Dalton McGuinty, Bill Blair defend quiet boost in arrest powers

‘Police state regulations’ decried

David Rider

Robert Benzie

Rob Ferguson and Robyn Doolittle Staff Reporters

Premier Dalton McGuinty denies it was an abuse of power for his government to secretly approve sweeping new powers for police.

“I just think it’s in keeping with the values and standards of Ontarians,” McGuinty told the Toronto Star on Friday amid a battery of complaints from opposition parties, city councillors, civil libertarians and regular Torontonians that the new rules were kept secret and, some say, may go too far.

The rules allow police to arrest and potentially jail anyone refusing to produce identification or be searched within 5 metres of the G20 security zone.

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