These are not the only interactions in recent months that have resulted in deaths, and they are not isolated incidents.
In 2020, The Ontario Human Rights Commission interim report on anti-Black racism in policing stated that Black people in Toronto are up to 20 times more likely to be shot dead by police than white people. According to a Vancouver Police Board Study, Indigenous and Black people are significantly over-represented in street checks conducted by the Vancouver Police Department. In 2017, 16% of all street checks were of Indigenous people, despite making up 2% of Vancouver’s population. Black people accounted for 4% of street checks despite making up 1% of the population.
Urge your Premier to support new, transformative approaches to upholding public safety.
The United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent has raised alarms about systemic racism within Canada’s justice system, including specific concerns on how police practices such as carding disproportionately impact Black people. Those concerns are also documented in numerous other reports, including from the Ontario Human Rights Commission and Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.
Amnesty International unequivocally supports frontline groups and activists in communities across the country who work courageously and tirelessly to expose that systemic racism and demand justice for the growing number of BIPOC who have been wrongly arrested, mistreated or killed by police across Canada.
Communities have told officials what they need, and it isn’t more enforcement.
Urge your Premier to support new, transformative approaches to upholding public safety.