "principle of restraint" to ensure that release at the earliest opportunity is favoured over detention. According to the Tories, this has allowed "rampant criminals" to "go free within hours of their arrest." Other parties have varying degrees of engagement with the issue. The federal NDP does not mention bail reform in its platform. Neither does the Green Party of Canada. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the People's Party of Canada blamed the Liberal government's "insane woke ideology" for Bill C-75, and said the party's position is to repeal the law and replace it with "a much more stringent bail regime." But Gold says he believes what's being lost in the slogans is the other side of the debate: That people accused of a crime are presumed innocent and have a right to due process. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that when you are charged, you have a right to a trial within a reasonable time, and bail courts must first consider the least restrictive options for your release. "[People] get an opportunity to have a judge or justice of the peace decide whether it is proper to release them or detain them," Gold told CBC Windsor. "There are robust and complex laws in place to determine who can be released on bail and who should be detained pending trial." Gold said he's aware there are many situations where detention is needed due to the risk to the public or risk that someone will flee. But he says the issue is nuanced, and can't be understood with simple slogans. Voters, he says, need to educate themselves on the issue and not rely on "assumptions and misconceptions." "The notion that we can punish offenders by jailing them before we know whether they're offenders — that's not what bail is about," Gold said. Delia says she feels it's important to recognize that the justice system was built on generations of decisions trying to be responsible and equitable. "We have faculties of law, we have law programs, we have whole processes for sentencing and for training judges... Canada is a safe place to live," Delia said.
