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"Operation True Blue"

The Toronto Police Association Response

Much had been written and said in the past week about the efforts of the Board of Directors of the Toronto Police Association to raise funds through its telesales project known as "Operation True Blue." It is time for the Police Association to respond.

The project is perfectly legal. The Police Services Act specifically permits the Toronto Police association to raise funds through telesales. Section 3 of Ontario regulation 123/98 states in part, "…A police officer does not commit misconduct (by soliciting funds) if he or she engages in the described activity in his or her capacity as an authorized representative of an association…"

The media response to our campaign has been largely hysterical and based on false and misleading reports of our intentions. We have been accused of attempting to undermine democratic principles, in particular the "bullying" and "intimidation" of public officials. None of these accusations is true.

We commenced this project in an effort to make our community a safer and better place to live. Our purpose in raising funds was and is to bring about legislative change to the Young Offenders Act and the Criminal Code, and to assist in the creation of a nationwide DNA bank to enable law enforcement agencies to apprehend dangerous criminals. In addition, we intend to employ these funds to participate in the electoral process by supporting officials who agree with these objectives.

Regardless of any past comments, it should be noted that the funds will NOT be used to interfere with the privacy of anyone.

We believe these goals are worthwhile and enjoy the support of a large segment of our community. It is our intention to reach every home and business within the city of Toronto. We further believe that our project constitutes a legitimate exercise of our constitutional right to be heard on matters of public importance. We reject any effort on the part of our critics to deny us our rightful place in this crucial public debate.

• THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE TORONTO POLICE ASSOCIATION