Josh Matlow vs. Toronto Police Service

June 8, 2020

After over 2 weeks of mass protests, in both the United States and Canada, Toronto City Councillor Josh Matlow has made the courageous move to defund the Toronto Police.

According to an early morning statement posted on Twitter,

We need to wrest control of the Toronto Police budget, defund it by 10%, and rebalance our public funds towards investing in much-needed community supports. Here’s the motion, seconded by @Kristynwongtam, on the next city council agenda.

This comes after a similar move in Minneapolis, where after weeks of protest, city council of that city voted to abolish the police department.

Of course, any attempt to defund the police is met with swift backlash, as City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam pointed out.

Police budget cuts are always met with aggressive resistance. Politicians get cautioned by police bosses, work slowdowns take place and other ways to send us a message.

This time things are different. Thousands have emailed, marched and if this is to happen - please don’t stop. https://t.co/hcpCSDinpH

— Kristyn Wong-Tam (@kristynwongtam) June 8, 2020

Unlike the Minnesota Police Department, Josh Matlow’s motion only seeks to slash the budget by 10%. Still, this is a very courageous move by these city councillors, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Who do you support? Take the survey!

Do you support @JoshMatlow and @kristynwongtam's motion to defund the @TorontoPolice?

— St. Jamestown Coronavirus Connect (@stjamestownfire) June 8, 2020

Stay tuned for updates.

Written by: Mark Slapinski