Submissions to Government

The Ministry of the Solicitor General has requested public and stakeholder input on various proposed regulations made under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019.

The Ministry of the Solicitor General has requested public and stakeholder input on four proposed regulations under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019 regarding special constables.

The Ministry of the Solicitor General has requested public and stakeholder input on proposed amendments to Ontario Regulation 926/90 concerning equipment and the use of force by police services.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Ministry of the Solicitor General’s proposed amendments to Regulation 778 related to segregation, inmate discipline and misconduct, and mandatory training for correctional officers.

My team and I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the Ministry of the Solicitor General’s three proposed changes to Ontario Regulation 778.

In addressing the changes proposed by Bill 57, I will devote most of my comments to those amendments that affect the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario, and the Ombudsman Act. Most notable among these are amendments that will expand the mandate of this office into areas that are presently within the mandate of my fellow Officers of the Legislature, the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth (Child Advocate) and the French Language Services Commissioner.

The Ontario Ombudsman has a long history of independently and impartially resolving and investigating concerns about Ontario’s provincial correctional facilities. Of the more than 21,000 complaints we receive each year, close to 4,000 are about correctional facilities. In addition to resolving countless individual matters, my Office has actively monitored and, when necessary, investigated serious systemic issues within the correctional system.

Since 1974, there have been dozens of cases in which the use of force by police in Ontario – especially the use of lethal force on people in crisis – has raised profound questions about policing standards, training and accountability. As a result, there have been more than a dozen reviews and numerous recommendations for reform. Despite incremental improvements through the years, Ontario’s police oversight system has continued to attract criticism and undermine public confidence in policing. 

Since 1974, police oversight in Ontario has been the subject of more than a dozen reviews, generating hundreds of recommendations for reform. In response, successive governments have introduced legislative amendments aimed at enhancing independent oversight of police. However, finding the right balance between effective policing and public accountability has proven elusive. Today, Ontario’s oversight system continues to attract criticism that threatens to undermine public confidence in policing.

No matter what you call it – segregation, solitary confinement, isolation, or separation – the practice of confining inmates to a cell, alone, for 22 hours or more a day for prolonged periods has increasingly come under fire.

Whatever label you choose – street checks, community contacts, or carding  – the practice of police officers arbitrarily stopping individuals on the street, requesting personal identification and information, and maintaining a record of the encounter for possible future use, has increasingly come under scrutiny.