It wasn’t just an individual police officer speaking for himself; he was speaking to the public in his official capacity at a town hall. The department walked b

It wasn’t just an individual police officer speaking for himself; he was speaking to the public in his official capacity at a town hall. The department walked back the statement after all the negative press came out but it was very much an official statement when it was made. And yes, I’m aware that even the Toronto police department doesn’t represent the entire Canadian government, but the word “they” can be used much more broadly and vaguely than you’re suggesting. For instance, there are widespread reports of human cannibalism committed by Haitian gangsters following the most recent collapse of the most recent Haitian government; one might colloquially say “they’re eating people in Haiti” to indicate that there is cannibalism going own without ever precisely specifying who is committing the cannibalism.