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The policing scandal investigation dubbed “Project South” came as a seismic shock when news first broke several weeks ago.

This investigation involves numerous cops being criminally charged with everything from theft and fraud to conspiracy to commit murder (!)

In the aftermath, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw went into full damage control mode. Which is to say, Chief Demkiw reiterated over and over and over again that the police were now committed to being completely transparent and accountable in order to restore public trust.

Alas, his first act in ensuring more transparency and accountability was to make certain Rebel News was banned from the Project South press conference which was jointly staged by the Toronto Police Service and the York Regional Police Service in Aurora, Ont. But never mind…

Lately, Rebel News has been attending the monthly meetings of the Toronto Police Service Board at police headquarters. Apparently Demkiw and his minions – much to their chagrin – are unable to ban us from attending these meetings.

And it was at police headquarters that we met Derek Moran. Moran is best described as citizen watchdog of the police. For several years now, Moran has been attending Toronto Police Service Board meetings to make deputations. Needless to say, his presence there is about as welcome as the proverbial skunk to a garden party. Indeed, two years ago, Moran was arrested at a board meeting for trespassing and held several hours in a cell. His crime? He spoke past the allotted five minutes of speaking time! Oh, the humanity! (Note: this time limit does not apply to police officers nor staff nor politicians at TPS Board meetings – just members of the public who pay their salaries. But again: never mind.)

At the April 13 board meeting, Moran told us that the police are far from being transparent and accountable. Here’s the crux of the matter: those making deputations have until Friday afternoon to submit their requests for the upcoming Monday board meeting. Deputants are limited to speaking to issues that are on the agenda. But get this: AFTER the Friday deadline, additional items are now routinely added to the board meetings. Thus, unless one possesses a device that can somehow bend the time/space continuum, one cannot speak to those items. Unbelievable.

Moran provided Rebel News with pages of new items that were added last-minute to the April 13 board meeting that the public could not speak on. These items included:

• Urgent Action on Violent Residential Break-ins and Organized Crime Auto Thefts
• Safer Subways; Making Public Safety a Priority and Restoring Confidence to Toronto Transit Commission Riders Across Toronto
• No ICE in Toronto
• Building a Made-in-Toronto Community Safety Plan Protecting Residents at Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue and Across Toronto – by Councillor James Pasternak, seconded by Councillor Michael Thompson
• Updates on Vision Zero Road Safety Initiatives: Follow-up from June and October 2025 City Council Directives, Missing Sidewalk Installations, and Road Safety Improvement Projects

Just what the hell is going on here? Why doesn’t the Toronto Police Service Board want any public input on those aforementioned topics? What is so third-rail about those issues? What do they want to hide? It’s baffling.

And we will likely never get answers… even though the Toronto Police Service Board says it is committed to being more “transparent” and “accountable” moving forward. So much for “deeds speak”…