Anthony Morgan is the policy and research lawyer at the African Canadian Legal Clinic; Margaret Parsons is its executive director.
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Amid mounting public pressure, Toronto Mayor John Tory and Toronto Police Services Board chairman Alok Mukherjee unexpectedly announced that they can no longer support carding, the controversial practice of stopping and documenting people in mostly non-criminal encounters, which has been found to disproportionately target African Canadians and other minorities.
While this news should be welcomed by human-rights advocates and community activists, declaring victory may be premature. Just two months ago, Mr. Tory and Mr. Mukherjee revealed how powerless they are in the face of a police chief who is resistant to reform. From January to late March, former chief Bill Blair refused to implement changes to carding practices, which had been approved by the board in April, 2014. That led to a dramatic standoff between the chief and the board that could be resolved only through mediation by a former judge.
While Mr. Blair is gone, Toronto's new chief, Mark Saunders, seems equally resistant to ending carding; he has defended the practice as being an invaluable community safety tool that prevents and decreases crime. Neither Mr. Blair, Chief Saunders nor the Toronto Police Service has provided credible evidence proving the effectiveness of carding as a tool for solving crime.
Regardless, Chief Saunders' stance on carding is important because while Mr. Tory and Mr. Mukherjee have the authority to make general policy for the Toronto Police, the chief has sole charge over how (or whether) such policy is put into force.
Chief Saunders is the last remaining obstacle to ending carding and he seems poised to exercise his power to see the practice continue even though public opinion, civic and political leaders, lawyers, scholars, activists and a collective of prominent Torontonians all stand in opposition to carding as a violation of human rights.
It's time for Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Yasir Naqvi, the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, to step up and show support for Mr. Tory and Mr. Mukherjee in their efforts to abolish carding. The continued silence of the provincial government runs the risk of allowing a police chief to single-handedly stall human-rights reforms being demanded by the public. Mr. Blair did that in his last days as head of the force; nothing prevents Chief Saunders from doing the same.
By intervening in carding, the government would not be overstepping its bounds or meddling in Toronto municipal affairs. This is because, last week, came the revelations that, although done under the label of "street checks," carding-like practices are a common feature in police forces across the province, including the Ontario Provincial Police.
It is probably only a matter of time before it is shown that innocent African Canadians and other racialized citizens are disproportionately singled out, questioned and documented throughout Ontario in the ways seen in Toronto.
Ms. Wynne and Mr. Naqvi should use the opposition to carding to intervene and announce plans to introduce legislation against racial profiling. Whether it's called carding or street checks, racial profiling is the common denominator.
Jagmeet Singh, deputy leader of Ontario's New Democratic Party, has already started the public push toward the adoption of legislation. Ms. Wynne can no longer pretend that carding is a Toronto problem. It is a provincewide, racial-profiling problem. It's time for a provincial solution.