On February 5, 2026, York Regional Police announced charges against seven active officers with the Toronto Police Service and one retired officer in connection with allegations of corruption, bribery, obstruction of justice, drug trafficking, theft of personal property, breach of trust, and the unauthorized access and distribution of confidential information.
It is alleged that the officers had connections to criminal networks in Ontario that have been implicated in a conspiracy to murder a correctional facility worker.
Since this information came to light, Ontario’s Inspector General of Policing, Ryan Teschner, has announced a province-wide investigation into policing. Teschner said he will appoint an external individual to lead the review in order to ensure sufficient independence. He also stated that the results will be made publicly available online.
The stated reason for this investigation is to restore public confidence in the integrity of policing. However, questions loom over how transparent and effective this investigation will truly be.
It is one thing to say information will be accessible but how can we actually “ensure that the full range of information that was made available through that investigation…reach the public domain,” asked Salvatore Cusimano, the Executive Director of Transparency International Canada.
Moreover, “it is a good thing that the inspector general of policing named an external actor” to conduct the investigation, Cusimano added.
“Who is that person? What kind of qualifications will they have? Will they have the freedom to act free of influence and in an objective way? Will they be given access to all of the information and sources they need,” said Cusimano.
There is no indication that the investigation will lack integrity or transparency. However, observers note that, given past concerns about transparency and corruption in Canadian institutions, greater public visibility into how the review is conducted will be essential if it is to inspire the confidence it aims to restore.
Transparency International is a global coalition against corruption. Every year the organization releases a Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranking 182 countries and territories “by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, according to experts and business people.”
While Canada is consistently a top performer in combating corruption in these rankings, in recent years its status has fallen out of the top ten trailing behind fellow democracies like Germany and Norway.
The decline is largely due to issues surrounding extensive money laundering and the high profile bribery charges against SNC Lavalin.
Canada has been called out by multilateral organizations including the Financial Action Task Force and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for failing to take sufficient action on those issues.
Cusimano states that although there is no direct link between those cases and the Toronto officers charged with corruption, they reflect a broader culture in Canada that has fostered an acceptance of corruption and a lack of oversight, in turn enabling similar misconduct
In Ontario, oversight of the police is primarily handled by the Ombudsman and the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency (LECA). These bodies investigate and review misconduct, accountability, and transparency.
The Ombudsman, in their annual report in 2025, highlighted key issues regarding transparency that are still evident in police services.
While the Ombudsman has oversight over major police forces there are still many police services in Ontario that remain outside of its jurisdiction meaning oversight in many communities is handled internally rather than externally by an independent actor.
The report from the Ombudsman also highlighted delays and a lack of responses from the LECA which is responsible for handling civilian complaints about police misconduct.
Additionally, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is a civilian agency tasked with investigating serious incidents between police officers and the public. Historically, there have been concerns about how the SIU operates.
In the past, there has been a lack of police cooperation and public visibility into investigations leading to a diminished sense of confidence that these investigations will yield meaningful results.
While the Community Safety and Policing Act stipulates that officers have a duty to comply with SIU investigations there are still reports from civil society organizations about serious delays and roadblocks into getting the requested information necessary to conduct an effective investigation.
“All of our institutions can do a much better job at being open, transparent, and accountable,” said Cusimano.
With these historical and ongoing problems, “this case will be a good test to see if this investigation is sufficiently independent and transparent,” said Cusimano.
“We have to be prepared to face some uncomfortable truths,” Cusimano added.
To foster a more accountable and transparent culture across Canada’s public institutions, Transparency International Canada emphasizes that the role of journalists must be respected and protected, the public must have meaningful and accessible access to information, and there must be a sustained commitment to investigating and prosecuting corruption.
“Canadians won’t feel trusting in our institutions unless they see bad behaviour is met with sanctions,” said Cusimano.
Cusimano says the investigation has the potential to shift Canada’s culture of limited accountability and transparency and strengthen public trust in institutions, but only if political leaders treat the process seriously, safeguard its independence at every stage, and meaningfully address the gaps the review may uncover.
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