rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/petition/pledge-for-safe-and-supported-communities?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-petition-area-pledge-for-safe-and-supported-communities' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> SURJ Toronto https://actionnetwork.org/groups/toronto-surj https://actionnetwork.org//images/generic_facebook.jpg Across Canada, more people than ever are feeling the impacts of the affordability crisis. Canada’s most recent poverty report card gave our country a failing grade, and here in Toronto, too many of our neighbours continue to struggle year after year without meaningful relief. Meanwhile, Toronto Police Service (TPS) requested — and received — a $46.2 million budget increase for 2025, bringing its annual net total to approximately $1.22 billion, which remains one of the largest expenses in the city's budget. Despite this massive investment, police cannot deliver safety. Further, they are the only service provider with the official right to bully, brutalize, arrest, and even kill Torontonians in the name of "helping". Police officers are not well-positioned to address root causes of harm in our communities. It is crucial that the city redirects funds to housing, to mental health supports, to harm reduction services, to youth outreach, and other services that will support people in crisis, not criminalize them. It has been shown time and again this is how we create safety. If policing were truly effective, we would expect to see the “demand” for police shrink as safety and wellbeing grow. That is not happening. The Toronto Police have failed to ask the city to prioritize supports that will create a healthy Toronto, resulting in less crises and fewer 911 calls. Instead, the Toronto Police Services are advocating for more police funding and a larger police force. The Toronto Police Association is actively defending inflated spending on police overtime. The TPS prioritizes its right to waste the city’s money over our right to the safety that comes with housing, mental health supports, less poverty, and reduced need for 911 calls. The cycle of over-policing and under-supporting continues, leaving our neighbours vulnerable and our communities fractured. It is time to demand better. We must redirect our tax dollars toward real, community-based solutions that provide safety, dignity, and care. When we invest in people, not policing, we build the conditions for all of us to thrive. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/pledge-for-safe-and-supported-communities