(CBC) Toronto police spent $19.5 million in 2024 on policing demonstrations and “proactive engagement” with Jewish and Muslim communities amid the Israel-Gaza war, according to a new report.
The report, written by Chief Myron Demkiw, says officers responded to over 2,000 unplanned events last year — more than half of which were related to Project Resolute, the service’s term for policing protests and increasing their presence among targeted communities after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the resulting war in Gaza.
A spokesperson for Toronto police said officers have conducted more than 60,000 community visits since October 7, 2023, but would not provide specific examples.
Eighty-seven per cent of these visits were to places of worship, followed by day schools at 12 per cent, and attendance at “festivals, events, and other places of significance,” Stephanie Sayer said in an email on Friday.
