Resource

Bill 6: The Safer Municipalities Act A Guide for Community Service Providers

The TDIN Advocacy Committee has been working on putting together a resource for the drop-in community about what our rights and responsibilities are when interacting with the police. For more than six months, the group developed questions and guidelines that would shape the framework of the resource and collaborated with drop-in program participants, frontline drop-in staff, and community members to cover all of the areas of concern for drop-in, community and individual safety. This project began as Bill 6 was introduced by the Provincial Government at the same time that the government was defunding and shuttering the majority of Toronto’s Supervised Consumption Sites (SCSs) in 2025. The drop-in community swiftly recognized that unhoused people, people who use drugs (PWUD), and intersectionally marginalized people from Indigenous, Black and racialized communities would be most at risk for discrimination, and potential violence, as these legislative decisions were being made and enforced.

TDIN would like to thank the members of our Advocacy Committee and Steering Committee for spearheading this important work. Lead by our Training and Engagement Coordinator, Marianne Kozinets, this project has been a laborious project that is deeply rooted in community care and a vision to make Toronto a more socially-just place that is safe, healthy and inclusive for all. We’d also like to thank the Legal Clinic at Lincoln Alexander School of Law, Toronto Metropolitan University. Your dedicated community work made all of this possible.

The following resource was prepared by the Legal Clinic at Lincoln Alexander School of Law, Toronto Metropolitan University, as was last updated May 29, 2026.

This guide contains legal information, not legal advice. Every situation is different. If you or someone you serve needs legal advice, contact a lawyer or legal clinic.

This guide covers Ontario provincial law (Bill 6) and, where noted, Toronto-specific municipal rules. Sections that apply only to Toronto are clearly marked.

It is important to remember that there is often a difference between the law on paper and policing in practice. Police conduct in reality can differ from the rules they are supposed to follow.