TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA
the big pomegranate

Justice partout, police nulle part.

Police partout, justice nulle part -meaning police everywhere, justice nowhere- is often heard during protests in France. There are indeed a lot of police in french towns, in train stations, subways, roads, intersections. In Toronto however, police is nowhere to be seen. There are so, so, so many rules -no trespassing, no loitering, no smoking, no left turn, no crossing, no parking, no U turn, no skating, no swimming, no soliciting, no idling, no running, no insulting, no sitting, what not- some impossible to guess if you have not been born and raised in the city, like almost all rules concerning street cars. So, so, so many rules...and no police to enforce them. Take the no phoning while driving policy. Great policy! Might actually save lifes. Might. If there was anyone actually checking what people are doing in their car. Is there a single cop in Toronto whose job is to stand on the side of the road -or even sit in his car- and look for people using their phone while driving? I have never seen one. Take the no insulting TTC driver policy. What happen if you insult a TTC driver? You are filmed by a camera. And then what? The TTC guys hire a private investigator to find you? Because it they come to the police with their video tape, the response is likely to be the one my wife had when she came to report that her bike had been stolen. A huge laugh. In a city where every single building entrance is protected by a security guard, where each mall, stadium or Art gallery is patrolled by entire squadrons, who is watching the streets? Do you realize that Darcy Allan Sheppard would probably be still alive if there was a cop permanently posted at the intersection of Bay and Bloor. It has been reported that a billion dollar has been spent on the security for the G20. How many cops could patrol the street of Toronto for years with this kind of money? Isn't security a right for everyone?