It looks like the Toronto Police Service (TPS) has been hit once again with its version of the “Seven-Year Itch” — this time concerning systemic police corruption.
asserted
Service → look → corruption
Recent investigative coverage by the Toronto Star has uncovered the shocking scope of officer misconduct.
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coverage → uncover → misconduct
Whether this is the “biggest” corruption scandal in TPS history remains to be seen; the 1990s Drug Squad scandal investigated by the RCMP sets a high bar.
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scandal → remain → bar
However, the handling of these new allegations by the TPS, the Toronto Police Service Board (TPSB), and Ontario’s Inspector General of Policing raises urgent governance questions.
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handling → raise → questions
Their responses show how, sometimes, the cure can be worse than the disease.
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cure → show → disease
As detailed in the Star’s report “Project South: Inside Toronto guns-for-hire network,” this crisis ranks alongside major past TPS scandals — from the G20 misconduct to the Bruce McArthur investigation — all of which required independent examinations into failures of supervision and accountability.
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all → detail → supervision
Today’s crisis stems from criminal charges against seven active officers, one civilian member and one retired officer.
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crisis → stem → officers
Allegations include links to organized crime and tow-truck gangs, a conspiracy to kill a Toronto South Detention Centre unit commander, information leaks, and illegal database breaches.
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Allegations → include → commander
Following a task force set up by Chief Myron Demkiw and a criminal investigation by York Region Police, the TPSB and Chief Demkiw jointly requested an “independent and comprehensive inspection” from Ontario’s Inspector General of Policing, Ryan Teschner.
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TPSB → follow → Policing
They cited five areas: supervision, vetting, database access, evidence management and fitness for duty.
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They → cite → duty
While the board acted with alacrity to control damage, the manner of its approach to the Inspector General raises serious concerns regarding genuine accountability.
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manner → act → accountability
TPS remains actively involved alongside York Region Police in the criminal investigation.
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TPS → remain → investigation
Chief Demkiw’s presence at joint press conferences and TPS’s ongoing operational role fundamentally compromise perceived independence.
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presence → compromise → independence
To restore trust, Toronto police must step back entirely.
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police → restore → trust
Further, the requested inspection covers day-to-day operational management — strictly Chief Demkiw’s responsibility.
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inspection → request → management
By approaching the Inspector General jointly with the Chief, the TPSB effectively absolves Demkiw of operational accountability before evaluating his performance.
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TPSB → approach → performance
The board should have first verified whether responsibility for systemic failure rests with its top employee.
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responsibility → verify → employee
Turning immediately to Ryan Teschner is equally troubling.
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Turning → turn → Teschner
Teschner previously served as Executive Director of the TPSB, maintaining a close relationship with Chief Demkiw.
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Teschner → serve → Demkiw
This history creates a legitimate public perception concern regarding his objectivity in inspecting his former employer.
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history → create → employer
A question also exists as to whether or not the inspection will be sufficiently focused on problems relating to Toronto in particular.
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inspection → exist → Toronto
On Feb. 9, Teschner expanded Toronto’s request into a province-wide inspection of all 45 municipal police services, focusing on the exact five areas TPS requested.
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TPS → expand → areas
Teschner offered no clear rationale for burying Toronto’s acute crisis inside a massive sector-wide review.
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Teschner → offer → review
What data justified this sudden expansion?
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data → justify → expansion
How does a broad provincial survey address the immediate breakdown of trust in Toronto or help the TPSB evaluate its chief?
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TPSB → address → chief
Finally, there is the issue of whether both the timelines and cost proposed are realistic.
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timelines → be → ?
A thorough systemic review of a single police force takes immense time and resources.
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review → take → time
As legal counsel to Justice John Morden during the G20 review, Teschner knows that inquiry took two years.
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inquiry → know → years
Similarly, when I chaired the independent panel examining governance in the Thunder Bay Police Service — a much smaller organization — it took well over two years.
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it → chair → years
How long will an inspection across 45 police services take?
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inspection → take → services
How much will it cost taxpayers who never asked for it?
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who → cost → it
Most importantly, how long must Torontonians wait before these answers become stale and irrelevant?
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answers → wait → ?
Ontario’s Inspector General and the TPSB owe clear answers to the public.
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General → owe → public
Otherwise, Teschner’s sweeping “cure” risks becoming worse than the disease of police corruption it was meant to treat.
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it → become → corruption
The Aporia
