More Toronto officers with semi-automatic rifles to be deployed at places of worship, tourist hubs

FILE - Toronto Police emergency task force members are seen in Toronto, on Thursday, July 12, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Toronto residents will soon see more police officers in tactical gear with patrol rifles and other long guns around places of worship, tourist hubs and community centres.

On Tuesday, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) announced the launch of “Task Force Guardian,” which it said was aimed at deterring potential acts of violence.

“We know that visible police presence matters when it comes to deterring violence and reassuring our communities,” TPS Chief Myron Demkiw said at a news conference, where he announced the task force as well as his service’s standalone counterterrorism security unit.

“If you see these officers, whether it’s around places of worship or tourist hubs, it does not mean there is an imminent threat. What it means is we are strategically positioning resources to protect our communities and to be able to respond quickly, if necessary.”

Citing the shootings at Toronto synagogues and the U.S. consulate downtown, as well as the upcoming FIFA World Cup, the chief said Toronto needs to have proper resources to respond to incidents.

“I want to be clear today that this announcement is not about any particular threat, but the growing volume and complexity of threats related to terrorism, extremism and hate-motivated incidents,” Demkiw said.

Deputy Chief Frank Barredo echoed the chief’s sentiments, saying the task force is about prevention and protection, not a reaction to a certain event. He noted that other major cities already deploy tactically equipped officers.

“We want to deter attacks, strengthen public confidence and reassure our communities through this highly visible policing model,” Barredo said.

“And, at the same time, we want to be strategically deployed proactively to be able to respond as fast as possible to any threat or violent incident.”

He explained the deployment of officers will be “intelligence-driven” and locations will be picked strategically.

When asked why officers have to be armed with semi-automatic weapons when they already carry handguns, Barredo said rifles are far more effective and more accurate.

“They provide a much better response to deal with threats and neutralize those threats as quickly as possible and as effectively as possible,” the deputy chief said.

“That is why you will be seeing not only C8s, but protective gear, protective helmets, protective body armour and things along that line.”

Barredo noted the task force is also in response to communities asking for an increased visible presence around high-traffic areas.

“We think this is the appropriate time. We are mindful of geopolitical events and the way the threat environment and the landscape has changed, locally and abroad,” he said.

The task force, which will launch in the coming days, will work with the new counterterrorism unit.

Chief Superintendent Katherine Stephenson clarified that the counterterrorism unit will complement the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which will continue to lead national security investigations.

“Given our knowledge of the city’s communities and criminal networks, we have found that public safety threats often fall below the threshold of terrorism but pose no less of a danger and still require serious and special attention and criminal investigations,” Stephenson said.

“To have a specialized unit that focuses on proactively detecting, preventing and disrupting terrorism and violent extremism in Toronto is absolutely necessary, given the current global context and the potential local impacts of worldwide events.”