Commuting in Toronto is about to come with a new kind of enforcement. The Ontario government is enabling special constables to make arrests for illegal drug use on public transit, a regulatory change Solicitor General Michael Kerzner framed as being about making people feel safe on their commutes, CBC News reported.
The powers will apply to special constables on GO Transit, the Toronto Transit Commission and OC Transpo in Ottawa, who will be able to stop people from using illegal substances on transit and to issue tickets or make arrests for non-compliance.
The change arrives as part of a broader provincial legislative package aimed at preventing public drug use, which also includes banning the ownership of pill presses and precursor chemicals for the purpose of making illegal drugs, according to the CBC summary.
Advocates quoted in the coverage warn the proposal risks victimizing the province's most vulnerable people, setting up a familiar Toronto debate: riders who say open drug use has made stations and vehicles feel unsafe, against outreach voices who argue arrest powers treat a health crisis as a policing problem.
