Ford government aims to remove post-secondary requirement for police recruits

The Ford government has announced a new strategy to boost police recruitment in Ontario — the plan includes removing costs for new recruits and a new bill that would lower education requirements.

Premier Doug Ford says his government is will introduce a bill to remove the post-secondary requirement for new police recruits, meaning only a high school diploma would be required.

“Here in Toronto, major crimes are up over 20 per cent compared to the same time last year,” said Ford, speaking from the Toronto Police College in Etobicoke on Tuesday morning. “People don’t feel safe.”

“We need more police officers on our streets, or as we say, boots on the ground.”

The new legislation would amend the Community Safety and Policing Act (CSPA) so that a secondary school diploma would be sufficient to become a police officer.

“These changes are good news for police services across the province, as well as for Ontarians considering a career as a police officer,” said Solicitor General Michael Kerzner in a statement. “We listened to the concerns about recruitment shortfalls and training limitations and have taken steps to remove barriers and expand the possibilities for those considering a career as a police officer.”

The province is also removing tuition fees for the 12-week Basic Constable Training program at the Ontario Police College, and expanding the number of new recruits from 480 to 550. The training will be expanded from three to four cohorts per year.

The elimination of the tuition fee for the training program will be retroactive to the start of 2023. Recruits who already paid for the training this year will be reimbursed, the province says.

“We’ve invested $267 million to support the CSPA grant program,” Ford says. “Arming local police services with the resources and tools they need to do their job.”

“We’re also investing in some of the root causes of crime by investing $4 billion over the next decade to support those who need help with their mental health or addictions.”

Ford briefly weighed in on the Toronto mayoral race last month, saying voters should avoid supporting any candidate who wants to “defund the police.”

He made the comments when being asked about the recent spate of violence on the TTC. He responded by asking Torontonians not to vote for any candidate who wants to cut police funding  and said there should be full-time police officers operating throughout the TTC.

Toronto police put more than 80 officers working overtime on patrol along the TTC but ended those shifts in March. The TTC also added 50 temporary security guards, community safety ambassadors, and outreach workers to the system this year.