I think that, in situations such as these, there should be an expanded role for transit enforcement officers. It could be added to the TTC By-Laws that any unwarranted behaviour (including pressing the yellow strip) halting the timely operation of the transit network, within reason, shall warrant removal from the system or at least the vehicle by transit enforcement. I'm no lawyer so I'm sure there's a dizzying array of legal particulars involved in such a thing, but it should be something worth looking into, especially if we're going to start seeing a more prominent and visible role for transit enforcement with the implementation of POP on more surface routes.
But I also have to agree with the above comments about the Montreal model of emergency alarms. People think twice about using them lightly when they have to physically break a containing surface to get at them. Side note, for the first time ever, yesterday my GO rail trip was delayed once in each direction - both heading downtown and leaving - by spurious presses of the yellow strip. Seems like the recent rash of alarms hasn't been limited to TTC alone!