Toronto Police Association

The Toronto Police Association (TPA), founded in 1944, is a labour organization representing the approximately 5,500 uniformed and 2,500 civilian members of the Toronto Police Service in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. While police officers in Ontario are prohibited by law from forming a union or striking, the TPA fulfills most of the functions of a public-sector union, including collective bargaining contract negotiations with its membership's employer, the Toronto Police Service.

TPA
Toronto Police Association
FoundedJune 28, 1944 (Incorporated December 3, 1956)
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario, Canada
Location
Members
5,500 (uniformed) / 2,500 (civilian)
Key people
Jon Reid, President
AffiliationsCPA
Websitehttp://www.tpa.ca

History

In 1918, Toronto officers formed the Toronto Police Union, chartered by the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada. At the time, police officers were not barred from joining a union, but the Police Commission refused to recognize its existence and fired officers who held executive positions in the union. On December 18 1918, two-thirds of Toronto officers went on a strike that lasted four days.[1]

Craig Bromell served as president of the TPA from 1997 to 2003. In 1995, in response to an inquiry into an incident where Dwight Drummond and a friend were stopped and handcuffed, Bromell had led an eight-hour wildcat strike of police officers. As president, Bromell continued to clash with TPS officials such as chiefs Julian Fantino and David Boothby, deputy chief Robert Kerr, and the Toronto Police Services Board.[2][3]

In 2000, the TPA began a telemarketing fundraising campaign called Operation True Blue. Money raised was planned to be used for investigations of police-unfriendly politicians. Similar to Police Benevolent Associations in the US, it gifted windshield stickers to donors.[4] Critics described the campaign as a protection racket and an intimidation campaign.[5] After the chief of police threatened to charge six police officers on the TPA executive board, the campaign was dropped.[6]

In 2005, the TPA engaged in a protracted contract negotiation with the Toronto Police Services Board. Being unable to strike, the TPA initiated a work to rule campaign in the fall.[7] A deal was finally reached in November.[8]

Rick McIntosh served as president for a period of six months between 2003 and 2004 before stepping down amid a probe into liquor license corruption.[9] McIntosh was charged with soliciting and accepting bribes from nightclub owners in the Toronto Entertainment District, but the charges against him were later dropped.[10]

Mike McCormack was president of the TPA from 2009 to his retirement in 2020.[11][12] In June 2014 the TPA sold its headquarters building for $7.4 million, who sold the same building for $11.5 million the next year. TPA members alleged the sale was mishandled and called for a forensic audit: the TPA responded by describing these allegations as "misinformation."[13]

See also

References
  1. "Our History". Toronto Police Association. Archived from the original on 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  2. Appleby, Timothy (2000-02-04). "Tensions between Kerr and Bromell date back to 1995". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2020-12-28. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  3. Barber, John (2004-06-12). "Decency destroyed at the Toronto police board". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2020-07-14. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  4. "Operation True Blue: what to do". CBC News. January 28, 2000. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  5. "Toronto cops tone down Operation True Blue". CBC News. February 1, 2000. Archived from the original on December 28, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  6. Abbate, Gay (2000-02-11). "True Blue foes reveal why they're worried". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2023-05-02. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  7. Moore, Oliver; Appleby, Timothy (2005-10-12). "Angry Toronto police union approves job action". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  8. "Police reach deal with city". CBC News. 8 November 2005.
  9. Blatchford, Christie (2004-04-19). "Police probe corruption as union boss steps down". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2020-12-28. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  10. "Wiretaps in Toronto police corruption case released". CBC News. 8 December 2009. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  11. Kennedy, Brendan (2009-10-07). "'Big Mike' McCormack takes over as police union chief". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2013-10-11. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  12. Donovan, Kevin (2021-03-08). "Whatever happened to 'Big' Mike McCormack, former head of Toronto police union? He's on an oceanfront property in Florida, working for Bay Street". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2023-01-07. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  13. Lancaster, John (7 January 2020). "Toronto police union calls allegations it mishandled millions of dollars 'misinformation'". CBC News. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
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