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e-3349 (Social affairs and equality)

E-petition
Initiated by Alain Babineau from Montréal, Quebec

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Whereas:
  • The practice of racial profiling by law enforcement seriously threatens the equal rights, democracy and justice for all Canadians;
  • The Supreme Court has acknowledged that systemic racial profiling is a “day-to-day reality” for Black and Indigenous Canadians;
  • In 2017, a UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent found that racial profiling is “endemic” in Canadian law enforcement, and urged this country to immediately discontinue this practice in all of its forms;
  • While some provinces have passed regulations and moratoriums prohibiting these practices, pretextual pedestrian “street checks” and “stops” of Black motorists (aka "driving while black") persist;
  • There is a clear link between public confidence in policing and public safety, the erosion of police legitimacy has profound consequences for our justice system, the cost effectiveness of police services and billions of taxpayers’ dollars paid annually;
  • To date, there has been no concrete meaningful action from governments to effect systemic changes in policing to eliminate the practice of racial profiling; and
  • Canada has the constitutional power to legislate in respect to “peace, order and good government”.
We, the undersigned, citizens (or residents) of Canada, call upon the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to request the enacting of legislation to prohibit racial profiling and influence the policing culture in this country, by requiring law enforcement agencies to establish policies and procedures to eliminate it from their practices in order to qualify to receive Federal funding.
Open for signature
May 28, 2021, at 9:26 a.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
August 26, 2021, at 9:26 a.m. (EDT)
Photo - Matthew Green
Hamilton Centre
New Democratic Party Caucus
Ontario