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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there is systemic racism in the Mounted police. RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, however, says there is not.
The question of to what degree discrimination is baked into the police force’s DNA has become even more important as a wave of protests against racism and police brutality sweep across the world. Just in the last week there have been reports of a Nunavut officer hitting an Inuk man with his truck or a First Nations leader in Alberta getting beaten up by police over an expired licence.
“To me, you can’t deal with racism in any way shape or form until you start acknowledging it exists,” Assembly of First Nations national chief Perry Bellegarde told The Globe.
Commissioner Lucki, however, told The Globe yesterday that she is still “struggling” with what the concept means. “I have heard about five or 10 different definitions on TV,” she said. "I think that if systemic racism is meaning that racism is entrenched in our policies and procedures, I would say that we don’t have systemic racism.”
Commissioner Lucki said she also thought movements such as Black Lives Matter – that call for police officers to stop disproportionate violence against Black people – were bad for the morale of police officers.
Mr. Trudeau said today he still has confidence in his commissioner, however, and that he believes change is possible for the RCMP.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
Some city councils are looking into protesters’ cries to “defund” – or at least reduce – the budgets of their police forces. It’s not clear yet how much uptake there will be, however.
Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne has two mortgages with the state-owned Bank of China for properties in London. Opposition parties say those mortgages open him up to personal financial vulnerability.
The tourism sector is asking the federal government to ease border restrictions in time for the summer season.
The Canada Revenue Agency has received about 1,300 tips on its fraudulently-claiming-emergency-benefits snitch line.
Liberal MP Lenore Zann, who represents the Nova Scotia riding where the mass shooting earlier this year took place, said an inquiry into the tragedy must address the shooter’s history of domestic violence.
Canada has pledged $16.5-million to support women’s rights and food security in Africa.
And so far admission numbers for the fall semester at postsecondary institutions are holding up, even though most classes will be online.
Rita Trichur (The Globe and Mail) on how Ontario can help with pay equity and COVID-19: “It’s obvious that low wages and a scarcity of full-time jobs were catalysts for the COVID-19 crisis. That’s why [Doug] Ford should instruct Attorney-General Doug Downey to drop a court appeal of a decision aimed at improving pay for long-term care workers. He should also encourage participating care facilities – including those run by Extendicare, Chartwell, Sienna and Revera – to cancel their appeal as well.”
Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail) on systemic racism in Quebec: “The political divide between Montreal, long the home of the province’s anglophone elite, and the rest of Quebec has always been a large one. But it has grown in recent years as the city became the destination for thousands of immigrants from North Africa and Haiti. White francophones who live in Montreal’s hip Plateau Mont-Royal or Rosemont neighbourhoods tend to be far more progressive in their politics than their relatives in the suburbs.”
Mustafa Ali (Calgary Herald) on how to fight racism: “More than reaching out, support Black Canadians in ways that empower them and their communities. Supporting Black Canadians by making a conscious effort to purchase from Black-owned businesses. Not because it’s charitable but because Black businesses have a lot to offer.”
Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail) on the inappropriateness of police not going public with the arrest of a sitting MP: “This is a distinctly Canadian feature of law enforcement – one of inexplicable opaqueness and secrecy essentially by default. On record collection, record-keeping and disclosure, Canada lags behind other developed countries on everything from racial data, to use of force, to sexual assault tracking, to tracing guns used in crimes. Data usually has to be specifically requested by journalists, though it is only sometimes provided.”
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Chris Hannay