Toronto police spent $19.5M on response to Israel-Gaza war protests last year: report

Rochelle Raveendran · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 04, 2025 11:40 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Toronto constabulary spent $19.5 cardinal successful 2024 connected policing demonstrations and "proactive engagement" with Jewish and Muslim communities amid the Israel-Gaza war, according to a caller report. 

The report, written by Chief Myron Demkiw, says officers responded to over 2,000 unplanned events past twelvemonth — much than fractional of which were related to Project Resolute, the service's word for policing protests and expanding their beingness among targeted communities aft the Oct. 7 attack connected Israel and the resulting warfare successful Gaza.

A spokesperson for Toronto constabulary said officers person conducted much than 60,000 assemblage visits since October 7, 2023 but would not supply circumstantial examples.

Eighty-seven per cent of these visits were to places of worship, followed by time schools astatine 12 per cent, and attendance astatine "festivals, events, and different places of significance," Stephanie Sayer said successful an email connected Friday. 

"This heightened visibility and beingness successful communities crossed the metropolis aims to heighten assemblage information and supply residents with a greater consciousness of security," she said. 

In Demkiw's report, which volition beryllium presented astatine a Toronto constabulary committee gathering connected April 10, helium wrote the astir $20 cardinal fig includes $8 cardinal successful premium wage costs. These costs hap erstwhile officers enactment beyond their displacement oregon are required to enactment further shifts. 

Demkiw said this reliance connected premium wage happened due to the fact that little officers were disposable to respond to unplanned events, owed to redeployment of officers to different units and changes successful the constabulary scheduling model,  

Police had besides "dedicated important on-duty resources to [Project Resolute], resulting successful premium wage expenses successful units experiencing cascading impacts owed to staffing shortages from this reallocation," Demkiw wrote. 

Hate crimes spiked successful Toronto past year

In June, constabulary said reports of hatred incidents had spiked 64 per cent successful Toronto since the Israel-Hamas warfare began successful October 2023. 

More than fractional of the reported hatred crimes targeted Jewish people, constabulary said astatine the time. This was followed by, successful order, incidents against the 2SLGBTQ+ community, Black and Muslim communities. Police also expressed interest that Islamophobic incidents are being importantly underreported. 

Many of the hatred crimes person progressive graffiti, threats and assaults —  often at synagogues and mosques — but see a Jewish girls schoolhouse that was changeable astatine 3 times successful 2024 and suspected arson astatine a Jewish-owned deli. 

After the Oct. 7 attack, police said they instantly accrued patrols successful Jewish communities successful the city, arsenic good arsenic taste centres, synagogues, mosques, schools and different places of worship. 

They besides established a bid centre successful a predominantly Jewish neighbourhood and made regular check-ins with synagogues and mosques successful the city, constabulary said successful June. 

But Toronto constabulary person been criticized for their policing aft the warfare broke out, with pro-Palestinian demonstrators accusing officers of constabulary brutality aft respective radical were arrested astatine a protestation successful March 2024. 

In response, lawman main Lauren Pogue said demonstrators had go progressively aggressive.

"We respect the close to assembly and to expression, but it's important to recognize these rights are not limitless," she said astatine the time. 

"I'm besides present to archer radical that if they're going to interruption the law, they're going to battle our constabulary officers oregon battle our constabulary forces, determination volition beryllium consequences, and they volition beryllium arrested."

WATCH | Pro-Palestinian protestors person accused Toronto constabulary of constabulary brutality:

Last December, demonstrators released a video appearing to amusement a Toronto constabulary serviceman kneeling connected a man's cervix during a pro-Palestinian protest, though constabulary said the maneuver was not used. 

Activists besides criticized the constabulary effect aft an Indigo store connected Bay and Bloor streets was vandalized by pro-Palestinian protestors successful November 2023.

The concatenation has been the people of a nationalist boycott campaign, which protestors accidental is due to Indigo CEO Heather Reisman's patronage of a foundation that gives scholarships to Israeli Defence Forces veterans. 

While Jewish groups called the vandalism an antisemitic onslaught — due to the fact that Reisman is Jewish — activists said that constabulary took excessive steps portion arresting the protestors, specified as raiding homes successful the mediate of the nighttime and ransacking their apartments. 

Police person said officers conducted "judicially authorized" hunt warrants arsenic portion of their investigation. Charges person since been dropped for 7 of the 11 radical who were initially charged successful the vandalism.