Ontario government call for Toronto police to crack down on protests puts free expression at risk: expert

An expert in free expression feels Ontario’s solicitor general is attempting to pressure Toronto police to change how they handle protests for political reasons.

This comes after Solicitor General Michael Kerzner issued a letter to the Toronto Police Service (TPS) on Dec. 30, calling out what he described as a lack of enforcement for hate, intimidation and harassment-motivated offences at protests in the city.

But James Turk, director of the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University, is worried about Kerzner’s motivations.

“It seems to me that the solicitor general is trying to intervene in how the police work for political reasons,” he told CBC Toronto.

Since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza, Toronto police have attended more than 800 demonstrations related to the conflict, according to TPS spokesperson Stephanie Sayer.

Officers have also made almost 500 arrests, she said, and laid more than 1,000 criminal charges related to protests and hate crimes during that time.

But calls for stricter laws around protests have also increased, playing a part in city council’s decision to introduce a “bubble zone” bylaw last year that restricts protests within 50 metres of schools and places of worship under certain circumstances.

Kerzner’s letter aligns with those calls, highlighting a pro-Palestinian protest at the Toronto Eaton Centre on Boxing Day, as well as ongoing marches in predominantly Jewish neighbourhoods near Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue W.

Residents fearful, anxious: Kerzner

“These incidents have left many residents living in a state of heightened fear and anxiety, concerned about a lack of visible response and feeling unable to move freely and safely in public spaces,” he wrote.

CBC Toronto emailed Kerzner's office requesting a response to criticism of the letter. Spokesperson Saddam Khussain wrote back: "The letter stands as the statement."

But Turk says it’s not as simple as police making more arrests and laying more charges.

“Our courts have been very clear that our democracy depends on ongoing public discourse about what's legitimate and what's not legitimate in a society,” he said. “There's just a lot of things that people don't like, they may find offensive or hateful, that are perfectly legal in a democratic society.”

It’s not the job of police to shut those things down, nor the province’s to urge them to do so, Turk said.

Bashar Al-Shawwa, a Palestinian human rights activist that moved to Canada in 2024, echoed those sentiments.

“Any violation or threat to public safety, whether against individuals or groups, must not be accepted. This is clear, “ he told CBC Toronto. “At the same time, it's equally unacceptable to frame the expression of opinion as a security threat.”

The political framing of Kerzner’s letter is dangerous, Al-Shawwa said.

Meanwhile, some in the Jewish community feel many of the protests have gone too far and something needs to be done.

Josh Landau, director of government relations for Ontario at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) told CBC Toronto his community is frustrated that acts of hate and calls for violence have been allowed to spread without consequences.

“We welcome the solicitor general's clear and forceful message that hate, intimidation, harassment must be met with firm and visible enforcement,” he said.

Peaceful assembly is a Charter right

Coun. James Pasternak (York Centre) has also been a vocal critic of ongoing protests.

“This is into its third year now, of these mobs on the streets of Toronto. De-escalation has not worked, strategic ambivalence has not worked, constructive engagement has not worked. So the time has come where you really need to push,” Pasternak told CBC Toronto.

But the protests aren’t illegal, Turk clarified.

Peaceful assembly is a protected right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, he said, noting that police can and do act on illegal activities that occur at these demonstrations.

Some of the debate focuses on phrases like “globalize the intifada" and "from the river to the sea," with Pasternak arguing they should be banned and considered hate speech.

In Canada, these phrases are not illegal, unless they're used in a context that makes clear they are part of an explicit call for violence or incitement of hatred against an identifiable group, Turk said.

While he acknowledged they often cause frustration and anxiety, he said disruptive but peaceful protests are necessary in a democracy.

“If those objections are successful, then we're going down a road to a more authoritarian type of society,” Turk said.