Mounting deaths stemming from police wellness checks a ‘wake-up call,’ says Senator
It’s time to “reset” how police and health professionals respond to people in crisis, says a Senator and former leading psychiatrist, in the wake of several police wellness checks that ended in the deaths of the people being checked on. Still, Independent Senator Stan Kutcher doesn’t echo the “well-intended” call that officers be removed from […]
Once you think you have a handle on where terrorism is going it throws you for a loop
OTTAWA—We have been living in a post-9/11 world now for almost two decades. The events of that fateful day led to two military invasions by the U.S. and its allies in the name of ‘fighting terrorism’ as well as actions by other nations in the same vein. We have all learned more than we probably […]
Beleagured Trump signals he’s betting it all on a white racist backlash
OTTAWA—The trajectory of the U.S. presidential election campaign clarified itself on the weekend as President Donald Trump confirmed the unyielding position he is carving out as Americans arrive at an epochal moment of truth in their troubled race relations. If there was any doubt that Trump would pursue the most dangerous, hateful strategy possible, one of inciting […]
Greater national oversight of RCMP officers needed, say experts, politicos, to address structural racism
As the government vows to bring in reforms to the RCMP, Ottawa should move away from its current “patchwork” approach to oversight bodies for the national police force to ensure greater accountability, say some experts and Parliamentarians. Calls for a re-evaluation of how the force is funded, how officers are held to account, and what […]
No pride in police history of neglect and violence against queer communities
OTTAWA—Some of you are new to caring about the humanity of Black lives. And it shows. In 2016, when Black Lives Matter defiantly stopped Toronto’s Pride Parade for 30 minutes to demand an end to uniformed and armed police presence—a parade that prominently featured the prime minister—they were met with outrage from the queer community. […]
Defund the police? More like re-think how we fund them
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—A little less than two hours’ drive from here lies the city of Edmundston, N.B. With only 16,500 inhabitants, it is notable for straddling the borders of two provinces and two countries. But not much else. However, on June 4, Edmundston became the focal point of national media as an Indigenous woman, Chantel Moore, […]
The ‘afterlife of slavery’: defund, reform Canada’s prisons, advocates call, after watchdog says ‘very little’ has improved for Black inmates
Seven years after Canada’s prison watchdog report detailed the systemic discrimination Black men and women experience inside the country’s prisons, the office says “very little” has changed as advocates call for “aggressive” reform. Black Canadians continue to be overrepresented in federal prisons, in segregation, and in use-of-force incidents, said Correctional Investigator of Canada Ivan Zinger […]
Avoid painting all police officers with the same brush in push for reform
OTTAWA—Racism is pervasive in Canada. It is found almost everywhere. We can all do better to stamp it out and make meaningful personal, as well as societal, changes. I have made stupid comments, cracked jokes, and given others what I thought were playful nicknames that in hindsight were not appropriate and offensive. That was wrong […]
The never-ending outrage: Canadians need to finally come to terms with police brutality and racial injustice
OTTAWA—The video of RCMP officers attacking and punching Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam is disturbing enough. But the truly shocking part of this episode was the conclusion by RCMP supervisors reviewing the incident that it was an appropriate use of force. Wood Buffalo RCMP said “it was determined (by supervisors) that the members’ […]
Speak out against racism, demand wholesale change in Canada’s police forces
OTTAWA—In the second quarter of 2020, racism and police brutality was brought to the forefront of the world’s consciousness. Black Americans, Native Americans, and allies closed down American cities as a measure of the stark and desperate urgency to change whole systems. Racism and police brutality have no place in any democracy. The movement crossed […]
