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Sikh Males in Ontario and Random Police Stops (Carding)

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Sikh Males in Ontario and Random Police Stops (Carding) Sikh Males In Ontario And Random Police Stops (Carding) By Gurdeep Singh Jagpal A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In Legal Studies Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2018 Gurdeep Singh Jagpal ii Abstract This thesis is based on interviews with Ontario adult Sikh males who have had carding experiences. The participants’ responses indicate that discrimination occurs towards Canadian Sikh males, including institutional discrimination. During their carding experience, the Sikh males were usually given either a made-up traffic violation reason when they were driving, a false investigative reason when they were on the street, or no reason at all to stop them. A good portion of the participants also faced a random search of their vehicles and/or of themselves during their carding incident. In exceptional cases, Sikh males faced an abusive experience. Thus, the participants view carding as a practice that targets their communities. I argue that carding has negative impacts towards Sikh males, including impacts on their psychology, future opportunities, and their evaluation of Canadian police officers. Participants provide that police conduct towards their communities needs to improve. iii Acknowledgments This project was made possible by the unwavering support of many individuals. I am grateful for everyone’s contribution to this project, as this project would not have been possible otherwise. First off, this project would like to thank UNITED SIKHS for their commitment to this project. UNITED SIKHS is committed to making a world a more equitable place, which was evident from their staunch support in projects such as this one. Their guidance and help, such as the use of office space, will forever be cherished. For more information, please visit: https://www.unitedsikhs.org/ For my thesis supervisor, Dale Spencer, thank you so much for being apart of this long journey. Your expertise and guidance has transformed this thesis project from a discussion to what it is now. I am forever grateful for everything you have done in this project. For Jeffrey Monaghan and Richard Mann, thank you for your fantastic comments and revisions to this project. It is an honour and privilege to learn from two individuals who have done great things for the community. I appreciate your contributions and unwavering support. To all my family, friends, and colleagues who have contributed to this paper, whether it be by their guidance, edits, sharing my project’s poster, practice interview simulations, motivational words, etc., thank you. Each one of your contributions played a significant part in this project is much appreciated. To community groups and members of the Sikh and South Asian communities, thank you for your support in this project. Whether it was granting permission to post on their websites, such as the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario, permission to hang posters in local Gurdwaras and community businesses or just local support from individuals, it was meaningful. I value all of the support. I am also grateful for every individual and group that gave me the opportunity to present my project on their platform. So far this includes live interviews with Tehlka Media, Hamdard Media Group, and guest lectures at Carleton University for professors Madalena Santos, Jeffrey Monaghan, and Darren Pacione. Thank you for sharing your time and space. And finally, but most importantly, I would like to give a huge thank you to every individual who was a participant in this project. It can be difficult for an individual to want to share their carding experience due to the nature of carding towards the South Asian community. It is very courageous for a participant to share their story and this project would not be possible without their participation. Each story has a unique place in this project and is essential for the understanding of how Ontario Sikh males were impacted by this practice. Thank you so much for being apart of this study. iv Contents Prelude: My Carding Experience ................................................................................................................. vi Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1: Literature Review: The Sikh Diaspora And Racial Profiling ...................................................... 7 The Sikh Diaspora of Canada .................................................................................................................... 7 Episodes That Impacted The Canadian Sikh Diaspora .............................................................................. 8 Current Issues in The Canadian Sikh Diaspora ........................................................................................ 13 Racial Profiling And Bias: The Overrepresentation of Minorities ........................................................... 15 Theories of Racial Bias ............................................................................................................................ 19 Conclusion: The Racial Profiling Practice of Carding and The Sikh Diaspora .......................................... 23 Chapter 2: Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 24 Method of Research: The Benefits of Ethnography................................................................................ 24 Recruitment and Participant Pool ........................................................................................................... 26 Procedure in The Interview ..................................................................................................................... 29 Interview Instrument .............................................................................................................................. 30 Pre-Data Analysis: Memoing ................................................................................................................... 31 Data Analysis: Directed Content Analysis Approach............................................................................... 31 Ethics: The Importance of Privacy and Confidentiality ........................................................................... 32 Limitations .............................................................................................................................................. 34 View of Canada ....................................................................................................................................... 35 Hardships ................................................................................................................................................ 37 Immigration, Discrimination, Youths, and Bullying ................................................................................ 38 Outright Discrimination .......................................................................................................................... 40 Institutional Racism................................................................................................................................. 43 Institutional Discrimination: Future Opportunities ............................................................................. 44 Institutional Discrimination: Treatment by Services and Organizations ............................................. 47 Conclusion: Discrimination is an Issue in The Sikh Community .............................................................. 51 Chapter 4: Carding in The Sikh Community ............................................................................................... 52 Random Pullovers ................................................................................................................................... 53 Carding on the Street .............................................................................................................................. 57 Random Searches .................................................................................................................................... 60 Abuse of Authority .................................................................................................................................. 63 v Conclusion: Carding And The Broader Sikh Community ......................................................................... 67 Chapter 5: How Carding Shapes Sikh Males .............................................................................................. 72 Emotions in a Random Street Check ....................................................................................................... 72 View of Carding ....................................................................................................................................... 77 Impacts Carding Has on The Community ................................................................................................ 81 Overall View of Policing .......................................................................................................................... 88 Views of What Needs to Be Done About Carding ................................................................................... 92 How Canadian Sikh Males in Ontario Are Affected by Random Police Stops ........................................
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