Liberals put ‘carding’ under the microscope in Brampton

Police street checks were the focus of a public meeting held by the provincial government in Peel region on Tuesday night.

The Liberals are looking to reform the practice, commonly known as “carding” in Toronto, and they fielded questions and solicited suggestions from the public.

In a statement released following the meeting, Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie thanked the province for consulting the public on the contentious issue.

“It is important that we provide our front line officers with the tools they need to do their job, and to be safe in the line of duty,” Crombie said. “At the same time we must always, first and foremost, protect the rights and freedoms of all residents, despite race, religion or ethnicity.”

“Everyone in the community must feel safe, but no one should feel targeted, and tonight’s meeting is an important step forward to help us achieve this unwavering goal.”

But Brampton MPP and provincial NDP deputy leader Jagmeet Singh thinks reforming isn’t going far enough.

“I call on the provincial government to provide leadership to ban the practice of carding.”

Singh has been urging the province to ban the practice since before the summer, saying that there’s already enough evidence that street checks have a negative impact on communities – and the Liberals are making a mistake by ignoring that.

“To initiate a consultation process at this time, when we already know the key concerns that have been already raised, to me, is disrespectful of the work that has already been done.”

Critics of the controversial practice say it amounts to “racial profiling,” which leads to mistrust of police by the public.

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