Province seeking public input on controversial practice of carding

Activist groups like Black Lives Matter call it a blatant form of racial profiling, while Toronto’s first black police chief, Mark Saunders, says it’s an important investigative tool that can enhance public safety.

Now the government of Ontario wants to know how you feel about carding and street checks.

On Thursday, the province announced plans for public consultations on the contentious practice.

According to a government release, the consultations will begin in August with “community organizations, policing partners, academics, civil liberty organizations and members of the public.”

The consultations will aim to “ensure that police interactions with the public are without bias, consistent, and carried out in a manner that promotes public confidence,” the release said.

An online portal has already been launched where members of the public can provide input and answer key questions.

Some of the questions include:

  • When should a police officer be allowed to question a member of the public and then record that information in a database?
  • How long should police be able to keep information collected through a street check if the information is not being used for a specific investigation?
  • Should information collected from the public be stored for future investigative purposes?
  • Should police officers be disciplined if they act improperly while conducting a street check?

 

In a statement, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Yasir Naqvi said: “Our government takes the protection of human rights very seriously … These public consultations will help develop new rules so the practice of street checks is rights-based and properly carried out; protecting individual Charter and human rights …”

In June, Toronto Mayor John Tory initially said he would seek the permanent cancellation of carding by Toronto police. Less than two weeks later he amended his motion, and called for the 2014 carding rules to be reinstated until the Ontario government completes its standardized regulations in the fall.

The 2014 policy requires police to issue receipts to those they card.

The Toronto Police Services Board voted unanimously to reinstate those rules.

But activists like Desmond Cole and the group Black Lives Matter argue the practice should be ended altogether, rather than regulated

Cole, who says he’s been carded dozens of times, told CityNews the experience is “often very scary.”

“It’s demeaning, it’s frustrating,” he said in June. “The public is not going to tolerate this anymore.”

Taking things a step further, Black Lives Matter shut down the Allen Expressway for several hours on Monday, protesting carding and the fatal police shootings of two black men, Andrew Loku and Jermaine Carby.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today