Ford government considers arming more special constables but wont say who will get guns [Video]

Should Ontario’s transit enforcement officers or campus security guards be allowed to carry guns?

That’s a question raised by a change the Ford government quietly included in its latest proposed piece of omnibus justice legislation.

Buried in the middle of the Protect Ontario Through Safer Streets and Stronger Communities Act is a change that would allow Solicitor General Michael Kerzner to select groups of special constables who would be allowed to use firearms.

Special constables are a police-adjacent category of officials who work in areas like campus security or transit enforcement. The vast majority carry pepper spray and batons but cannot use firearms.

That could change if the omnibus bill, which is still being debated at Queen’s Park, is passed into law.

“If passed, Bill 10 would allow the Solicitor General, through regulations, to permit groups of special constables to carry and use firearms,” a spokesperson for Kerzner’s office told Global News.

Currently, in Ontario, only special constables who work for the …