Matthew Taub: Toronto has lost confidence in its police leadership

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw speaks about Police HQ about the 93 % percent rise in hate crimes in Toronto since Oct, 7, 2023 and they have attended 989 calls in that time period. Demkiw also spoke about car thefts - 12,000 last year, 34 a day, one every 40 minutes. on Saturday March 18, 2023. Jack Boland/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Photo by Jack Boland /Jack Boland/Toronto Sun

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When someone who spent decades inside a police service starts raising concerns publicly, people pay attention. Former Toronto police homicide inspector Hank Idsinga has done exactly that, and what he has alleged should concern every resident of this city.

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Idsinga has stated publicly that antisemitism exists within the senior ranks of the Toronto Police Service, describing incidents in which officers used antisemitic language toward Jewish colleagues and community members. He has also pointed to anti-Black racism within policing culture and described broader dysfunction at senior levels. More troubling still, he suggested that those same senior figures were involved in decision-making around policing protests that affected Jewish communities, raising serious questions about whether bias may have influenced operational responses.

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If true, that is not a perception problem. It is a leadership problem. And the reaction has been telling. Calls for investigation are growing. When those who know the system best are raising alarms, and the system answers with silence, the problem is no longer isolated. It is leadership. But here is the reality no one can ignore. A police chief cannot investigate himself.

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I filed a formal application with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario against the City of Toronto, the Toronto Police Services Board and Chief Myron Demkiw, alleging systemic enforcement failures affecting Toronto’s Jewish community. The respondents sought to have the case dismissed. The tribunal itself issued a notice of intent to dismiss, requiring me to provide submissions explaining why the application should proceed. I did. The adjudicator accepted those arguments. The case was not dismissed. It has now been allowed to move forward, and we are heading to mediation on May 27.

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That matters. Because it means these concerns have not only been raised publicly, they have been tested procedurally and deemed serious enough to proceed.

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For more than two years, Toronto’s Jewish community has raised alarms about safety, intimidation and inconsistent enforcement. Synagogues have been surrounded by demonstrations. Jewish schools have required heightened security. Neighbourhoods have seen repeated protest activity directed at Jewish institutions. Rhetoric has escalated. Fear has become normalized. And enforcement has too often appeared inconsistent.

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Policing cannot function under selective enforcement. The legitimacy of law enforcement depends on the principle that the same rules apply to everyone. For many Jewish Torontonians, that clarity has been missing.

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I have raised these concerns repeatedly since October 7. I have spoken publicly, documented enforcement patterns and appeared before the Toronto Police Services Board to address these issues directly. What is now being alleged by Idsinga, a veteran insider, aligns with what many in the community have been experiencing. That matters. Because it suggests this is not a series of isolated incidents. It points to something systemic.