The mother of a 21-year-old Newmarket man who has a cognitive disability and legal advocates are calling for an independent review of a July incident involving alleged excessive force by York Region Transit fare inspectors.
“If I mention it to him today and just giving an update on what I’m doing to assist him and to to advocate for him, he’s still quite emotional. He’s very traumatized by this event,” the man’s mother told CityNews.
CityNews isn’t identifying the family due to their concerns about further stigmatization, but the incident happened at the Newmarket bus terminal on July 30.
The man’s mother, who wasn’t present at the time, said he was on his way to a job interview in Newmarket after visiting friends in downtown Toronto. She said he paid his GO Transit fare at Union Station and made his way north, eventually transferring onto a York Region Transit (YRT) bus that dropped him at the Newmarket Bus Terminal. The man forgot to tap the Presto fare machine at the initial YRT station after realizing he couldn’t do so on the bus. After arriving at the terminal, she said he told her there were fare inspectors waiting and asking riders for proof of payment.
“He understood the question to be, ‘Did you pay?’ So he replied, ‘I did. I’ve paid down at Union Station,’ and he continued to walk away,” she described.
“This is an individual with a verbal comprehension and auditory processing disability, so he doesn’t always capture everything that’s being said to him.”
She said he had his earbuds in listening to music at the time of the interaction since music is a calming method and helps him cope with navigating daily life, noting he’s a dedicated pianist and musician.
“This seemed to frustrate the provincial offences officer, who then raised her voice and continued to say, ‘I need proof of payment,’” the man’s mother described.
“He took his earbuds out and was putting his backpack on the ground and I guess (the fare inspector) continued to raise her voice, which alerted the other two provincial offences officers and they walked over. One of them grabbed him by the shoulder, and his automatic reaction was to shrug him off and I guess in so doing that escalated things significantly.”
She said three inspectors “threw him to the ground,” handcuffed him and told him he was under arrest. The man’s mother said he was then asked if he had any weapons, which he didn’t have.
“They pushed him up against the wall, picked him up, pushed him up against the exterior wall, proceeded to empty his pockets and throw the contents on the ground. They proceeded to empty and rifle through his backpack. They found his wallet. They checked the ID. They then questioned amongst themselves whether or not his ID was valid or whether it was fake,” she described.
“He told the officers, ‘I don’t think you’re allowed to do that,’ and their response was, ‘We can do whatever we want.’ After they did a thorough search, they then turned him around and walked him across the parking lot to a bus shelter. He had to ask them to pick up the contents of his pockets and his backpack that were still strewn all over the sidewalk.”
The man, his mother said, stated multiple times he didn’t understand why he was being detained, offering to show his Presto app to show he paid earlier. Under the Ontario government’s one fare program, the local YRT fare wouldn’t have ultimately been charged since he paid a GO Transit fare and transferred onto local transit shortly afterward.
“He also asked several times to call his mother, and they said no. He did say that he was on his way to a job interview, and they told him, ‘Well, you’re going to be late,’” she recalled.
“After approximately half an hour of sitting in handcuffs in the bus shelter, they gave him two tickets: one for failure to pay his fare, and the other one for failure to show ID, which would have been near impossible considering he was in handcuffs, and then told him to get on his way.”
The man’s mother said he texted her to tell her he was issued two provincial offences act tickets, but it wasn’t until the next day that he opened up and told her what happened.
“He was morose. He was quiet. He was very introspective. He was staying very close to me. The following day, I said, “Well, I’m going to take these to the court, and we’ll have a trial, and we’ll fight these,’” she said.
“He had not told me that he had been handcuffed. He had not told me that three people were kneeling on his back. He then showed me his knees, which were scraped and bruised. He then showed me his jewelry, which had been broken.
“I felt that this was extremely excessive for a four-dollar bus fare, as did he, and his only comment to me was he was grateful they didn’t have guns.”
She said she believes her son’s race was a contributing factor to how the fare inspectors responded.
“It has been our lived experience that young Black men are held to a different standard than everyone else. I have no doubt that it may not have happened to him if he had been another race, or maybe if he didn’t have this disability,” the man’s mother said.
“I have found it has been our experience that they hold to a very different level of accountability, and it’s my job now as mom to kind of coach them and tell them how to navigate this world, which is extremely unfair to young Black men — particularly where law enforcement is involved.”
The man’s mother said she contacted the municipality shortly after learning the details and asked them to save surveillance video footage from the terminal while they weigh legal options. She said there was also a witness who comforted her son after the incident, but he was too distressed to get her contact information to follow-up on.
York Region staff reviewing Newmarket Bus Terminal incident
CityNews contacted the Regional Municipality of York and Newmarket Mayor John Taylor’s office on Tuesday to ask about the incident and the allegations raised by the man’s family. No one was available for an on-camera interview.
Richard Montoya, director of transit operations for York Region, issued a brief statement saying they’re still looking into the matter.
“York Region is aware of a complaint regarding York Region Transit, and these concerns are currently under review. To protect the integrity of the review process, we are unable to comment at this time,” the statement said.
Similar to other Ontario jurisdictions with large transit services, YRT special constables and fare inspectors are empowered to enforce the municipality’s bylaws.
Special constables have the powers of “peace officers” and can enforce various laws, including the Criminal Code of Canada. Officials touted “specialized training” given to personnel on laws, use of force and various other topics, including on human rights, anti-Black racism, autism and de-escalation.
Alain Babineau is a former RCMP officer-turned-lawyer who now works with The Red Coalition, an advocacy organization that fights discrimination and racial profiling. He and his organization are helping the man’s family in response to the July incident.
“He gets really confused and and so that’s not the way to approach folks with disabilities … the young man himself is very calm, very quiet, very introverted,” Babineau said, noting the man had a previous run-in a while back with GO Transit fare inspectors that left him “scared” of transit special constables.
He said he’s concerned about the lack of independent oversight for YRT special constables and fare inspectors similar to Ontario policing agencies, noting the latest YRT public data showed almost all internal review requests were rejected.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) is also advocated on the man’s behalf.
“The CCLA recognizes that the circumstances of this incident remain under investigation, however, the allegations raise serious concerns about the exercise of coercive powers by transit special constables and the safeguards in place to protect the rights, safety, and dignity of transit users,” a letter from the organization shared by Babineau said.
Meanwhile, Babineau, the CCLA, and the man’s mother are seeking an independent review as well as a number of procedural changes and remedies in response to what happened.
“A young man is looking for some type of recognition that his humanity matters, that’s number one, and York has to do right by him. We’re hoping that we can contribute to improving the system that’s in place and making sure that these kind of things happen less and less,” Babineau said.
“There’s a number of individuals in our world that have invisible disabilities, and they have the right to be treated with courtesy and respect,” the man’s mother added.
“I feel that that would be justice for us to make some systemic change to ensure that nobody else has to go through what he’s gone through. Although I’m not hopeful, we can only try to make the world better for the next person.”
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