Ontario Solicitor General Urges Toronto Police Crack Down on Protests, Free Expression Experts Warn

Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner sent a letter on Dec. 30, 2025 to the Toronto Police Service urging stricter enforcement of hate‑, intimidation‑ and harassment‑related offences at protests. The move follows the city’s police record of more than 800 demonstrations linked to the Gaza conflict since Oct. 7, 2023, with roughly 500 arrests and over 1,000 criminal charges filed. Toronto’s council passed a “bubble‑zone” bylaw on May 22, 2025 that limits protests within 50 m of schools and places of worship. Free‑expression experts, including James Turk of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Centre for Free Expression, warn that the letter risks curbing the Charter right to peaceful assembly. Critics cite pro‑Palestinian rallies at the Eaton Centre and marches near Bathurst and Sheppard Avenue W as examples.