Black and Indigenous Canadians have a historically tenuous relationship with the police. 

On Friday, April 16th, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced new restrictions regarding interprovincial travel, extending the state of emergency and stay-at-home order by two weeks, and placing new restrictions on recreational activities with an influx of COVID-19 cases. During this press conference, Solicitor General Sylvia Jones stated that police will now have the authority to stop a vehicle or person to inquire about their reason for leaving their residence.

"Police will have the authority to require any individual who is not in a place of residence to first provide their purpose for not being at home and provide their address," Jones said.

This new restriction is reminiscent of carding.

In Canada, carding, officially known in Ontario as "the Community Contacts Policy," is an intelligence-gathering policy involving the stopping, questioning, and documenting of individuals when no particular offence is being investigated. The interactions take place in public, private, or any place police have contact with the public.

Early studies illustrate how police officers are trained to specifically "profile certain ethnic and or racial groups for law enforcement purposes" (Khenti, 2014, p.192). As a result, provincial studies from across the country exhibit a disproportionate number of Black Canadians being stopped and "profiled" by police more often than any other ethnic group. For example, in Toronto, Blacks are 2-17 times more likely to be carded than whites (Khenti, 2014).  

In light of the new COVID-19 restrictions, I am fearful for the lives of Black, Indigenous and other minority citizens. The enhanced police presence and encouragement to pull citizens over are essentially the same as the Community Contacts Policy (Carding). Therefore, it would be ignorant for Doug Ford and the Conservative Party of Canada not to consider the prejudiced implications. Black, Indigenous and other minority citizens will 100% be the majority of those pulled over, targeted and harassed by law enforcement as a direct result of this order. 

As the ruling government, you have a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of all citizens. MORE POWERS FOR POLICE WILL NOT STOP THIS VIRUS. 

Please sign this petition to call on our elected officials to take action against racial practices and remove increased police presence.

**Edit: In regards to the government's most recent attempt to amend the policy on April 17th; please see the petition update posted for our response.

References

Davidson, S. (2021, April 16). Ontario extends stay-at-home order, restricts interprovincial travel as province loses battle against COVID-19. Toronto. https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-extends-stay-at-home-order-restricts-interprovincial-travel-as-province-loses-battle-against-covid-19-1.5390016

Khenti, A. (2014). The Canadian war on drugs: Structural violence and unequal treatment of Black Canadians. International Journal of Drug Policy, 25(2), 190-195. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2013.12.001

Owusu-Bempah, A. (2020, November 12). Race, Policing and Social Unrest During the COVID-19 Pandemic. https://rsc-src.ca/en/covid-19/impact-covid-19-in-racialized-communities/race-policing-and-social-unrest-during-covid-19