Toronto parking scandal continues! Who is telling the truth? Our insider or the police union?
In the final analysis, we have a bit of a he-said/she-said situation going on here. And as always, it comes down to this: Who do you believe?
Astute viewers of Rebel News might recall that we recently paid a visit to the headquarters of the central division of Toronto Parking Enforcement in north Toronto. The reason for our house call: we were told by an insider that parking enforcement officers were engaging in time theft. Which is to say, they are supposed to work 10 hours per shift, but they are only putting in eight hours (or less).
Teaming up with Jay Bannister of Mad Lab Press, we were able to document that morning shift starting duty at 6 a.m. They are supposed to be working until 4 p.m. But no: at around 1:30 p.m., the meter maids began returning to HQ. This time banditry works out to almost $6 million in theft. Our insiders say it has been going on for years now, meaning the City of Toronto (a.k.a., the taxpayer) has been hoodwinked for tens of millions of dollars!
And yes, we caught them red-handed coming back to HQ early. Yet another PR black eye for the Toronto Police Service.
So, what happened in the aftermath?
According to our sources, the police brass conducted no fewer than six “emergency meetings” after our story aired. But get this: the focus of the meetings wasn’t to put an end to the time theft. Rather, the brass was hellbent on finding out who leaked the information to Rebel News!
We were also told that an unnamed Liberal cabinet minister took an interest in this and reached out to Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw. Demkiw allegedly was infuriated by this information and made some terse phone calls. This is hard to confirm as neither the Liberals nor the Toronto Police Service communicates with Rebel News.
But it gets worse: our sources tell us that despite the attention this story is receiving, the parking enforcement poohbahs are not in any hurry to correct things.
Instead, they are now looking into relocating this division to a purely private and gated facility. That’s the setup for the East and West parking divisions. Alas, at the central division, the meter maids share the parking lot with spaces set aside for members of the public… which allows pesky journalists to ask impolite questions.
So, instead of reading the riot act and telling employees to put in a full shift, the brass wants to put the corruption behind closed doors and carry on business as usual!
Unbelievable.
Our next step was to reach out to the Toronto Police Association. Unlike the Toronto Police Service, the TPA, which is the union for police officers, actually respects the independent media, meaning they do indeed respond to requests for comment.
TPA President Clayton Campbell stated the following: “To be absolutely clear, our members in Parking Enforcement are operating well within their entitlements under the collective agreement. Regardless of shift length – some are eight hours, some are 10 hours – all members receive one hour for a paid lunch. Often, there is no time to take this lunch break during the shift, nor is there time to complete the administrative tasks required of them. In these cases, members return to their unit to complete their work and take their lunch at the end of their shift. This happens in units across the city. It is not time theft; it is a negotiated entitlement.”
So, were we mistaken regarding our allegations of time theft?
Well, not so fast, folks.
We ran this explanation by our parking enforcement insider. He goes by the nickname “Mr. Accountability.”
Here are some excerpts of his response:
Dear Toronto Police Association:
The response you… provided David Menzies from Rebel News in an email regarding breaks for parking enforcement officers which are classified as CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES was complete nonsense. The Toronto Police Association lack proper knowledge when it comes to the Employment Standards Act of Ontario [as to] how it applies to its CIVILIAN MEMBERS.
In Ontario, it is not legal for your employer to schedule your mandatory break at the very end of your shift to let you leave early.
Section 20 of the employment standards act mandates that you must receive at least 30 minutes unpaid eating period after working five consecutive hours. Timing of the break must occur within or immediately after a five-hour work period, rather than at the beginning or the end of [the] entire workday
The Collective Agreement states: ‘The scheduled lunch break should typically be provided within a specific window of the member's shift (e.g., commencing after the completion of 2.5 hours of duty and before the completion of six hours).’
Bottom line, Mr. Accountability reiterates that the break must occur within or immediately after the five-hour period rather than the beginning or end of the employee’s entire workday.
He concludes: “The Toronto police association needs to stop making excuses when it comes to civilian employees breaks, NON Lunch Break violations have been going on for the last 25 years daily.”
And again, folks, our source is not a casual observer. He’s an actual insider.
In the final analysis, we have a bit of a he-said/she-said situation going on here. And as always, it comes down to this: Who do you believe?
We would argue that it is a very loaded question these days, given the numerous scandals involving members of the Toronto Police Service.
All the more reason why this situation needs a formal investigation. And no, the investigation should not focus on the real-life identity of our sources. That’s called shooting the messenger. Rather, we need clarity on how bad the time theft issue is. As previously mentioned, our sources estimate this scam is costing Toronto taxpayers $6 million per year. That’s outrageous, and it must stop.
And really, talk about perverse irony! The very bailiwick of Toronto Parking Enforcement officers is that commodity known as time. Which is to say, if you fail to feed the meter, you’re going to get slapped with a hefty parking fine. There is no mercy.
The meter maids are all about watching the clock when it comes to Toronto motorists' parking habits. Too bad THEY don’t respect the clock when it comes to their ongoing time-theft habits…
David Menzies
Journalist and 'Mission Specialist'
David “The Menzoid” Menzies is the Rebel News "Mission Specialist." The Menzoid is equal parts outrageous and irreverent as he dares to ask the type of questions those in the Media Party would rather not ponder.
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COMMENTS
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Ron Hoover commented 2026-06-10 23:30:20 -0400I would like to know how the $6 million was calculated, how many employees, how much “time theft” is taking place. Personally if the union is correct and saying that they are putting in their time and taking their breaks at the end of the day, even though the law says they’re mandated to get their break after 5 hours, I don’t see an issue if they actually do their work during the day.
However as someone who has paid thousands of dollars in parking tickets, I personally can’t get too upset that less tickets are being issued. . -
Bruce Atchison commented 2026-06-10 19:43:48 -0400Fire the brass and the union leadership! That’s the only way this time theft will stop. Any employee would normally be dismissed if they clocked out even a half hour early. But rank has its privilege and so does corrupt leadership.
