July 2020 Virtual Town Halls

The Board would like to thank everyone who expressed interest in participating in the virtual Town Hall meeting. We received interest from hundreds of members of the public who wished to speak at the Town Hall meeting originally scheduled for July 9, and, as a result, the decision was made to extend the consultation from one day to allow for four full days of speakers. The Board appreciates and understands the importance of community consultation and participation, and we thank the members of the public who have come forward to share their views on these important issues as we navigate our collective way forward.

This forum was created in response to the thousands of messages that the Board has received, as an opportunity to hear directly from the public on matters concerning police accountability, reform, and community safety priorities. Amid the pressures created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board acknowledges that recent times have been particularly difficult for residents of Toronto and the global community, as it relates to police-community relations.

The town hall meeting followed an open format, and allowed the Board to listen, hear the voices of our communities, and to create space in discussing the critical issues of reform, accountability, and community safety.

What We Heard

Download PDF of the visual summary

Download the report Download the report “I Don’t Want to Live In Fear”: Voices from the Toronto Police Services Board Town Hall Meetings – Interim Summary

What We Are Doing

On August 18, 2020, the Board approved a report titled Police Reform in Toronto: Systemic Racism, Alternative Community Safety and Crisis Response Models and Building New Confidence in Public Safety, with over 80 recommendations arising from this consultation and other sources including City Council decisions and the Board's advisory panels on anti-racism and mental health and addictions.

The report's recommendations span issues across a number of policy areas, including creating alternative community safety response models, police budget and transparency, independent auditing, conduct accountability, training, and ensuring change, among others.

To learn more about the progress of the implementation of these recommendations, please visit the Board's Police Reform Implementation Dashboard.

Town Hall Archive

Recordings of all town hall sessions can be viewed on YouTube as follows (note - Links to individual participants are approximate):

July 9th

July 10th

July 15th

July 16th

Over a hundred written and recorded submissions were made in addition to the live deputations. Copies of all submissions were provided to the Board members and are a part of the official record of the town hall. Note that some participants provided multiple submissions, and may, therefore, appear multiple times below, and some of the participants who gave a live deputation also submitted a written deputation. All submissions received by the Board are listed below, in the order that they were received by our system:

Donelle Fraser
Louis Short
Louis Short
Jordan Torbay
Lana
Rebecca Amoah
Marie Glass
Brittany Tilstra
Alyssa
Dyanoosh Youssefi (All IN)
D. Youssefi (Law Union of Ontario)
Kathryn Dennler (Rights of Non Status Women Network)
Annie Steel
Dr. Catherine Zahn (CAMH)
Sharon Gigliotti
Sharon Gigliotti
Vanessa Campbell (John Bruce Village Housing Co-op's Board of Directors)
Erin Baird
Scout R
Lyndsay McLeod
Gianna Oliva
Marisa Burton
Sierra Weiner
Sierra Weiner
Bruht Ayetoe
[name withdrawn at speaker's request]
Emma Wildeman
Sophie Kaufman
Adrianne Prinsen
Dallas Jokic
Susan Menary
Johanna Lewis (Showing Up for Racial Justice - Toronto)
Bethany
Lee-Anne House
Sarah Williamson
Daniel K House
Trish Starling
Rebecca Lester
Nicole Deeb
Nadira Sheralam
Olivia Provost-Walker
Kyle Hinds (The Civil Party)
Kyle Hinds (The Civil Party)
Grace Bannerman
Kris Langenfeld
Peter Wood
Kate Ing
Dan Zaitzow
Frances Loiselle
Esme Allen-Creighton
Serena Lisus-Reiter
Ravail Sandhu
Cassandra McCann
Maddy Macnab
Barb Rus
Stephanie Abouatallah
Matthew Wood, CD, MPPAL
Max Moore (Gardenworld Communications)
Liz Beeforth
Zenah Hussun, Stephen Mensah, Eli Aaron, Michael Manu (Toronto Youth Cabinet)
Philippe Gosselin
Danny Bellissimo
Karri Ojanen
Loloa Alkasawat
Jenna Lavery
Michelle Abramowitz
Candice Irwin
Howard F. Morton (Across Boundaries: An Ethnoracial Mental Health Centre)
Jemilla Mills-Smith
Katias Yee (TCNDP Indigenous Representative)
Sophie Fagan
Andrew Stewart
Dorothea Paas
Hilary McLean
Amelie Matuschka
Anonymous [name removed at requested of author]
Amy
Zane Akoodie
Nancy E McConnell
Alyssa Ayling
Michael Berger
Gabriella DaRienzo
Joelle
Julianna Romanyk
Alyssa
Dr. Amy Spendik (Policng and Community Well-Being -- Trent University)
Berkley Staite
Miguel Avila-Velarde (Toronto COPwatch)
Miguel Avila-Velarde (Toronto COPwatch)
Lee Berkowitz
Richmond Uy
Sihen berhe
Laura Le Marquand
Lark Huska
Katy
Sharon Anidjar
Kristina Koski
Lauren Horn
Laura Iliescu
Jennifer Chambers (Empowerment Council)
Bob Cornwall
Molly Johnson
Olivia Wong
Emily Mani
Jamie Gargatsougias
Doreen Simpson (Remember The 400)
Doreen Simpson (Remember The 400)
Mallory Leger
Deanna Esposito
AJ Bridel
Sherry Dubeau
Leah Shoemaker
Nina Patti
Julie Tomaino
James Wilkinson
Lauren Schaffer
Labour Council, Toronto & York Region
CAMH Toronto
CMHA Ontario
DJ Mausner
Daniel Williston
Diana Chan McNally
Matthew J. McMahon
Nicole D'Cruz
Rachel M
Rachel McLean
Susan Gapka
John Cartwright (Labour Council of Toronto & York Region)
Ivan Celleri Contreras
Kira Kastner
Emily