Rallies and Protests Policy

These protests, ostensibly aimed at serving as a voice for the Palestinian cause, have destabilized the city through various actions and behaviour. Managing these protests has cost the City over $30 million in police time, and has resulted in the disruption of critical infrastructure. This includes CN Rail Lines, Union Station, the Gardiner Expressway, and numerous Toronto Transit operations, including the Danforth subway line. Mobs have swarmed the Eaton Centre, Yorkdale, Scotia Plaza, and numerous Jewish-owned stores and restaurants. They have harassed residents in Jewish neighbourhoods such as Bathurst and Sheppard. This anarchy has resulted in the doubling of 911 response times and has hurt businesses due to illegal blocking of streets, calls for discriminatory boycotts of Jewish-owned businesses, etc. Further, these protests have damaged Toronto's international reputation as a safe place to live and invest; these same groups sabotaged an official State Dinner with the visiting Prime Minister of Italy and continue to harass elected officials at their community offices and even private homes. Some have suggested that the protests and ensuing incitement had led to a Jewish girls' school being shot at on three separate occasions, a Jewish owned grocery store being fire-bombed and numerous synagogues vandalized. It is abundantly clear that Toronto is in desperate need of an enforceable Rallies and Protests policy. Beginning in February of 2024, City Council adopted a staged approach to introducing a new Rallies and Protests policy. Council adopted a policy framework for the managing and monitoring of rallies and protests that aligned with the City's Human Rights and Anti-Harassment Policy. On December 17-18, 2024, Council adopted CC24.2 - Policy Framework - City Response to Demonstrations, directing the City Manager to report to Council in the first quarter of 2025 with "bubble zone" by-laws "with an emphasis on protecting vulnerable institutions such as places of worship, faith-based schools, and cultural institutions." On May 21 and 22, 2025, City Council adopted a "bubble zone" by-law amendment to guarantee access to social infrastructure. The framework exercise and adoption of this by-law was a step toward a comprehensive Rallies and Protests policy, but it does not manage the crisis in our city; the existing policy is totally inadequate and cannot deal with the current realities facing the City, as it is neither clear nor enforceable. The current policy-merely directing would-be protest organizers to a Toronto Police "Notice of Demonstration" form-offers no practical tools, no enforcement thresholds, and no protections for communities experiencing targeted harassment. The result is a policy vacuum that leaves neighbourhoods unprotected and frontline divisions without guidance. A modern, enforceable Rallies and Protests Policy must include clear enforcement thresholds, prohibitions on targeted residential harassment, standardized response expectations for unplanned demonstrations, and defined roles for both TPS and City divisions. Without these components, the policy cannot translate into predictable, consistent, or equitable public safety. A city cannot function when long-standing communities feel abandoned by the institutions meant to protect them. Councillors' offices, City divisions, and Toronto Police Service have received thousands of reports since October 2023, particularly from residents near Bathurst-Sheppard, throughout the downtown core, and around Jewish schools and synagogues. The reality is that for the many residents who report feeling unsafe walking in their own neighbourhoods during weekly demonstrations, an effective policy cannot come fast enough. As such, here is my question: When will the City Manager, together with City staff, present City Council with an effective Rallies and Protests policy that will keep the city safe?