In 2013, following his inquiry into the response by the police and the Toronto Police Services Board to the G20 demonstrations Justice Morden recommended that the Board create a comprehensive policy on crowd control. The Board contented itself with policies on Arrangements with RCMP for International Events (February 19, 2013), Mass Detention Centres (July 16, 2015), and Designated Special Events (July 16, 2015). These policies provided little guidance to the police about the principles and priorities governing such important police functions and largely left all aspects of planning and operations up to the Chief of Police.
In 2023, Justice Rouleau in his inquiry into the response to the Freedom Convoy protests and the invocation of the Emergency Measures Act found it necessary to make a similar recommendation.
The Policing Committee of the Law Union of Ontario has presented submissions to the Toronto Police Services Board urging the Board to adopt a principle-based public order policy based on 9 principles:
- The Importance of Safeguarding Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Guaranteed by Section 2(b) and 2(c) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
- Police and Board neutrality.
- The obligation on the Chief of Police to inform and update the Board about policing of protests and demonstrations, including plans, tactics, and ongoing issues.
- Board Review of Crowd Control Tactics and Planning
- Acknowledgement of Legal Restraints on the Use of Police Powers of Arrest and Search
- The Importance of Discretion and Restraint in Handling Protests and Demonstrations
- Board Review of Police Surveillance and Intelligence-Gathering of Demonstrators
- Accountability for Excessive Use of Force; and
- Applicability of the policy to special constables and auxiliary police officers and to private investigator and security firms hired by the TPS to assist in crowd control or the policing of protests and demonstrations.
Link to submissions
Please join the Law Union of Ontario on the evening of May 31st for presentations and lively discussion regarding the trending suppression of dissent against those who are speaking up for Palestine amidst the ongoing atrocities. Since October 2023, we have seen an increase in disciplinary actions against students and workers, as well as the criminalization of protestors who advocate for the liberation of Palestine. We will discuss the various tactics being used to systematically suppress these voices as well as the ways that we can better support those who are targeted.
When: Friday May 31, 7:00 – 8:30 pm (doors open at 6:30)
Where: St. Paul’s on Bloor, 227 Bloor St. East, Toronto ON
Tickets: PWYC, Donations appreciated ($10-$50 suggested) *Donations will go to the Jur-Ed Foundation, a registered charity, to support the educational activities of the Law Union of Ontario, and are eligible for tax deduction.
Register: Eventbrite page
SPEAKERS LIST:
Sima Atri Co-Founder and Co-Director of The Community Justice Collective (CJC)
Dania Majid Co-Founder and President of the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association
Joshua Sealy-Harrington, Assistant Professor at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law
Moderated by Mike Leitold
Law Society of Ontario professionalism and EDI accreditation is pending.
To be followed by the Law Union spring social at the Bishop and Belcher (175 Bloor St. East). All members past and present and LUO allies are welcome.
If you have any questions or concerns or accessibility requests, please email LawUnion50@gmail.com.
The Law Union of Ontario expresses its condemnation of the recent actions of the Law Society of Ontario in punishing over 100 prospective lawyers, most of whom are apparently visible minorities, without any due process and despite the absence of evidence of intentional wrongdoing. This relates to the bar exams administered in November 2021 which were compromised due to a Law Society security breach. The Divisional Court recently invalidated the punitive actions of the Law Society, but the debacle should not have gone that far in the first instance.
As stated in the Law Union’s letter: “The recent decision of the Divisional Court in Mirza et al. v. Law Society of Ontario, 2023 ONSC 6727 (CanLII), <https://canlii.ca/t/k1dzw>exposed some deeply troubling conduct by the Law Society of Ontario. As the regulator of the legal profession, the Law Society ought to be a paragon of justice and fairness. Instead, it railroaded a whole class of potential future lawyers, denied them due process, harshly punished them in the absence of evidence of wrongdoing, tarnished their reputations, and wreaked emotional and financial havoc on them and their families. The Law Union of Ontario urges the Law Society to embrace the Divisional Court decision as an important teaching moment, ask itself some hard questions about what kind of culture within the organization could allow such a debacle to unfold the way it did, and make every effort to remedy the damage it has caused.”
Link to full letter
The Law Union of Ontario condemns the recent attack by Hamas against innocent Israelis, the ongoing attacks by Israel against innocent Gazans, and all expressions of hate including anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab racism, all of which have amplified in the wake of these attacks.
The Law Union supports the rights of all people to freely speak out against human rights abuses and atrocities, and to call out Canada for its foreign policy positions. However, it appears that some prominent voices equate any criticism of Israel’s military policies as constituting anti-Semitism. This is a false equivalency. It would be similarly unfair to label those who have condemned the heinous actions of Hamas as being Islamophobic or anti-Arab.
Regrettably, we have heard of instances where hierarchical power structures have worked to oppress people speaking out against atrocities in Gaza, dismissing such discourse as being anti-Semitic and thereby stifling respectful public discussion on this important issue.
It has been reported (see Toronto Star article) that at least one law school and at least one prominent law firm have recently taken actions to oppress certain speech regarding the ongoing conflict. The LUO, as well as we believe the public at large, expects lawyers and law firms to be the final wall of resistance to attacks on freedom of expression. We are sadly disappointed by the actions of our colleagues in abandoning their responsibility in this regard.
For this reason, the Law Union has signed onto the Open Letter to Legal Community on Pro-Palestine Speech https://forms.gle/nLPi5v15juYWG7p28