TORONTO -- Mayor John Tory says he supports the idea of outfitting TTC officers with body-worn cameras in an effort to provide more accountability when it comes to interactions between employees and members of the public.
At the mayor’s executive committee meeting on Monday, city councillors discussed a staff report on the status of the TTC’s anti-racism strategy.
During the meeting, Tory expressed support for the idea of implementing body-worn cameras for fare inspectors and special constables.
“I would only hope the staff under Mr. Leary’s direction… can come to some conclusions and make some recommendations and take some steps, which could include body-worn cameras,” Tory said.
The mayor noted that while the equipment would be expensive, it could be less costly if the cameras are included as part of the police service’s plan to equip officers with body cameras.
“I’m convinced we could find a way to do that economically, perhaps piggy-backing on some of the investments that will be made at the next meeting of the police board,” Tory said.
“I’m confident that we can do that too because I think that is ultimately an accountability and protection measure for everybody that I think can be valuable.”
The TTC unveiled an anti-racism strategy last summer after the city’s ombudsman found issues with a TTC investigation that cleared two fare enforcement officers of any wrongdoing in connection with a physical altercation with a Black teen on the St. Clair streetcar in 2018.
The ombudsman found that the TTC investigation “fell short” in many ways, including possibly overlooking evidence of unconscious racial bias.
Tory said the peaceful anti-racism protests taking place on Toronto streets in recent weeks show the “hurt and anguish” people are feeling right now.
Tory said he feels confident that TTC CEO Rick Leary and experts who have been tasked with helping the TTC implement its anti-racism strategy will be successful in “changing the culture” at the transit agency.
“The task of changing a culture is not only something that doesn’t happen immediately but it is very hard work because there are things that get entrenched and they are entrenched not because anybody wants them to be but just because they are,” Tory said.
“This is what really leads to what is called systemic racism because it is built in across the system and it is baked in to the system and has to be sort of baked out of the system.”
