Ontario's provincial Conservative government wants to extend the powers of TTC special constables, enabling them to stop, detain, and arrest people on suspicion of public drug use, and to seize, remove, or destroy potential evidence.

Punishment includes a fine of up to $10,000 or six months in jail. 

Special constables also want tasers to go along with these new powers.

Why it matters

Arresting people on suspicion of public drug use is illegal, inhumane, and ineffective. The combination will be harmful to vulnerable and unhoused people in Willowdale and across the city, especially on the heels of the Ford government's decision in 2025 to ban harm reduction facilities across the province.

The move was disastrous for Toronto. By January of 2026, overdoses had jumped by almost 50 per cent over the previous year. It was also predictable, given that we know regulated supply and supervised consumption sites support community safety, reduce hospital visits and emergency calls, and keep people alive.

In this case, we are not being presented with health data that documents any long or lasting social benefits from arresting people who use drugs. Nor have we, it seems, sufficiently examined the potential effects of tasering of people who may be using drugs, or experiencing an unrelated medical episode.  Or the legal implications of either.

Who's responsible? 

Toronto Councillor Lily Cheng is a member of the Toronto Police Board, which would have to vote to allow this action. Willowdale MPP Stan Cho  and Premier Doug Ford  drafted and introduced the inhumane, illegal policy. Tell all of them that Toronto wants this legislation revoked, and expects real solutions to poverty, homelessness, and addiction.

March 2026