Latest news with #AntiRacism
CBC
26-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
New Montreal police street check policy praised by city, panned by advocacy groups
Social Sharing Montreal police unveiled a new street check policy Monday, and it's already being praised as progress by the city but criticized by anti-racism advocates for its lack of clear consequences for officers who violate it. The policy applies to officers with the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) randomly stopping people on foot, commonly known as street checks. Officers will need to clarify the reason for the interaction and inform the person they are free to leave at any time. Officers must then document each of these interactions. Documented street check reports will then be reviewed by a committee to ensure there is no racial profiling. Police Chief Fady Dagher says the updated policy will help build trust with the community. While it is just a start to addressing racial profiling within the SPVM, he says it is a step in the right direction. A report published in 2019 found that Indigenous, Black, Asian and Arab people disproportionately experienced random police checks. A street check policy adopted in 2020 aimed to reduce officers' power to stop people at random. A second report, published in 2023 by some of the same researchers, concluded there was no decrease in profiling after the SPVM created the 2020 policy. It found that between 2014 and 2021, Indigenous people were six times more likely to be stopped by police than white people. Black people were 3.5 times more likely to be stopped and Arab people 2.6 times. The SPVM says it has now taken the necessary steps to address concerns about racial profiling, and that is reflected in the updated policy. It's expected to take effect this fall, but the SPVM says officers have already been instructed to start following it. Public security head praises new policy Alain Vaillancourt, who oversees public security on Montreal's executive committee, praised the move in a statement, calling it a positive step forward. "It represents an important stage in the conversation our administration has initiated around profiling," the statement says. "The new requirement for police officers to inform individuals that they are not obliged to comply and may leave at any time is a significant development." He commends the work carried out by Dagher and his team, emphasizing that this is an ongoing effort and the policy may still be adjusted based on the effects observed by police, the public and partners. However, the Ligue des Noirs du Québec, a civil liberties group, says the new policy lacks enforcement and does little to hold officers accountable without legislative backing. "The new stop-and-question policy comes with no sanctions," says president Max Stanley Bazin in a statement. "The provincial government must step in — we're all waiting for a specific law to address the reality of systemic racism and systemic discrimination." In other provinces, these issues are recognized and openly acknowledged, he says. "The right to equality must be respected," he says. Sanctions needed for officers who don't respect policy Another rights advocacy group, the Ligue des droits et libertés, says in a news release that this measure is insufficient. It says officers should explicitly inform those stopped that they have no legal obligation to identify themselves or answer questions, and sanctions should be imposed if this obligation is not respected. "Citizens affected by racial and social profiling know there is a vast difference between policy on paper and reality on the street," the news release says. It says the fight for a total ban on these stops is not over. Fo Niemi, executive director of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), says this policy is an improvement compared to the one in 2020, as it clarifies what citizens' rights and freedoms are. However, his organization will be studying the new policy further to determine how it differs from the 2020 version from a legal point of view. "One of the most important criteria we have to look at is the notion of reasonable suspicion in order to justify the legality of the street check," Niemi says. He says the policy's application needs to be examined from the citizens' perspective, particularly among young people and "whether those young people's rights and freedoms will still be respected." Niemi says he doesn't believe the policy will improve trust between the community and police. There are other ways to enhance public security, trust and community co-operation, he says, and these policies should be created from the citizens' perspective. The legality of random police stops in Quebec remains before the courts. The province is appealing a Quebec Court of Appeal decision that found such stops unconstitutional without reasonable suspicion, with the case expected to go to the .
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Peterborough City Council adopts Islamophobia statement
A city council has agreed to adopt an Islamophobia statement in a bid to support Muslim communities in the at Peterborough City Council were asked to draft the statement following a motion at full council in June statement includes a definition of Islamophobia and sets out some of the ways Muslims are impacted by Samantha Hemraj, who introduced the item at full council on Monday, said: "The council has been working closely with the joint mosque committee, local schools, the police and health providers." She said Islamophobia could have a "serious" impact in Muslim communities."The Islamophobia statement demonstrates a council commitment to supporting Muslim communities and fits alongside broader anti-racism policies and statements," she authority said it would encourage organisations and businesses it works with to adopt the statement and commit to "tackling the prejudice and disadvantage that Muslims can face".The city has a growing Muslim to the last census in 2021, 12.2% of people living in Peterborough described themselves as Muslim, compared with the average of 6.7% across Choudhuri, chair of the Joint Mosques Council Peterborough, said he was "absolutely delighted" with the decision to adopt the said: "It is now very clear so everybody is aware of what Islamophobia is and we need to work it out together how to eradicate the hate and Islamophobia."It's what I call a stepping stone in the right direction." Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
National Post
09-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Terry Newman: RCMP puts land, African Nova Scotian acknowledgements before missing kids
Article content This has likely spread to the RCMP due to the initiative's fifth stated action to: 'Prioritize advancing the work of Dalhousie's Diversity and Inclusiveness Strategy, Indigenous Strategy, African Nova Scotian Strategy, and actions that reflect Dalhousie's commitment to an anti-racist culture.' Article content Now, putting the valid distinctness, histories, legacies, and contributions of African Nova Scotians aside for the moment, what use did the RCMP see in making this announcement? They're obviously not looking to be recognized as one of the world's leading universities. Article content Is the RCMP in Nova Scotia insecure about past and present treatment of African Nova Scotians? If that's the reason, say so. Deliver a clear, public apology for each and every wrongdoing, not at a press conference scheduled for an update on missing kids, but at an event tailored specifically to that purpose. Then, move past it. Change policies that may have led to such wrongdoings. If forgiveness is what the Nova Scotia RCMP seeks from African Nova Scotians, then ask for it. Article content Was it the RCMP's attempt to show African Nova Scotians that they can trust them? Well, there are better ways to do that, too. They can begin by stating outright that they are, in fact, seeking to earn their trust. They could become a more regular and warm presence at community festivals and participate in youth initiatives. If you want a community's trust, earn it with actions. Article content Article content Just don't blow smoke up their backsides by delivering the vaguest of possible statements about their distinctness, histories, legacies, and contributions to the enrichment of the province. They know what they are. Article content Like the land acknowledgment which preceded it, this was a shallow ritual. Both were out of place in the context of an update on a search for missing children. Neither lead to any real-world effects, other than the delay of timely information being communicated to the public and a checkmark on some public relations expert's checklist. Article content Even from the most well-meaning of orators, acknowledgments like these are largely a form of self-flagellation for actual or perceived wrongs. They are an attempt for the speaker and/or those in attendance to cast off feelings of guilt in a pseudo-religious ceremonial way. Their underlying purpose is to deflect blame by avoiding direct specific apologies and/or actual efforts needed to put issues to rest. They do not solve cultural problems. Instead, they ensure their persistence by enshrining them as if they were scripture, behaving as if a particular groups' unfortunate conditions, stated or implied, will be a constant, continuing, and necessary feature of our society. Article content And where will these declarations end? Does the Nova Scotia RCMP have a hierarchy of groups it believes the public should be acknowledging? Which group is next? Will they be trickling them out one at a time? How do they make these decisions about groups and their contributions to the province? Clearly, they are no longer based solely on length of time spent in Canada. If so, Acadians — who were literally ethnically cleansed from Acadie in 1755 — would have been mentioned before African Nova Scotians. Or are they no longer 'distinct' enough, whatever that means? Will future acknowledgment choices be added based on the relationship between the RCMP and particular groups they police? How long can we expect future RCMP updates on missing kids to take, by the time they get to the end of their acknowledgments list? Article content It's not clear why such acknowledgments exist, at all, before RCMP updates. One thing is for sure — they certainly should not be reciting them in order to deflect blame, or to avoid apologies or the exertion of the genuine efforts required to actually engage with these groups, which they clearly see as disadvantaged, even if they do not admit it outright and, instead, state the exact opposite. Article content
