Toronto police say there’s no need for further action after a controversial far-right mayoral candidate tweeted out a photo of herself and two officers surrounded by campaign volunteers.

Toronto Police Service spokesperson Mark Pugash confirmed it was officers from Division 23 in North York that are in the photo tweeted by Faith Goldy, but said they had “no idea” who she was, or that she was running for mayor.

The officers went to the location because the division had received information about “possible trouble,” Pugash said. They then posed for photos with members of the public as they do “countless times a week.” Police will not be taking any further action.

Along with the photo, Goldy tweeted Monday evening, “We have the best volunteers don’t we folks!?” followed by hashtags promoting her as a mayoral candidate. She has officially registered with the city to run in the 2018 municipal election.

Goldy, who was fired last year from the far-right news organization Rebel Media, has stirred up controversy for her views on immigration, comments made during the Charlottesville rally and an appearance on a podcast affiliated with a neo-Nazi website.

In an email to the Star on Tuesday, Goldy wrote that while preparing for a canvassing blitz, her campaign received threats and that the police were “neutrally protecting” her campaign volunteers.

“No uniformed officers have ever volunteered on my campaign,” she wrote.

Earlier Tuesday, the Canadian Anti-Hate Network released a statement in response to the tweet, calling for Toronto police to investigate whether the officers in the photo had violated the Ontario Police Services Act and Toronto Police Services Board policies.

The Anti-hate Network is a non-profit organization formed by researchers including social activist Bernie Farber.

Under the Police Services Act, the law governing Ontario’s police forces, no police officer is allowed to engage in political activity with a few exceptions: off-duty officers not in uniform can attend some political activities such as attending a meeting with candidates during an election. They can also express their views on any issue not directly related to their responsibilities as police officers as long as they don’t associate them with a police force.

The Toronto Police Services Board has also developed its own policy for police officers. Every time an election campaign starts the police chief is required to “reiterate that police officers are prohibited from using their status as police officers to endorse or oppose candidates.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...