Current Problems:
Exploring Theme: "Systemic Racism in Policing"
Updates on this page: 34
(Filtered by Indigenous Group "Inuit")
November 21, 2024
Ten Indigenous people have died at the hands of police in recent months. Where is the outrage?
Kent Roach is a professor of law at the University of Toronto and is the author of Canadian Policing: Why and How it Must Change. The Globe and Mail: Between late August and early November, nine Indigenous men and one Indigenous woman died at the hands of police in Canada. Despite an emergency debate in Parliament and calls...
November 7, 2024
Inuk man shot dead by police a victim of systemic racism, Crown-Indigenous minister says
Globe and Mail: The killing of an Inuk man by police earlier this week in Quebec’s Far North is an example of systemic racism, Canada’s minister for Crown-Indigenous relations said Thursday. Gary Anandasangaree said in a statement the police shooting of Joshua Papigatuk is another example of how Indigenous Peoples are impacted by the justice...
November 5, 2024
Death of Joshua Papigatuk highlights police violence in Nunavik
APTN News: The community of Salluit, Nunavik in northern Quebec is mourning the loss of community member Joshua Papigatuk. Papigatuk was shot by a Nunavik police officer in the community in the early morning hours on Nov. 4. His brother, Garnet Papigatuk, was also at the scene and shot by the officer as well. He...
November 4, 2024
1 person dead, another seriously injured after Nunavik police shooting
Video posted on social media shows man being shot at close range CBC Indigenous: Videos posted on social media show a man being shot at close range by what appears to be a police officer. The Nunavik Police Service said the incident happened at 4am on Monday. They confirmed an officer had fired his weapon, resulting...
October 22, 2024
Families want inquiry after 9 police-involved Indigenous deaths
Crown-Indigenous relations minister calls string of police-involved deaths across Canada troubling CBC News: The Canadian Press – A group of Black and Indigenous women say they want a national public inquiry into a recent spate of police-involved deaths after nine Indigenous people were killed in interactions with police in August and September. About two dozen...
October 8, 2024
Silence surrounds Indigenous deaths
Toronto Star: When is this going to stop? Two weeks ago the Calgary Police Service revealed that three of its members are under investigation by an outside agency for their treatment of an Indigenous man — Jon Wells — who died in a well-appointed hotel lobby. This was the ninth such death across Canada in...
September 27, 2024
‘We need a national inquiry into police conduct:’ Edmonton MP on deaths of First Nations people
Top row, left, Jack Piché, Hoss Lightning Saddleback, Tammy Bateman. Centre left, Jason West, Daniel Knife, Steve Dedam. Lower left, Ronald Skunk, Jon Wells, lower right, Joseph Desjarlais. All were killed in police interactions. APTN News: An Alberta MP is calling for a national inquiry into the recent spate of First Nations people dying during...
September 26, 2024
RCMP Officer Guilty Of Lying Under Oath Files Stay Of Proceedings In Dale Culver Case
NationTalk: Gitanyow Lax’yip – The Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs are outraged by the latest development in the case of Dale Culver, who died in RCMP custody seven years ago. After being found guilty of obstruction of justice this summer, Constable Arthur Dalman’s lawyers have filed a stay of proceedings, citing alleged breaches of his Charter Rights,...
September 25, 2024
‘I don’t want to die’: Prophetic last words of Blood Tribe man who died while being arrested by Calgary police
Jon Wells died Sept. 17 while in the custody of Calgary police officer. Photo: APTN File Warning: This story contains distressing details, please read with care APTN News: The police oversight agency in Alberta has released disturbing information about the fatal police arrest of Jonathan Lee Wells last week in Calgary. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team...
September 23, 2024
Family of Tammy Bateman says it took police 2 days to notify them of her death
Sister says Tammy ‘always in good spirits’ but struggled in life. School photos of Tammy Bateman. Photos courtesy Lori Bateman APTN News: A Winnipeg woman says the loss of her little sister was made even more traumatic by the way the family found out about her passing. Now Lori Bateman is looking for an apology...
September 22, 2024
Deaths of eight Indigenous people during altercations with police prompt calls for better accountability
NDP MP Lori Idlout rises during an emergency debate, which was called after six First Nations people died at the hands of police officers over the last few weeks, in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Sept. 16. Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press The Globe and Mail: The deaths of eight Indigenous people...
September 16, 2024
Finding justice for Indigenous people killed by police
Winnipeg Free Press: The death of Tammy Bateman, an unhoused Indigenous woman run over by Winnipeg police, is a horrific event — one that has negatively impacted and traumatized people who are already among the most marginalized and oppressed in our society. In addition to the many questions it raises about police actions — driving...
August 1, 2024
Arrest of woman by Nunavik police reflects disturbing attitude towards Inuit, advocates say
Quebec’s Bureau of Independent Investigations is looking into possible police misconduct CBC Indigenous: Nunavik’s Inuit Women’s Association says the way police dealt with an arrest in Salluit last month reflects a growing disconnect between the police service and the Inuit communities they serve. A video of the incident on July 18 shows a woman being pulled...
June 12, 2024
‘It’s quite problematic’: Federal minister questions police decision not to search Winnipeg landfill
A sign outside the courthouse in Winnipeg Monday encouraging authorities to search the Prairie Green Landfill. Photo: Jesse Andrushko/APTN. APTN News: Canada’s minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations says the decision by the Winnipeg Police Service not to search a local landfill for the remains of two First Nations women is “problematic.” Gary Anandasangaree was asked about...
October 18, 2023
Watchdog finds race disparity in SIU probes into conduct
Black, Indigenous Ontarians overrepresented in cases, report finds Toronto Star: Black and Indigenous Ontarians are far more likely to be subject to police actions serious enough to lead to a Special Investigations Unit probe, the provincial watchdog says in a new report. Between 2020 and 2021, a Black person was 3.5 times more likely to...
June 6, 2023
RNC chief publicly acknowledges force’s systemic racism during announcement of Indigenous advisory committee
‘I’d be remiss if I said it didn’t exist,’ says Chief Pat Roche, after previously denying problem CBC News: After a year of avoidance and outright denial, the chief of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary has publicly acknowledged systemic racism exists within the force. Chief Pat Roche has in the past said he didn’t believe the...
May 16, 2023
Police regularly dismiss, justify violence against Indigenous women, new research finds
Canadian police repeatedly use labels and narratives or storylines when responding to reported cases of violence against Indigenous women and girls, labelling them runaways, drunks, drug addicts or prostitutes.” — Dr. Jerry Flores Windspeaker.com: “Dr. Jerry Flores, an associate professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto Mississauga, has recently co-authored a paper that looked...
April 8, 2023
Vancouver Police announces official changes to handcuffing policy
Change follows Police Act complaint after wrongful handcuffing of retired judge Selwyn Romilly in 2021 CBC News: The Vancouver Police Department announced that it has officially updated its handcuffing policy, requiring officers to take into account a person’s age, ethnicity, and the seriousness of an alleged incident prior to applying handcuffs. The announcement follows interim changes to...
February 26, 2023
Quebec Inuit jailed 15 times more than provincial incarceration average
617 Inuit were jailed from March 2021 to March 2022 CBC News: Osman Ilgun was arrested in September 2021 and soon transferred to a detention centre 1,500 kilometres away from his home in the Inuit community of Quaqtaq in Quebec’s Nunavik region. At the jail in Amos, Que., he was fed raw food — he...
February 23, 2023
Researchers fill data gap on police-involved killings
‘When these numbers are not tracked, it’s a lot easier to dismiss the magnitude of the problem’ CBC News: Joanne MacIsaac recalls the day in 2013 when she found out police had shot and killed her brother Michael. “Something like that changes you,” MacIsaac said. Michael MacIsaac was shot dead by a Durham police officer...
October 19, 2022
Newfoundland and Labrador police force admits systemic racism, commits to improving
CityNews: Canadian Press: ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial police force has acknowledged systemic racism within its ranks, as well as the contribution of police to the injustices faced by Indigenous and other racialized people. ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial police force has acknowledged systemic racism within its ranks, as...
October 12, 2022
RNC chief’s refusal to acknowledge systemic racism ‘very troubling,’ says Indigenous group
First Voice calls on Pat Roche to reconsider his assertion that systemic racism isn’t a problem in the RNC CBC News: St. John’s-based Indigenous group says it’s deeply disappointed that Pat Roche, chief of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, hasn’t responded to repeated requests that he reconsider his position that there is no systemic racism in the RNC. CBC...
September 28, 2022
Heiltsuk Grandfather and Granddaughter Reach Ground-Breaking Agreement with Vancouver Police Board to Settle Human Rights Complaints
Agreement includes damages, a significant community investment, and a two-year collaborative policy-making process to fight systemic racism, with progress to be reviewed and reported on publicly by the BC Human Rights Commissioner. NationTalk: VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (Sept 28, 2022) – Heiltsuk First Nation members Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter, have reached a ground-breaking agreement with the...
September 1, 2022
NS Government: Committee Recommendations on Collection of Race-Based Police Data
Government of Nova Scotia: The Province is accepting all recommendations by the committee established to review models for gathering race-based information from police stops. The Wortley Report Research Committee’s report, Collection of Race-Based Police Data in Nova Scotia, makes recommendations in the areas of policy development, training, compliance and monitoring, communication, data analysis, evaluation and...
August 15, 2022
Native Women’s Association of Canada calls for the return of Dawn Walker to Canada
“The fear and lack of choice that Dawn Walker says drove her decision to flee to the United States is reflected in the thousands of testimonies heard by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls who faced systemic discrimination on all fronts – we need to act on the Calls to...
December 14, 2021
Class Action lawsuit against Sûreté du Québec
Trudel Johnston & Lespérance (TJL) – A law firm representing Val-d’Or Native Friendship Centre v. Attorney General of Québec. The purpose of this class action is to condemn the discriminatory practices and abuses committed against Indigenous people committed by certain officers of the Sûreté du Québec (the “SQ”) working in the Vallée-de-l’Or RMC (i.e. Val...
October 4, 2021
SCO Survey on MMIWG Calls for Justice
Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) – “Only 53% of murder cases involving [Indigenous] women and girls have led to charges of homicide. This is dramatically different from the national clearance rate for homicides in Canada, which was last reported as 84%” (NWAC, 2011). Governments and Canadian institutions now need to fully implement the Calls for Justice....
January 28, 2021
Trespass Prevention Program
NationTalk – A coalition of Indigenous, women, Downtown Eastside, and legal organizations are voicing their opposition to the Vancouver Police Department’s Trespass Prevention Program, which authorizes police officers to remove people without a call for 911 service if they have allegedly violated the provincial Trespass Act. States Chief Don Tom, Vice President of the Union...
November 4, 2020
City of Montreal Reconciliation Strategy
Nov. 4, 2020: The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL) welcomes the announcement by the City of Montreal which today unveiled its Reconciliation Strategy with Indigenous peoples. This initiative by the City of Montreal is an appropriate response to the Public Inquiry Commission on relations between Indigenous Peoples and certain public services in Quebec (Viens...
August 31, 2020
McDonald-Laurier Report on Systemic Racism in Policing
MacDonald-Laurier Institute – “Systemic racism in policing in Canada and approaches to fixing it,” argues that the fault for this lies primarily with political leaders who set the framework conditions and constraints for the delivery of police services. This commentary is based on the author’s written submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on...
July 23, 2020
McDonald-Laurier Report on Systemic Racism in Policing
The CBC “Deadly Force” database indicates that the RCMP are 3x more likely to use lethal force than other police forces in Canada. The CBC data found that 68 per cent of people killed in police encounters were suffering with some kind of mental illness, addiction or both. “When we get broader statistical information that...
June 10, 2020
City of Montreal Reconciliation Strategy
The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL), Quebec Native Women (QNW), Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal and Resilience Montreal – have joined voices to condemn acts of police violence against Indigenous people and women in particular. The latest incident – the dispatch of 17 police officers in multiple cars along with a K-9 unit to confront...
October 8, 2019
Street Checks: Indigenous women stopped 11 x more than a white women
Montreal Gazette – Indigenous Peoples were two times more likely to be stopped in 2014, the report shows, they became six times more likely in 2017. The likelihood of an Indigenous woman being checked by officers was also found to be 11 times higher than a white woman. The researchers behind the report, mandated by...
October 22, 2018
Police Oversight
Toronto Star – Nunavut and the Northwest Territories are the only places in Canada that don’t have civilian oversight of police complaints. “The Department of Justice in Nunavut has requested that the Legal Services Board document and share concerns … relating to the allegation that instances of excessive use of force by the Royal Canadian...