Does the Toronto Police have authority to arrest people within University of Toronto campus grounds?

I heard that the student unions are planning to protest/ raise an issue against giving the Toronto police the powers to arrest people (with a warrant or when a disturbance occurs) within UofT grounds, and that only campus security and police should be able to have such powers.



Is this true? Do you think the Toronto Police Department should have the powers to patrol and arrest perps on UofT grounds?Does the Toronto Police have authority to arrest people within University of Toronto campus grounds?
Campus police are designated "special constables" and derive this authority from the Toronto Police Dept. So I don't really see how the body that actually possess the authority wouldn't be allowed to arrest people on campus, but the body that it delegates some responsibility to would... I say some responsibility because special constables don't have all of the legal authorities that the actual police do. They don't carry firearms for example.



Therefore, it is very important that the Toronto Police be welcome on campus and maintain a very close relationship to the campus departments.



I have to ask though, is this just some hippie reaction to all of the criticisms of the Toronto police during the G20?
They can protest all they want but Toronto Police have the authority to arrest anyone on UofT grounds now, and always have had the authority. Uof T is within the city limits of Toronto and therefore within their current jurisdiction. At the same time they are provincially mandated police officers (under the Provincial Police Services Act - see link below) and as such they can arrest anyone anywhere in the Province (who they believe has committed an offence of course), not just within Toronto.



For those reasons your question is moot and any protest that may be planned is without basis. They have the powers now, have always had the powers, and unless any protest body manages to change the entire structure of policing in Ontario (which is the same as any Province in Canada) they are wasting their time protesting the wrong thing.Does the Toronto Police have authority to arrest people within University of Toronto campus grounds?
In Canada, a "peace officer" has the legal right to arrest you anywhere in the entire country. A constable from the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary can arrest you in Victoria, BC.



Now, police departments will generally respect jurisdictions, however, as peace officers, they do have the right to work on UofT grounds. Campus security and police, OTOH, are not considered "peace officers" legally, so they can only work in areas they have been hired to. Also, their powers will be more limited than those of the Toronto Police, so there will be situations where the Toronto Police would have to be called in - and potentially even some where the OPP, or even the RCMP might be called.



So, the Toronto Police already have the powers of arrest, etc., on the Campus - and it would take an act of Parliament to change that - which isn't going to happen!
yes they do, I think you have miss understood the situation, their probably protesting the university providing information about protesters to the police. Some of the most active/vocal protesters were heavily involved with the student union and even organized themselves out of U of T buildings. Its more likely a conflict about privacy and the freedom to associate.The problem is that U of T is a government institution, you can't have people gathering to commit crimes ie. vandalism while basically using government money.
I could place someone under citizens arrest, so further to a few of your answers so far, YES, the Toronto Police certainly can. Do I think they should have the power? Yes! If some criminal act was taking place and the limited staff of the U o T security and police was busy somewhere else, Absolutely. I would be happy to see them. If you were being assaulted, robbed, or whatever, wouldn't you like to know the limited staff of the school was backed up by a huge police service?



Let's see. How would it work the other way? Criminal act happens on school property, you call 911. Sorry. You have to call the U of T police. Getting voicemail? Sorry. You'll have to wait for them to get back to you. The you'd be protesting FOR Toronto Police. The system was worked out years ago.



How about finding something worthwhile to protest?
That's preposterous. UofT is within the jurisdiction of the Toronto municipal police, and therefore it is their job to arrest people on the UofT campus.
The simple answer to your question is YES THEY DO.



Randy B is right, and his years as a Police officer count as an expert opinion in this part of Canadian law.



Jim B.





Toronto.