big issues:confronting hateful and hostile behaviour
The Know Your Vote T.O. "Big Issues" primers are meant to be starting points for readers to continue their own learning and investigation. Note: Sources include City of Toronto materials, Ontario legislation, and publicly available educational and media resources.
Listen to this primer
Prevention, Inclusion and Support Efforts
While criminal law, immigration policy, and many social programs fall under federal or provincial jurisdiction, City Council funds a range of programs and services intended to support inclusion, strengthen community connections, and assist residents affected by discrimination and hateful behaviour.
The City adopts strategies and action plans focused on equity, inclusion, and access to City services. These include initiatives that support newcomers, reduce barriers to participation in civic life, and advance reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities. The City also funds long-term strategies such as SafeTO, adopted in 2021, and the Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism. In 2021 it adopted the Toronto Newcomer Strategy to coordinate settlement support, and it runs Toronto For All, a public-education campaign on inclusion and belonging.
City Council also funds grants and community programs that support local organizations working on community safety, youth engagement, inclusion, and resident wellbeing. While these programs do not enforce criminal laws, they are intended to support residents, strengthen community networks, and address issues that may contribute to exclusion, discrimination, or conflict.
Under AccessTO, City services — including shelters, recreation programs, and public health — are available regardless of immigration status, and staff do not require proof of status to provide them.
Go to information sourceThe City's 2022-2032 Reconciliation Action Plan includes actions to address anti-Indigenous racism, improve Indigenous inclusion and participation, and advance reconciliation.
Go to information sourceIn 2025 the City funded 14 community and resident-led groups through Toronto For All grants to support local community initiatives across the city.
Go to information sourceThe City's Community Crisis Response Fund gives community groups one-time grants of up to $5,000 to support healing after a violent incident or community crisis.
Go to information source
Protecting Spaces Around Vulnerable Sites
Incidents involving hateful or hostile behaviour can occur in a variety of settings. Hateful behaviour can happen anywhere — in a store, on a street, or on the subway. City Council can regulate conduct on the property it oversees — streets, sidewalks, and City-owned land. Its main tool here is the Safe Access to Social Infrastructure by-law, passed in 2025. It lets a place of worship, school, or childcare centre ask the City to designate a 50-metre "Access Area" on nearby City property. Inside an Access Area and around the site's operating hours, certain activities, including blocking access and harassing individuals seeking entry, are prohibited. The by-law does not prohibit peaceful protests or demonstrations generally. City Council has also used its property authority to fund security for organizations at risk of hate-motivated offences.
The City launched a one-time $2.5 million Hostile Vehicle Mitigation Grant in December 2025. The program offered grants of up to $100,000 to eligible at-risk community organizations for physical security measures.
Go to information sourceThe City has established dozens of Access Areas across Toronto under the Safe Access to Social Infrastructure by-law, each covering City property within 50 metres of a school, place of worship, or childcare centre.
Go to information source
Police Board Appointments and Budget Approvals
Policing is one component of Toronto's response to hate-motivated incidents and other public-safety concerns. City Council does not direct police operations, but it plays a role through funding and appointments. Council approves the annual Toronto Police Service budget and appoints some members of the Toronto Police Service Board, the civilian body responsible for police governance and for hiring the Chief of Police. The Province appoints the remaining Board members.
City Council cannot direct police operations but it can pass motions asking the Board to act. In 2023, Council adopted a motion addressing hate-motivated incidents, which contributed to policy development, including the Safe Access to Social Infrastructure by-law (Go to information source).
City Council appoints four of the seven members of the Toronto Police Service Board; the Province appoints the other three. The Board — not Council — sets police policy and hires the Chief.
Go to information sourceCity Council sets the overall budget for the Toronto Police Service Board, but it cannot approve or reject specific items in it.
Go to information sourceOnly the Board can direct the Chief of Police, and even the Board cannot direct specific investigations or day-to-day operations.
Go to information source