Hon. Yasir Naqvi Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services 18th Floor, George Drew Building 25 Grosvenor Street Toronto, ON M7A 1Y6

October 2, 2015

RE: Abolish Police "Street Checks" to Safeguard Human Rights and Improve Health

Dear Minister Naqvi,

This letter is to thank you and the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services for listening to concerns about proposed regulation of "street checks" or "" by police services across the province. As noted in the Minister's update: "we have heard from the community that street checks by definition are arbitrary as well as discriminatory and therefore cannot be regulated – they must simply be ended. The province agrees that these types of stops must end."1The Registered Nurses' Association of (RNAO) appreciates the Minister's promise to ban street checks through regulations.2 There is overwhelming quantitative3 4 and qualitative evidence5 6 7 that racialized Ontarians are disproportionately targeted by street checks. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association,8 Law Union of Ontario,9 Ontario Bar Association,10 and the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC)11 are among the organizations that have raised concerns about the human rights implications of street checks. In 2002, the OHRC documented the corrosive impact of racial profiling on individuals, organizations, institutions, community, and systems.12 More than a decade later, the evidence of the negative health impacts of racism has only grown.13 14 15 16 17 While banning street checks is a necessary first step, the larger issue of improving community policing to address racism remains an ongoing challenge. The two fundamental principles identified by the Minister in relation to police interactions with the public are important but not sufficient: "Number one, we take the protection of human rights very seriously, and there is absolutely zero tolerance when it comes to any kind of racial profiling or discrimination; second, that we stand opposed to any police stops that do not have a clear policing purpose and which are predicated solely on bias."18 RNAO recognizes that "racism is systemic in our society and endemic in our institutions."19 Just as the health system, organizations, and workforce, including nursing,20 21 must acknowledge and actively address racism, so too must every public service,22 including policing. To balance police subcultures that may perceive racial profiling as integral to their work,23 it is critical that the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services continues to listen and work together with individuals, communities, and advocates on reimagining public engagement as part of community policing. The province has reached a tipping point with failure of the Toronto Police Services to implement rights-

Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario L’Association des infirmières et infirmiers autorisés de l’Ontario 158 Pearl Street, Toronto, ON M5H 1L3 ~ Ph. 416 599 1925 ~ Toll-free 1 800 268 7199 ~ Fax 416 599 1926 ~ www.RNAO.ca based reforms on community contacts specified by the Toronto Police Services Board in April 2014,24 25 26 contested interpretations of what constitutes a street check and its legality,27 28 29 and ongoing public dismay about this issue.30 31 32 33 34 35 In addition to a permanent end to police street checks, RNAO looks forward to the development of new regulations on how police may interact with the public such that human rights obligations as well as public safety requirements are met. We look forward to your response. Kind regards,

Doris Grinspun, RN, MSN, PhD, LLD(hon), O.ONT Chief Executive Officer, RNAO

Copy: Honourable , Honourable Dr. , Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Ruth Goba, Interim Chief Commissioner, Ontario Human Rights Commission

References

1Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services (2015).Ontario Proposed Regulation for Street Checks Discussion Document: Update from Minister Naqvi." http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/PublicConsultations/mcscs_pc.aspx 2Legislative Assembly of Ontario (2015).Hansard. September 14,2015, 4989. http://www.ontla.on.ca/house-proceedings/transcripts/files_pdf/14-SEP-2015_L094.pdf 3Rankin,J. (2010). Race Matters: Blacks documented by police at high rate. Toronto Star, February 6,2010. http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/raceandcrime/2010/02/06/race_matters_blacks_documented_by_police_at_high_rate. html 4 Rankin, J. &Winsa, P.(2012). Known to police: Toronto police stop and document black and brown people far more than whites. Toronto Star, March9,2012. http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2012/03/09/known_to_police_toronto_police_stop_and_document_black_and_brown _people_far_more_than_whites.html 5 Deputations to the Toronto Police Services Board Street Checks Sub-Committee http://www.tpsb.ca/Street%20Checks%20Minutes%20and%20Deputations.pdf 6Cole,D. The Skin I'm In: I've been interrogated by police more than 50 times--all because I'm black. Toronto Life, April 21,2015. http://www.torontolife.com/informer/features/2015/04/21/skin-im-ive-interrogated-police-50-times-im-black/ 7Urban Alliance on Race Relations (2015).Addressing the Discrimination Experienced by Somali . Toronto: Author, 14. https://urbanalliance.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/uarrfinalsingles_july23.pdf

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8Canadian Civil Liberties Association (2015).Submission to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Service. Toronto: Author.https://ccla.org/cclanewsite/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015-08-17-Racial-profiling-MCSCS- Consultation-Written-Submission-FINAL.pdf 9Law Union of Ontario (2014).Carding, Street Checks, Non Arrest Contacts: The Addario Report and Opinion. Toronto: Author. http://www.lawunion.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/2014-04-04-LUO-Submission-to-TPSB-re-carding-FINAL.pdf 10Ontario Bar Association (2015).Ontario Proposed Regulation for Street Checks Consultation.Toronto: Author. https://www.oba.org/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?guid=fdcce71e-9a4a-4fce-a7f7-4410f938dc56 11 Ontario Human Rights Commission (2015).OHRC Submission to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services on Street Checks. Toronto: Author. http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/ohrc-submission-ministry-community-safety-and-correctional-services-street-checks 12Ontario Human Rights Commission (2002).Paying the Price: The Human Cost of Racial Profiling. Toronto: Author. http://www.ohrc.on.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/Paying_the_price%3A_The_human_cost_of_racial_profiling.pdf 13Toronto Public Health (2013).Racialization and Health Inequities in Toronto. Toronto: Author.http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2013/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-62904.pdf 14Williams, D. & Mohammed, S.(2013). Racism and Health: Pathways and Scientific Evidence. American Behavioral Scientist.57: 1152. 15Phelan, J., & Link, B. (2015). Is racism a fundamental cause of inequalities in health? Annual Review of Sociology.41:311-330. 16Allan, B.&Smylie, J.(2015). First Peoples, second class treatment: The role of racism in the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples in Canada. Toronto: Wellesley Institute. http://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Report-First-Peoples-Second-Class-Treatment-Feb- 2015.pdf 17National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health. Aboriginal racism in Canada. Prince George: Author. http://www.nccah-ccnsa.ca/419/Aboriginal_Racism_in_Canada.nccah 18Legislative Assembly of Ontario (2015).Hansard. September 14,2015, 4989. 19Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (2012). Policy Statement: Racism. Toronto: Author,1.http://rnao.ca/sites/rnao- ca/files/storage/related/2286_Racism_2002.pdf 20McGibbon, E.& Etowa, J. (2009). Anti-Racist Health Care Practice. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press. 21Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (2007).Embracing Cultural Diversity in Health Care: Developing Cultural Competence. Toronto: Author. http://rnao.ca/sites/rnao-ca/files/Embracing_Cultural_Diversity_in_Health_Care_-_Developing_Cultural_Competence.pdf 22Nzira, V. & Williams, P. (2009). Anti-Oppressive Practice in Health and Social Care. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. 23Satzewich, V. &Shaffir, W. (2009). Racism versus Professionalism: Claims and Counter-claims about Racial Profiling. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice.51: 2, 199-226. 24 Toronto Police Services Board (2014). Community Contacts Policy. April 24, 2014. http://www.tpsb.ca/FS/Docs/Policies/Board_Policies/ 25 CBC News (2014). Police not always following carding policy, study suggests. CBC News, November 12, 2014. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/police-not-always-following-carding-policy-study-suggests-1.2833024 26 Winsa, P. (2015). Police board votes to curb, but apparently not scrap, carding. Toronto Star, June 18, 2015. http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/06/18/police-board-votes-to-reform-but-apparently-not-scrap-carding.html 27 Huncar, A. (2015). Police street checks: Valuable investigative tool or racial profiling? CBC News, September 14, 2015. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/police-street-checks-valuable-investigative-tool-or-racial-profiling-1.3226705 28 Gillis, W. (2015). Critics see problems with carding review. Toronto Star, August 28, 2015. http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/08/28/critics-see-problems-with-carding-review.html 29 Larocque, C. (2015). police taking heat over street checks. Ottawa Sun, July 23, 2015. http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/07/23/ottawa-police-taking-heat-over-street-checks 30 CBC News (2015). Concerned Citizens to End Carding demand end to controversial policing tactic. CBC News, June 3, 2015 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/concerned-citizens-to-end-carding-demand-end-to-controversial-policing-tactic- 1.3098291 31 O'Brien, J. (2015). Street check hearing: Londoners to get say on police carding. London Free Press, August 18, 2015. http://www.lfpress.com/2015/08/18/londoners-to-get-say-on-police-carding 32 Smith, M. (2015). Frustrations mount during final public consultations on police carding. Globe and Mail, September 1, 2015. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/frustrations-mount-during-final-public-consultations-on-police- carding/article26187940/

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33 Ellis, C. (2015). How the negative effects of carding go far beyond Toronto city limits. TVO, September 14, 2015. http://tvo.org/article/current-affairs/shared-values/how-the-negative-effects-of-carding-go-far-beyond-toronto-city-limits 34 Grewal, S. (2015). Brampton residents push to end street checks. Toronto Star, August 25, 2015. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/08/25/brampton-residents-push-to-end-street-checks.html 35 Globe Editorial: Toronto's carding policy diminishes trust in the police. Globe and Mail, May 19, 2015. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/editorials/torontos-carding-policy-diminishes-trust-in-the- police/article24498401/

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