#RCMP issued an #apology on September 7, 2024, for the historic use of #StreetChecks and other harmful interactions with members of the #African #NovaScotian community. It was an apology too long in coming, for treatment that was, in the words of Rev. Lennett Anderson, “dehumanizing and tragic.” And the RCMP's history suggests we should be deeply skeptical that the proposed action plan will be even close to what is required to remedy these grave injustices.
In his 2019 report, written for the #NovaScotia #HumanRights Commission, Dr. Scot Wortley defines street checks as any occasion in which civilians are stopped by #police and subjected to intrusive questions, and their personal information collected into a database. He confirmed what community members have known for years: people of African descent in the #Halifax region are almost six times more likely to face street checks.
It took five years after the release of this report for the RCMP to apologize for the harms caused. They also committed to an action plan, developed in consultation with members of 13 African Nova Scotian communities and the Association of #Black #SocialWorkers.
https://mediacoop.ca/node/119259
#CDNpoli #NSpoli #DefundRCMP #SystematicRacism #ColonialViolence #RacialProfiling #RacistRCMP #RacistCops #ACAB #BlackCanadians #Maritimes #BlackCommunity #ColonialInjustices #SocialJustice #BIPOC #POCinCanada
