
Windsor, Ont., police chief made racist comments, internal investigation finds
WARNING: This story contains offensive language.
An internal investigation into allegations the police chief of Windsor, Ont., made racist remarks to a Black officer has found the claims to be true, CBC News has learned.
"The investigation has substantiated that Chief Jason Bellaire made comment(s) that constitute a breach of WPS Directive(s)," according to an internal summary of the investigation.
CBC News obtained, and verified, the confidential document that summarized the outcome of a complaint filed by Ed Armstrong, the service's first Black inspector. The summary didn't outline which specific allegations were substantiated.
The summary states "the investigator found that the comment(s) were made in what [Bellaire] believed to be a 'safe space' based on his existing relationship with [Armstrong] and do not amount to a poisoned work environment."
When asked in an email to confirm whether the allegations against Bellaire were substantiated, Windsor police's corporate communications director, Gary Francoeur, said, "The information in your message is not entirely accurate.
"However, as the matter is still before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO), we cannot comment further at this time," he said.
Francoeur refused to clarify what he meant by "not entirely accurate."
Human rights report filed last year
CBC News reached out to both Armstrong and Bellaire and did not receive a response by publication time.
Armstrong filed the HRTO complaint last year, saying Bellaire made several racist remarks to him at work.
In those HRTO documents, Armstrong indicated he filed the same complaint internally. That process concluded in January, while the human rights dispute is ongoing.
Armstrong said Bellaire asked him to use his "Black magic" to ease criticism from a local university professor and referred to her as a "Black radical."
He also stated Bellaire suggested there is telepathic communication among Black people and said he preferred "whiter" things.
Armstrong said that in a separate instance, Bellaire mentioned needing a "Black friend" to accompany him to certain events.
In a statement to CBC News last month, Windsor Police Association president Kent Rice said he's "genuinely concerned about how minority members feel coming into a work environment where the chief has been found to make discriminatory remarks."
"This raises serious questions about the culture of the workplace and the message it sends to those who already face challenges based on their identity," he added.
Rice also rejected the investigator's findings that Bellaire believed it was a "safe space" when the racist remarks were made.
"[It's] not only deeply offensive, but it also completely disregards the principles of decency and professionalism that are expected of any leader within an organization," Rice said.
The investigation was completed in January. On Feb. 5, Bellaire announced he will be retiring in November — halfway through his five-year contract.
Bellaire didn't provide a reason for his early retirement.
The investigation also "substantiated" offensive comments made toward the Indigenous community by Insp. Jill Lawrence, although it didn't specify what those were.
The Windsor Police Service declined to comment on that matter, citing the human rights tribunal proceedings.
Consequences for police chief remain unknown
The summary of the third-party investigation said the Windsor Police Service Board "will be taking appropriate action to address breaches."
However, the board wouldn't specify what sort of consequences, if any, Bellaire would face for his actions.
"The Windsor Police Service Board will make no comment on personnel matters regarding a specific employee," said Norma Coleman, administrative director for the board.
Windsor police board chair Drew Dilkens comments on allegations against police chief Jason Bellaire
7 months ago
Duration 1:26
In August, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, who stepped aside as police board chair last month, told CBC News he wanted to wait for an investigation into the allegations to finish "to understand what is true, what is fact from the fiction."
"At the end of the day, I don't get too fussed about these types of things until they've gone through a judicial or quasi-judicial process like this one will, and when we get to the end we'll be in a much better position to have an intelligent conversation on the topic."
Dilkens has not responded to CBC's request for a comment about the findings of the internal investigation.
The police association is seeking accountability from the board.
"What I do find troubling is that the police services board has been aware of this issue for several weeks and has yet to address it, either with my membership or the public. This lack of transparency and action is deeply concerning," Rice said.
The police service did not respond to CBC's request for a comment on why Bellaire is retiring early.
Armstrong's human rights complaint was filed on March 15, 2024, roughly a month after Armstrong pleaded guilty under the Police Services Act for making inappropriate comments to female employees dating back to 2005. Armstrong was demoted for one year to staff sergeant and will automatically regain his rank of inspector after that time.
Armstrong said in the HRTO application that prior to that, he hadn't received any complaints against him in his 25-year career.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
LA protests far different from '92 Rodney King riots
The images of cars set ablaze, protesters tossing rocks at police and officers firing nonlethal rounds and tear gas at protesters hearkens back to the last time a president sent the National Guard to respond to violence on Los Angeles streets. But the unrest during several days of protests over immigration enforcement is far different in scale from the 1992 riots that followed the acquittal of white police officers who were videotaped beating Black motorist Rodney King. President George H.W. Bush used the Insurrection Act to call in the National Guard after requests from Mayor Tom Bradley and Gov. Pete Wilson. After the current protests began Friday over Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of 4,100 National Guard troops and 700 Marines despite strident opposition from Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Trump cited a legal provision to mobilize federal service members when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit Monday saying Trump had overstepped his authority. Outrage over the verdicts on April 29, 1992 led to nearly a week of widespread violence that was one of the deadliest riots in American history. Hundreds of businesses were looted. Entire blocks of homes and stores were torched. More than 60 people died in shootings and other violence, mostly in South Los Angeles, an area with a heavily Black population at the time. Unlike the 1992 riots, protests have mainly been peaceful and been confined to a roughly five-block stretch of downtown LA, a tiny patch in the sprawling city of nearly 4 million people. No one has died. There's been vandalism and some cars set on fire but no homes or buildings have burned. At least 50 people have been arrested for everything from failing to follow orders to leave to looting, assault on a police officer and attempted murder for tossing a Molotov cocktail. Several officers have had minor injuries and protesters and some journalists have been struck by some of the more than 600 rubber bullets and other 'less-lethal' munitions fired by police. The 1992 uprising took many by surprise, including the Los Angeles Police Department, but the King verdict was a catalyst for racial tensions that had been building in the city for years. In addition to frustration with their treatment by police, some directed their anger at Korean merchants who owned many of the local stores. Black residents felt the owners treated them more like shoplifters than shoppers. As looting and fires spread toward Koreatown, some merchants protected their stores with shotguns and rifles.

5 hours ago
She came to Canada for university, but she'd never been accepted. The scam cost her $7K
With an admission letter to a Quebec university in hand, Aminata flew from Benin, west Africa, to Montreal with $2,000 in her pocket to fulfil her dream of pursuing higher education in Canada. Back in 2022, she'd connected with a man who she says positioned himself as a consultant who could process her documents and submit her university and immigration applications. But not long after she landed in Montreal and made her way to Chicoutimi, Que., she realized it was all a scam. She had not been accepted to university. She did not have a scholarship. Her immigration papers were fraudulent and based on a falsified acceptance letter. My dream turned into a nightmare, Aminata said. CBC is using a pseudonym to protect her identity because, due to her falsified immigration papers, she is without legal status in Canada. Clasping her hands while sitting in her apartment in Chicoutimi, nearly two years after the ordeal, the 30-year-old Beninois still doesn't feel settled or safe. I'm living with the fear that at any time I can get deported, she said. This is not a life. Aminata doesn't want to go back home now, saying she would have to completely start again in Benin. CBC News is using a pseudonym to protect her identity because of her immigration status. (CBC) Photo: CBC / Rachel Watts Aminata was not the only victim of the scam. CBC News has spoken to another woman who says the same man who presented himself as a consultant took her money after he was hired to submit her university applications. According to an expert, not only is this type of fraud becoming common, but prospective students in Africa are among those targeted by scammers in high numbers. 'I gave him all my money' For Aminata, it all started when she came into contact with the consultant through her uncle. She said the pair agreed on $4,000 before the price for the agent's service went up. I gave him all my money, she said, adding that it totalled about $7,000 in the end. She sent along the required documents — her birth certificate and diplomas. Within a few months, she was emailed an acceptance letter into the master of organization management program at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. She says the man also managed to get her the Quebec Acceptance Certificate (new window) (CAQ) — the province's mandatory document which permits international students to apply for a study permit. Although she considered deferring her acceptance to stay in Benin to save up money, she says the agent, who is also from Benin and studied in Chicoutimi, pressured her to book the flights and start school immediately. He asked me to not worry. [That] everything is under control, she said. But something was off. She arrived in Montreal on Aug. 28, 2023, and in mere days, the whole scheme unraveled. WATCH | Aminata says her dream turned into a nightmare: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? They paid a consultant thousands to help them go to university in Canada. It was a scam Two women who came from West Africa to study in Quebec say they found out after they arrived that the university acceptance letters arranged for them by a consultant, which their immigration papers were based on, were fraudulent. She says the consultant suddenly informed her he was deferring her acceptance. A fellow Chicoutimi student in whom she confided about her situation told Aminata she needed to go to the administration to sort out her status as a student. She says the consultant wouldn't answer her calls but when she finally got him on the line, he became defensive, started shouting, and told her not to give the school the documentation and acceptance letter he provided. They told me that they feel like I have been scammed, she recalled the school's administration saying, adding that she found out her real application file was open but incomplete. She says the consultant had submitted fraudulent paperwork. That day, I was feeling like this is not true, she said. Another victim, same story Fatim only realized she was a victim of a scam after seeing Aminata's story in a Radio-Canada report. (new window) Her story was the same as mine, said Fatim, who travelled to Quebec from Benin in July 2023. CBC News is also using a pseudonym to protect her identity because of her concerns over her immigration status. She arrived with the intention of starting university in Chicoutimi after receiving an admission letter and documentation from the same consultant as Aminata. Aminata pictured with her university acceptance letter. She believed it was authentic until she approached the school's administration. Photo: Radio-Canada / Priscilla Plamondon Lalancette Upon arrival, she says the consultant abandoned her despite promises to help her defer her acceptance. I didn't know it was fraud but I had felt that something was not normal, said Fatim, who says she still feels overwhelmed and imprisoned by her situation. Her father, who was responsible for connecting with the consultant, sent him thousands of dollars to help secure the university applications — even selling a property to afford it. Knowing the effort and money he put into helping her, Fatim says she tried to keep the truth from him after her schooling fell through. One day my dad said, 'my girl, tell me what's really going on?' said Fatim. I remember it like it was yesterday. She said once her father found out what happened, his health took a turn for the worse. He felt responsible for getting his daughter into trouble without even knowing it. He died in December 2024, and Fatim couldn't get back home. Although she considered returning to Benin to her family and husband — whom she hasn't seen in nearly two years — she says she wants to build a life for herself in Canada and prove to Immigration Canada that this was truly not her fault. She says the agent had previously told her she could apply for asylum in Canada to secure her immigration status — a step she said didn't feel right. She says she didn't want to abuse Canada's system. Fatim recalled telling the consultant, I want another way out of this mess you've gotten me into. CBC News contacted the man who Aminata and Fatim say scammed them. In a brief phone call, he denied allegations that he is an agent who helps people submit applications to university. He also denied having taken any money. CBC has not been able to reach him for follow up questions or an interview. His number has since been deactivated. Dozens of fraudulent admission letters The way things are, victims of immigration fraud often have little recourse, says Richard Kurland, an immigration lawyer and policy analyst based in Vancouver. He says it's also more difficult for people to do their due diligence because they are less familiar with the Canadian college system. The communication infrastructure is not the same, he said. And literally some people have sold the farm to get to Canada to study. Now those are tragedies. In his career, he says scams for immigration foreign study permits have become as common as Vancouver rain. The Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) says 44 cases of fraudulent admission letters were identified by the registrar's office between June and December 2023. While most of the individuals who received these letters did not show up on campus, 12 did, said a university spokesperson in an emailed statement. In cases where individuals showed up on campus with a CAQ document and study permit obtained through the falsified letter, UQAC says they took the necessary precautions to advise the authorities. UQAC says several calls were made to Quebec's Ministry of Immigration, Francization and Integration to question the validity of the CAQ paperwork obtained by these students. In an emailed statement, the ministry told CBC that in the past few years, admission letters containing irregular elements and inauthentic parts have been detected in several files. The Université du Québec à Chicoutimi says between June and December 2023, 44 cases of fraudulent admission letters were identified by the registrar's office. Photo: Radio-Canada / Julien Gagnon Although these situations remain marginal in relation to the overall volume of requests processed, they are rigorously monitored, read the statement. The ministry also confirmed that in order to act as an immigration consultant, an individual must be recognized as such by the government. When an immigration consultant obtains this recognition, his or her name is entered in the register of immigration consultants (new window) . The name of the consultant both women used is not part of the province's list. 1,550 study permit applications linked to fraud In 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that investigations uncovered nearly 1,550 study permit applications were linked to fraudulent letters of acceptance. This number also includes those that were detected two to three years prior, it says. These applications were intended for designated learning institutions (new window) (DLIs) — a school approved by a provincial or territorial government to host international students, read the statement. In most of these cases, the fraud was detected and subsequent applications were refused, it said. IRCC says the verification process for acceptance letters requires that DLIs verify the authenticity of all letters. To date, the improved letter of acceptance verification system has intercepted more than 10,000 potentially fraudulent letters of acceptance, IRCC says. 'Nobody is doing anything' Both Fatim and Aminata have blocked the consultant's number and are being represented by the same lawyer in their attempt to find a solution for their cases and move forward. Aminata says when she was first informed about the scam, she told UQAC that the agent who falsified her acceptance was a student. UQAC confirmed to Radio-Canada that he was then expelled from his university program. Aminata applied to the university again, contacted the prime minister, the federal minister of immigration, provincial politicians, the anti-fraud service and local police. After that, there was a silence, she said. Saguenay police confirmed to Radio-Canada that they could not take on Aminata's file because the fraud happened overseas. In an emailed statement, it says the victim was referred to her embassy and local police force. They asked me to talk and I talked and nobody is doing anything, Aminata said. I still have that little bit of light … hope that things will change. Rachel Watts (new window) · CBC News

4 days ago
Killer of London, Ont., Muslim family appeals convictions, challenging use of manifesto at trial
Headlines Latest News Podcasts (new window) Convicted killer Nathaniel Veltman addresses his sentencing hearing in Ontario Superior Court in London on Jan. 24, 2024. Photo: (Pam Davies/CBC) Posted: June 6, 2025 8:54 PM Word of Nathaniel Veltman's appeal comes on 4th anniversary of attack on Afzaal family. Warning: This story contains distressing details. A London, Ont., man convicted of killing four members of a Muslim family and severely injuring a fifth member in a hate-motivated attack on June 6, 2021, is appealing on three grounds, including that the judge should not have allowed the jury to consider his white nationalist manifesto. A Windsor jury found Nathaniel Veltman guilty in November 2023 of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Three months later, then Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance ruled his actions amounted to a textbook case of terrorism as defined under Canadian law. He was sentenced on Jan. 24, 2024. Friday's news of the appeal comes on the fourth anniversary (new window) of the killing of Yumnah Afzaal, 15, her parents — Madiha Salman, 44, an engineer, and Salman Afzaal, 46, a physiotherapist — and family matriarch Talat Afzaal, 74, a teacher and artist. The youngest family member, a boy, survived. Veltman drove his pickup truck into the family as they were taking an evening stroll on June 6, 2021. Appeal sought on 3 grounds I appreciate that the community was horrified by this offence and the remaining members of the family were devastated by this offence. I respect that, and I feel very badly for both the family and for the community, Veltman's appeal lawyer, Stephen Whitzman, told CBC News. Mr. Veltman, of course, has a right to exercise his full legal rights, including his right to an appeal, and it's my job as his lawyer to assist him in doing that, and I hope that everyone will understand that those two things can both exist together. The appeal is being sought on three grounds, based on court records obtained by CBC News: The judge erred in admitting the ideological evidence, including Veltman's white supremacist manifesto, titled "A White Awakening," which set out his political and racist views; The judge erred in admitting Veltman's statements to a police officer which were obtained via a "Charter breach," meaning he was not properly warned of his rights; The judge erred in refusing the defence application for a mistrial because of what Veltman's lawyer at the time called "inflammatory language" during the Crown's closing statement, including references to the crime scene and the grievous injuries suffered by the victims. Veltman's trial lasted 12 weeks. The jury heard evidence he was motivated by right-wing extremist and Islamophobic views, and he described himself as a white nationalist. He grew up in a strict Christian home and fell into a web of online hate during the COVID-19 pandemic, the trial heard. WATCH | CBC's coverage of the judge's 2023 ruling in the Muslim attack case: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Afzaal family's murder 'textbook' terrorism, judge rules 1 year agoDuration2:21A judge in London, Ont., ruled the actions of the man who ran down a Muslim family with his truck in 2021, killing four people, were a 'textbook example of terrorist motive and intent.' Nathaniel Veltman was already sentenced to life in prison for murdering four members of the Afzaal family. Veltman testified in his own defence and said he took magic mushrooms a day before the killing in order to escape the hell of his mind. The killing galvanized London and Canadian society to create laws and groups that would combat Islamophobia. Community reflects on 4 years since Afzaal family killed (new window) As it has on every anniversary of the killing, the community gathered Friday to reflect on the family, who became known as Our London Family, and to recognize the impact of the tragedy. Kate Dubinski (new window) · CBC News Environment Canada says air quality in the city is 'very high risk' as of noon Friday. One Canadian Economy bill crafted to strengthen Canada's economy, sovereignty in face of Trump's tariffs. Bill C-2 gives power to pause, cancel and suspend immigration documents. Distribution sites have been plagued by deaths, reports of violence in last 2 weeks. Canada hosting high-level gathering in Alberta in just over a week. 10 hours ago International