Pubdate: Tue, 31 May 2016
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.torontosun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://torontosun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Shawn Jeffords
Page: 5

TORY 'KNEW NOTHING' OF RAIDS

Mayor John Tory says he played no role in ordering the pot dispensary
sweep that resulted in 90 arrests last week.

Tory said Monday Toronto Police brass made the call to bust the pot
shops.

Tory also shied away from commenting on whether he thought the mass
arrests of dispensary employees was proper.

"I knew nothing about what the police were going to do and I can't
comment on what they did either," he said.

Tory dismissed suggestions that he communicated with the police
service about Project Claudia as "conspiracy theories," stressing that
the force's leadership makes operational decisions.

"The police have an obligation to enforce the law," he added. "When it
comes to something like ... alleged drug trafficking and the
absolutely unregulated location of these stores popping up all over
the place, going from like 30 to 100 in the space of about a month, I
think common sense told you that was not a tenable situation."

In a letter penned on May 12, Tory asked city officials to work with
police and find ways to enforce the law. Asked what the city planned
to do about the dispensaries that continue to operate, Tory couldn't
say.

"There's only so much you can do," he said. "The police have done what
they thought was best in the circumstances. I don't direct what they
do.

"The bottom line is we've certainly sent a signal that says you can't
just set these up on every street corner near every school or near
every retail outlet or on every corner."
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MAP posted-by: Matt