Ontario gives security guards power to work with police during Pan Am Games

The opposition parties say the Liberals quietly amended the law to allow security guards to work with the Ontario Provincial Police during the Pan Am Games in Toronto.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says she doesn’t know what kind of training the guards will get, or if they will have the authority to stop and question people on the street.

She says the government passed a secret law to give police more power during the G20 summit in Toronto, and should be more up front about exactly what kind of powers private security guards will be given.

Progressive Conservative critic Rod Jackson says the Liberals are trying to cut corners “by giving rent-a-cops the same powers as police.”

However, Premier Kathleen Wynne insists the government is simply trying to make sure the Pan Am Games are as safe as possible, and says security guards will not be given the same powers as police.

Wynne also rejects suggestions the government changed the regulation in secret, and says all the procedural rules were followed.