That with respect to Notice of Motion EC2025-0856, the following amendment be adopted: That Recommendations 3, 4 and 5 be inserted as follows: Work with the Mayor to send a letter to the provincial Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services as soon as possible to request an expedited process for providing transit and peace officers with enhanced authority to seize, transport, and dispose of unknown substances.
This city report (EC2025-0856) includes two actions: 1) the City asked the provincial Minister of Public Safety to speed up a process so transit and peace officers can seize, transport and dispose of unknown or suspicious substances more quickly; and 2) the City directed Administration to study expanding the Community Court (including possibly covering open drug use and weapons offences), and to submit budget requests and propose sustainable funding for a pilot and future years.
Quicker authority to seize unknown substances could allow officers to remove and handle suspicious materials faster, aiming to reduce public-safety risks and transit disruptions. Separately, analyzing and funding a Community Court expansion could create a funded pilot and a longer-term plan to address open drug use and related offences through diversion and partnership models rather than only criminal processing.