Challenging “Carding” in Toronto: A Matter of Canadian Rights and Freedoms

By Desmond Miller

Few stories have gained as much media attention lately as the ongoing developments around the Toronto Police Services practice of “carding”. To focus on some of the main issues, and gain some clarity, I spoke with activist and Osgoode Hall law-student Knia Singh, who recently launched a legal challenge to the practice of carding on the basis that it violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Desmond Miller: For those who do not know, what is “carding”?

Knia Singh: Carding is the random, targeted stopping of people, who are not involved in criminal activity but are asked by police to provide personal information (for example, their name and address). That information is then placed in a police database.

DM: How did you become involved in speaking out against carding?

KS: I first became involved in speaking about carding in September 2013 when I, and a friend, Chris Williams, were featured in a story in the Toronto Star. I had no criminal record but when I filed a Freedom of Information request [with the Toronto Police] I received a fifty-page file. Ten pages was information gathered from contact cards. Much of the information was incorrect, such as my height and weight, even my place of birth, which was listed as “Jamaica” despite the fact that I was born in Canada. I am innocent, yet I have a record.

DM: What do citizens need to know about carding and why is it an important issue?

KS: Innocent people should never be stopped and intimidated or made to feel like they are forced to answer questions. The practice of carding could lead to a false charge and further complications in police interactions. Furthermore, it is important, in a free society, for Canadians to not have their rights violated. Carding violates Charter rights sections 7, 8, 9 and 15. And, it is targeted racial profiling that has a disproportionate effect on Black and Brown people.

DM: How can the practice of carding be challenged?

KS: If a citizen is stopped by police, it is important for them to know their rights and be polite and cooperative – even if their rights are being violated. Being rude could lead to other problems. If a citizen is carded, they can file a Freedom of Information request, challenge the information that police have and/or make police complaints.

DM: What do you think about the most recent developments regarding carding?

KS: Some positive steps forward have been made, including Mayor John Tory’s change in his stance on carding and the institution of the April 2014 policy (on carding), which limits some Charter rights violations. I am disappointed that this took so long and that (former Police Chief Bill) Blair did not put in this policy. I am also glad that the province (of Ontario) is stepping in and is developing a policy on carding and street checks.

What are your experiences with carding? E-mail us your stories at :

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Ontario Government Cancels Program that Assisted Unemployed get Back to Work

By Joy Lewis

On May 15, 2015, the Ministry of Training and Colleges announced it was discontinuing the Ontario Self-Employment Benefits Program (OSEB).

After 22 years of providing unemployed Ontarians with an opportunity to get back on their feet and create their own business success, it was decided that government funding was to be targeted to those who needed it most.

Essentially, OSEB Program is a proven curriculum, with many success stories, where individuals could develop their own businesses if they were able to pass program eligibility criteria, which included demonstrating business viability and preparing a business plan. If they passed this stage, they would be invited into the program where they could continue to collect their Employment Insurance for the 42-week duration of the program.

The OSEB Program was administered by business coaches at Job Skills, a non-profit organization thoroughly “dedicated to enhancing people’s capacity to participate in the labour market, thereby contributing to the economic and social viability of our community”.

After sitting in on a session, I witnessed the passion that these coaches possessed to enable their clients’ return to the workforce. Any person who has been out of work is aware of the emotions that can run through your mind. I saw participants of the program being presented with well thought out lessons designed to build confidence and skills for success. This program was not easy, I was told, and there was a minimum of 35 hours weekly that participants were required to put in.

I spoke with Catherine Turner, Director of Business Service Programs at OSEB for her comments on the cancellation of the program.

Ms. Turner has been involved with the program since 1997 and well-qualified to say that OSEB has been a long-standing, successful program which targets vulnerable people in our society.

She stated that Job Skills was shocked to hear of the Ministry’s decision to shut the program down. When I asked her about the program’s eligibility criteria, she stated that there was a diligent assessment application process was designed to ensure that those applicants that qualified for the program understood the requirements, possessed the skills and had the necessary amount of capital to complete the program and take their business plan to market.

She has seen the program produce successful entrepreneurs in fields that did not exist previously. “The entrepreneurs of today were the future of our economy and this segment does not exist anymore”.

In fact close to 70% of OSEB participants are still involved in their businesses five years later after completion of the program and more than 90% have completed the program.

When I asked Ms. Turner if she thought the program would ever be reinstated, she optimistically said, “Never say never. Programs change”.

With the cut of this program, it seems quite ironic that those who devoted themselves to unemployed individuals may soon be in the same position.

E-mail us your thoughts about the OSEB cuts

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Brutality Apologists On Social Media Distract the Debate Away from Empathy for Victims

By Natalie Hundt

The debate on social media ensued when a violent video from a pool party in McKinney Texas went viral. The McKinney police department also saw the video and suspended officer Casebolt promptly for excessive force.

The video shows Officer Casbolt pulling 15-year-old Dajerria Becton by her hair and slamming her down onto the ground. The girl, an invited guest at a pool party, wearing nothing but a bikini, cried out “Call my momma.”

Reflexively, two boys, (also in swim trunks) run to assist the female victim of the excessive force, but just as reflexively the boys jump and run as officer Casebolt draws his gun at the two young people, as they got closer. Becton now sitting on the ground, is yelled at by Casebolt to sit and although she remains seated, Casebolt pulls her up and slams her face down onto the ground again. McKinney Police Chief Greg Conley stated “The actions of Eric Casebolt are indefensible.”

Police were called after a fight broke out between a white woman, Tracey Carver-Allbritton, who was yelling racist remarks at the black members of the community, and their guests at the community pool. Carver-Allbritton was the first to physically aggress the black 19 year old, who stood up for herself and her friends.

According to Dallas Morning News, Carver-Allbritton has since been placed on administrative leave, by her employer Corelogic. When the police arrived, they forced the black bystander youths to be detained and others to leave.

That is the back story, also disturbing is the debate on social media that followed.

A young girl gets viciously attacked, yet so much of the conversation on social media, is dragged into how the officer felt at the time, what were the officers challenges, whether or not critics of individual officers are generalizing, what happened long before the attack between other people etc.

While these are all related points, the one thing getting lost (I believe deliberately by brutality apologists) is what this girl (and the other victims) went through.

That is the pinnacle of this outrage after all. How must this have traumatized her? How intense must her fear have been? How degrading was it to not be clothed and expected to leave without your belongings? How disturbing is it to attend a party and be told to go back to section 8. How must the hostess mother feel after working hard to provide a nice home in a “nice” neighbourhood and then have racial slurs hurled at her child’s guests? How hurtful is that? How infuriating was it for the teen who defended herself verbally against those slurs and then be slapped? How unfair does it feel to defend yourself from the slap only to have police go after your friends while the white people get to stand by freely and watch? How much strength does it take to carry on in a society like this? What humiliation and possible dangers might the youths have faced, leaving the neighbourhood without clothing? What were the pressures on the youths preventing them from leaving. When did it become unreasonable to tell the police forcing you to leave that you need your belongings, when there was no imminent threat that would demand evacuation?

How do high school teachers manage similar situations every day without physical force and profanity. Did officer Casebolts profanity diminish respect? Were other officers having trouble with a lack of respect? On the video the other officers are having a much different interaction with the youth. What could the abuser, Casebolt have done differently, not what could the victims do differently.

Not enough of the conversation is about the effects on the victims because some people keep distracting away from empathy, instead assassinating everyone’s character, except for (or more than) the violent officers character.

The victims and the critics should not be the ones defending themselves. You don’t have to be perfect not to deserve an attack, nor do you have to be perfect to critic heinous acts. But when you commit unjust attacks and disgrace the badge you deserve public outcry and legal consequences.

There is no question whether the officer has committed unjust attacks and disgraced the badge. That was settled when he was suspended by authorities.

Share your thoughts about the incident that took place in Texas,by emailing us at:

info@downsviewadvocate.ca

Police Investigations Put Wynne’s Government on the Hot Seat

By Matias de Dovitiis

Kathleen Wynne was elected with a majority government last summer with the promise that she would step away from the Dalton McGuinty type scandals that led to his early retirement. Her previous accomplishments as a Trustee who advocated for public education made Ontarians feel like she could serve as an honest, hard working leader that would not fall in the same trappings of power politics that sunk her predecessor. That optic is now being transformed, and we are all the worse for it. It is unfortunate that it took such a short time for this other side of Wynne to appear. The old Wynne was all about participatory democracy, and having transparent, clean processes in place.Premier Wynne, apparently is not below having her power brokers push people aside with promises, something which the chief electoral officer in Ontario stated recently appeared to be a breach of the Elections Act, and which the Ontario Provincial Police anti-racket wing is currently investigating. At issue is what transpired in the lead up to a recent by-election in Sudbury, where an NDP MPP quit after only a few months on the job for family reasons. The open seat presented an opportunity for the Liberals to expand their seat margin. In order to convince the much more high profile candidate (a seating MP for the NDP) to change parties, the Liberals decided to bypass the nomination process, and asked the previous candidate in the area not to run. This is where things become controversial and where the question of legalities comes into play. The previous candidate in the Sudbury seat for the Liberals was Andrew Olivier, who was interested in running for the open seat, but two senior Liberal party organizers met with him, and tried to convince him not to run. We know this because he recorded the conversation; Olivier is a quadriplegic and often records conversations as a means of keeping notes. Since that encounter he has made the recording public. The recording has led to an OPP investigation into Wynne’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Pat Sorbara and Gerry Lougheed, another party operative. Wynne is defending her staff stating that there were “no specific offers” or favours granted during the conversation with Olivier. Unfortunately, for the people of Ontario Wynne has two political agendas, one for the Government and one for her political party. Wynne is standing by her staff saying they will not be asked to step aside, unless the investigation proves that there was some wrongdoing. It is important to consider that the issue is not only about whether something illegal took place. At this level of government our expectations and demands are higher of our elected officials and the people that do their bidding. It is therefore insufficient to say that there was nothing illegal that took place, when in fact the actions that were taken are unethical. Whatever the legal positioning Wynne’s staff is taking, they should take a leave of absence, and should only be allowed back to work if an investigation clears them. 

Voice Your Opinion on our City’s Budget

Townhall Meeting at Yorkwoods Library (1785 Finch Avenue West)By Anthony Perruzza If you have an opinion on what Toronto’s priorities should be, now is your time to voice it.City Council will be meeting on March 10th and 11th to debate Toronto’s 2015 Capital and Operating Budget. The City Budget is the financial blueprint that funds City activities including community centre programming, paving roads, fixing sewers, and much more.I am inviting residents to take an active role in shaping Toronto’s budget by attending a town-hallmeeting I will be hosting on Tuesday, February 24 at 7 pm, at York Woods Library Theatre, 1785 Finch Avenue West.Toronto Financial Planning staff will be present to describe the Mayor’s budget, listen to your views, and help answer your questions. We will also have plenty of City information on different and exciting local projects, including the subway extension through our community.Your opinion matters and you can make a difference.  In 2011, programs and facilities in our very own community were at risk of closure based on the direction of the budget.  At the town-hallI hosted in 2011, a packed audience joined the fight to help me stop this from happening.You can find a link to a summary of Toronto’s 2015 Budget on my website www.anthonyperruzza.com It is important that I hear from you directly so if you cannot make it on February 24, make sure to send me an e-mail at: councillor_perruzza@toronto.ca or call me at: 416-338-5335, and let me know what you think the City’s priorities should be.