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OpEd: Ontario’s Police Officers Should Be Vaccinated
October 7, 2021
Police officers ride their horses past a mural on Earth Day during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto

To me, and I assume to most police officers, the policing profession is about protecting the public. That is protecting them from harm and victimization. And “prevention” is the priority as opposed to responding to calls for service and investigating crime. Any cop worth his or her salt would much prefer to prevent someone from being victimized before it happens. Second to protecting members of the community, comes protecting fellow officers and third comes protecting one’s self. That is the order of importance: public safety; officer safety; self-preservation.

Year ago a police association leader said, “Our people come first.” I disagreed and said, “No they don’t. They are a close second. If our people came first we’d never leave the office. We wouldn’t rush to dangerous calls or run into burning buildings. Nor would we charge into a home to prevent a woman or child from being physically abused. We do all of those things and more because it’s about the public first and foremost.” Obviously officer safety is a very significant issue, but the public comes first.

So fast forward to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has killed so many people around the world, including almost 10,000 Ontarians, and has made 600,000 more ill – some of whom had to fight for their lives and may be facing a life of yet unknown health challenges. Surprisingly, the debate over mandatory vaccinations for police officers ensues.


Some police chiefs have ordered all uniformed personnel to be vaccinated by a stated date. Others are encouraging, but are not issuing an edict. Little to no policy has been issued to police chiefs by the Ontario government, although the Ford government did state that “all 64,000 employees of the Ontario Public Service (OPS) will be required to get vaccinated or else submit to regular COVID-19 testing.” Of course OPP members are part of the broader Ontario Public Service, however I remain unclear as to how the OPP fits into those instructions.


The federal government has decreed that all public servants including the RCMP must be vaccinated or face consequences that include forced unpaid leave and other forms of disciplinary action.


But some Ontario police associations are pushing back at mandatory vaccinations. The Toronto Police Association (TPA) is opposed to the mandatory vaccine announcement made by Toronto Police Chief Ramer. The Ontario Provincial Police Association (OPPA) spoke positively about the health benefits of being vaccinated, but they also stated that they “will support and protect the legitimate concerns and objections of our members.” The reactions of other Ontario police associations are mixed.


The Police Association of Ontario (PAO) to which all other Ontario police associations belong, stated in an August 25th release: “It is the view of the PAO that our sworn and civilian police personnel members who are eligible and able to be vaccinated against COVID-19 should be vaccinated.” The release also calls for a province-wide approach to this issue that is “thoughtful, purposeful and consistent.” It doesn’t speak to mandatory vaccinations, but it certainly is a mature and commonsense statement.



It strikes me that the pushback by some Ontario police officers and a number of police associations flies in the face of both public and officer safety. The average police officer and many of their civilian personnel interact constantly with members of the public they serve 24-7. At times it involves making arrests and the use of force, including applying physical restraints. At other times it entails extensive face-to-face interviews of victims, witnesses and suspects in homes, confined police cars and offices. Why wouldn’t all police officers want to maximize their ability to protect those members of the public that they interact with? Similarly would they not want to better protect the colleagues that they work side-by-side with for long shifts from potential exposure to the virus? What about their own health and safety and that of the spouses, partners, children, parents and other family members that they return to at the end of the day?

Police are provided with body armour; self-defence training; personal protective equipment including puncture-proof gloves; as well as firearms and other use of force options, and so they should be, to protect them from the many threats they face in their daily duties. Most or all of that training and equipment is mandatory, not optional. Vaccines should be mandatory as well.


Police were identified as one of the first groups to be given the COVID vaccine because of their close interaction with the public. But SOME of these officers and SOME of their association representatives are choosing not to accept that protection. It doesn’t make sense in my view. If they all wanted the vaccine but their chiefs decided they didn’t need it, there’d be no end to the justified uproar that would follow.


Even if one buys the argument that the officers can choose their fate as far as their own protection, it’s not just about them but about others they come into contact with.


Although I firmly believe that most Ontario communities greatly trust and respect their police officers, that critical trust has undoubtedly been tested over the past several years through a number of events in North America that have put a negative spotlight on police – sometimes earned and sometimes not.



The vast majority of public health experts across the globe agree that vaccination is the only thing that will stop this deadly menace. This is a golden opportunity for police to demonstrate leadership in their communities in terms of the safety and trust of the people they are sworn to serve.

My message to Ontario’s police officers: Please be safe and get vaccinated to keep others safe.

Chris Lewis served as Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police from 2010 until he retired in 2014. He can be seen regularly on CTV and CP24 giving his opinion as a public safety analyst.

Police investigating police: Is there another option?

By Chris Lewis • March 18, 2026
The March 17 th announcement by the Toronto Police Service (TPS) regarding the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) investigation into allegations by an Ontario Justice that three TPS officers colluded and lied during a 2024 murder trial against a man that ran over and killed TPS Constable Jeffrey Northrup in 2021, has further inflamed the debate over who should investigate alleged police wrongdoing. This instance combined with the recent arrests and ongoing police investigation into several TPS officers for their alleged involvement with organized crime, has brought this discussion to a boiling point. I appreciate the public perceptions around this investigative model given that the average citizen doesn’t necessarily understand the professionalism and commitment of police investigative teams like the recent OPP Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) group. I have all the confidence the world in that team, but I also personally know the ability and integrity of the OPP Detective Inspector in-charge. So, if these investigations aren’t carried out by police, who will do them? They do not fall under the mandate of the Ontario Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which by the way is largely comprised of former police criminal investigators and forensic identification experts, many of whom investigated homicides in police services. For SIU to assume a larger role, they would have to grow exponentially and expand their team of ‘former cops’. These cases generally do not fall under the purview of Ontario’s Inspectorate of Policing either. They would loosely fall under the oversight role of Ontario’s Law Enforcement Complaints Agency (LECA), who is responsible for receiving, managing and overseeing public complaints against police, but frankly they don’t have mandate or the horsepower to conduct complex criminal investigations. They oversee the “public complaints” that may lead to a criminal investigation, but the investigation would be the responsibility of a police service to conduct. An expansion of the LECA would require a tremendous amount of funding and human resources, most of whom would also be former police officers. Hiring and training civilians to conduct such investigations is an option, but largely an incomprehensible one. Police criminal investigators are trained officers that generally start out as uniformed officers responding to occurrences and investigating more routine and less serious crimes, i.e. minor assaults and property crimes. They build investigative expertise over time, including in interviewing and interrogation; gathering and securing physical evidence; legal processes like obtaining judicial authorizations; presenting evidence in court; and various investigative strategies. They learn how to work with special police units that provide specific investigative skills, and more. All of this doesn’t happen overnight, but over a period of years and with the tutelage of more experienced investigators along that journey. Trying to turn a group of young and well-educated civilians – no matter how intelligent and well-intended, into a team of elite investigators, would be a complete disaster and unfair to the public or to the officers being investigated. Over my many years as a member or as the Director of the OPP CIB, my colleagues and I investigated criminal allegations against cops from other agencies. Before the SIU was formed, we investigated officers from many Ontario police services – large and small, who had used deadly force. Many were cleared and a number were arrested and charged. We also investigated criminal allegations against police chiefs in Ontario. Again, several were appropriately cleared, and some were brought before the courts. Municipal, provincial and federal elected officials were similarly investigated and some charged. Our members also investigated police officers in other provinces, including high-ranking ones. I personally investigated two Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers that were involved in an arrest that result in the death of a suspect. They were properly exonerated, but I would have charged them in a heartbeat if they had wrongfully killed than man. I arrested an OPP Sergeant for sexual assault. A CIB colleague investigated and arrested two different OPP officers for criminal offences. Both of those officers had been personal friends of mine and years later committed suicide. There are tons of similar examples that I can refer to over my career. All of these involved the oversight and legal analysis of a Crown Attorney, sometimes from another province. The interesting thing, and what most of the anti-police folks will never believe, is that in every single one of those investigations, the dialogue that I was involved in with other officers that I worked with or supervised, involved doing what was right. In other words, “If the allegation is substantiated, we will put the case together, arrest them and put them before the courts.” Not even once, did we think about or do anything that would give an officer a pass when they committed a criminal offence. Never. I have every confidence in the world that the vast majority of municipal and RCMP colleagues across Canada would operate under the same guiding principle. Has the occasional officer worked in conflict with that approach? Undoubtedly. Were some investigators not as committed or capable as they should be and perhaps did a poor investigation accidentally or deliberately? Quite likely so. But I truly believe those cases are the exception, not the rule in criminal investigations. Where I more often believe poor investigations or deliberate attempts to inappropriately give a colleague a break continues to occur, is in Police Act investigations, where policy or employee harassment wrongdoings are suspected. I like to think that the focus on that continues to improve, but not fast enough in some cases. Sadly, I know now that unbeknownst to me at the time, it happened under my watch. A focus for my next article. The public and police deserve the very best of investigators to ensure that bad cops are effectively put out of business and good officers are cleared. If there’s another effective option that would appease the doubting public – aside from using current officers from other agencies or creating a new and costly entity that would be staffed by former police officers, I’d like to hear it.

Should the Police Chief be blamed for the misdeeds of subordinates?

By Chris Lewis • February 13, 2026
I say "No."

When Oversight Becomes Overreach: Why a Few Bad Officers Must Not Redefine Policing

By Chris Lewis • February 11, 2026
Policing depends on public trust. So does police oversight. When either loses credibility, both suffer and the public they are sworn to serve isn’t sure who to believe or where to turn. In recent years, calls for stronger police oversight have grown louder, often driven by a small number of high-profile misconduct cases. Confidence in institutions by the public – often fueled by ridiculous social media theories and damnations, is more fragile than in the past, and reputational damage spreads faster. Despite the fact that Canadian police officers operate under tight legislative and regulatory frameworks that exceed any other Canadian profession in my view, existing oversight bodies feel pressure to take action quickly when bad things happen, as isolated as they may be. But there is a risk in this moment that deserves equal attention: the risk of overreach. The seven officers who have been alleged to have committed crimes – including serious ones that involve organized crime, must not be allowed to redefine an entire profession. Public trust certainly adds urgency to this moment. When corruption cases like this surface, the public does not necessarily see them as isolated failures. They see a system that is broken and in my view in this instance they see that unfairly. Policing is unlike most professions. There are over 70,000 police officers in Canada, comprised of federal, provincial and municipal officers that work under the worst of circumstances at times and face the harshest of critics. As a result of the arrests of seven serving Toronto Police Service (TPS) officers as well as a retired officer, then the subsequent suspension of two additional TPS officers and two Peel Regional Police Service officers, a large portion of the Canadian public are focusing on the ‘bad’ and forgetting the wonderful and brave police work occurring in their communities 24/7. Officers exercise coercive authority on the public on behalf of the public, often in volatile environments. They have right to take away people’s liberty and in the worst of situations to take lives. That authority most definitely demands the greatest of accountability, but it also demands reasonable, sensible and balanced oversight. Oversight systems designed around ‘worst-case scenarios’ risk governing by exception rather than thoughtful considerations and reality. One of the most overlooked consequences of overly broad oversight is its impact on ethical officers. When serious misconduct is identified, entire services face scrutiny and as a result of the Inspector General of Policing’s announcement to inspect all 45 police services in Ontario, the impacts are far reaching and not isolated to the police service of the members in question. The risk is that the resulting collective stigma will not only damage public trust but will also hurt officer morale; officer initiative may decline; recruiting could be impacted; and the reputation of the entire profession across Ontario will be damaged because of the alleged actions of a few. Oversight that blurs critical lines risks judging officers by association rather than their individual conduct. Officer trust in the oversight system and public trust in the policing profession could both be further harmed. As a result, both the Toronto Police Association and the Police Association of Ontario have rightfully expressed their concern regarding the inspection of all of Ontario’s police services. Their distress is that the announcement may be read by many that police corruption is rife across the province. At this point we do not know how much of this alleged criminal activity occurred off duty, versus on. We don’t know all the details of what they may have done and how, let alone what processes, policies or systems within the TPS that may have to be examined by the Inspector General. He may well have identified them all, but perhaps not. As the investigation portion by police continues, more things for inspection may be identified. In the meantime, I have no doubt that Ontario’s police Chiefs are reviewing their processes based on what they know so far, to ensure their policies, systems and internal oversight mechanisms are as tight as they can reasonably be. The seven charged officers are suspended and before the courts. The justice system is entrusted with dealing with these allegations from here. Others not charged but under investigation are suspended as well. There was no rush to begin a review process as this unfolds. Announcing that it will occur when the criminal investigation is complete and when they are armed with a more fulsome understanding of the issues that should be examined, would have been more appropriate. None of this lessens the need for accountability. It argues for thoughtful processes, analysis and reporting. Misconduct should be addressed decisively and dealt with through due process as it is, but broad oversight driven by isolated wrongdoings risks weakening the institutions we all depend on. Public trust matters. Undoubtedly. But so does institutional trust in police officers. In my view, processes that signal broad-based suspicion undermine the trust they are meant to protect. Oversight works best when it is firm, fair, and controlled.