Despite fears that police would move aggressively against the Occupy Toronto camp in St. James Park, today’s early morning move by officers to begin clearing out the tents has been markedly slow, measured, and calm. “The most polite assertion of fascism I’ve ever seen,” cracked one protester—and indeed officers have been saying “please” a lot [...]

Tuesday was a busy night for social justice in the city. Ryerson was hosting a discussion as part of their Social Justice Week. Over at Church of the Redeemer there was a panel discussion of Bill C-10, the federal government’s omnibus “tough on crime” bill. Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis were out for Michele Landsberg’s [...]

On the evening of September 24, 1952, $215,000 worth of gold bullion was stolen at Malton Airport. The heist—which, at the time, was the largest gold robbery in Canadian history—involved no threat of violence and no gun play. In fact, no one had even seen stick-up/hold-up men. Of 10 boxes of gold removed from a [...]

Let’s play a little hypothetical game here. Imagine a sunny Friday morning in Toronto, strolling down Adelaide, maybe whistling a jaunty tune, then being stopped on the corner by officers with firearms and tactical gear. Your singing is suspicious, they less-than-tacitly suggest, and they want to see your identification. For your safety, you know. The [...]

When filmmaker Andrew Cividino began shooting his short film We Ate the Children Last in June 2010, he wanted to create a dystopian setting to match the dark narrative. Part way through filming, however, he found himself in the midst of a real police state in downtown Toronto. The film, which premieres this week at [...]

It began with a protest against the police shooting of a young, black man who was a suspected drug dealer and ended with rioting in the streets. Police backed off while youths smashed store windows. Among the root causes were simmering tensions with law enforcement, lack of socio-economic opportunities for youth, and criminal opportunism. Sound like the riots in England this week? This description could also summarize a much smaller incident that occurred here in Toronto two decades ago. Unlike the present situation across the Atlantic, the only flames Toronto saw on May 4, 1992, were those from a stray Molotov cocktail and from the fiery rhetoric spewing from riot participants and observers.

In a live interview with Stephen LeDrew on CP24 at noon today—one of the very few of his mayoralty—Rob Ford addressed some of the issues that have been making headlines recently. Some highlights from their conversation—

WHAT: As the pantheon of street art dedicated to Rob Ford grows in both scope and quality, many artists are tackling not just his mayoralty in general, but his attitudes towards graffiti and art in particular. First there were the "Rob Ford is an Art Terrorist" stencils that popped up around town, then the come-get-us dare, and now the above, from the Toronto Art Crimes unit. A rocky time for law enforcement indeed.

Report for: Executive Committee [PDF]. This grouping includes major entities such as the Toronto Police Service, the TTC, the Toronto Library Board, and the Toronto Zoo Board.

February 5, 1981, 11 p.m. Patrons of four bathhouses in downtown Toronto (The Barracks, The Club, Richmond Street Health Emporium, and Roman Sauna Baths) were surprised by 200 police officers in a series of coordinated raids. Law enforcement officials claimed that the raids were the result of six months of undercover work into alleged prostitution and other “indecent acts” at each establishment. Those inside the baths were subjected to excessive treatment by police, especially when it came to verbal taunts about the sexuality of those assembled at the four bathhouses. The raids marked a turning point for Toronto’s gay community; as the protests that followed indicated, people weren’t willing to endure derogatory treatment deriding their lifestyle from the police or from any others in spheres of influence.

Last Friday as news broke that an officer had been charged with assault in connection with the violent takedown of Dorian Barton on June 26, 2010, the official police twitter feed was sending out photos from a welcome-home ceremony at Pearson Airport for some cops returning from a police mentoring mission in Afghanistan.