On Friday May 31st, the Supreme Court of Canada is going to release its decision in a case involving 4 young black men and one young Asian man carded in a private backyard!
“Carding” and “street checks” are just some of the terms used to describe the practice by certain police officers and police services of approaching, stopping and questioning people on the street (usually racialized young men) for no lawful purpose, asking them personal information, demanding to see ID, and then entering all this information into a police “street check” database.
In the case of R v Le which is being decided on May 31st, the police went even further when they walked, uninvited, into a private backyard and began to ask questions of 5 young racialized men who were in the yard and doing nothing wrong according to the police officers’ own testimony.
The officers tried to claim at trial that they felt justified because they saw no gate on the yard (the Ontario Court of Appeal fortunately did not accept this justification). Or, as we suspect, the problem is systemic or actual racism, in a criminal justice system that allows police to approach and question young men as a matter of routine, where there are inadequate rules prohibiting police from treating innocent people as suspects and violating their rights. Perhaps it simply never occurred to the police not to, even as they entered private property.
Either way, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association went to the Supreme Court of Canada to condemn the officers’ conduct in the case. CCLA has been advocating for years against carding, and demanding clear rules that prevent police from approaching, stopping and questioning individuals who are not suspected of being connected with a crime.
CCLA intervened in the R v Le case to address the importance of privacy, the reasonable expectation of privacy in a friend’s backyard, and the right of all people to privacy, including those who are low-income and racialized. CCLA also intervened to ask the court to establish in clear terms which police stops must be recognized as arbitrary detention. CCLA explained that even a brief encounter with police can be intimidating, humiliating and frightening – as most people who have been pulled over can confirm. This is only exacerbated when the violation includes trespass onto personal property – sending a strong message that the officers may not be concerned about the law or individual rights. And a police encounter like this is particularly concerning when the individuals doing nothing wrong are racialized – and the stop smacks of discrimination.
CCLA was represented by pro bono counsel Danielle Glatt (Paliare Roland) and Kate Robertson (Markson Law).
On Friday May 31st, the Court has an opportunity to create better privacy protections, and better protections against carding.
A woman in Nanaimo just beat this bullshit in Court. Arbitrary breathalyzer. An interesting article to save. It is disturbing how cops will walk into someone’s home to demand a breath test but at the same time ignore things like the recent Victoria Wine Festival where people drank their brains out sucking up free wine, and not a cop in sight. Every single person walking out those doors should have been charged with drunk driving under the stunned MADD laws. MADD has gone way overboard, establishing themselves as lawmakers in Canada. An audit is in order.
https://www.pqbnews.com/news/nanaimo-woman-wins-court-challenge-after-rcmp-breathalyze-her-at-home/
Jackboots and brown shits anyone?
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“5 young racialized men” What the fvck is that supposed to mean?
Who wrote this? Some moronic idiot?
Non-White without saying which colour they were?
Racialized? Sounds like they suddenly became a different race. Or changed their race.
What gets me about this is the black Chief of Police probably agrees with the officers.
Welcome to Trudo’s police state
So let me get this straight: These cops just walked into someone’s backyard looking to question these dudes with no reasonable suspicion of any crime having been committed other than they were black – and “the gate was open”? And these, so called, cops are among “the best and the brightest” to whom we pay so bloody much so as to attract and retain? …I want my money back! These idiots make Barney Fife look like the epitome of good policing!
But now they have a new “tool”… the new “drinking & driving” bullshit….thanks twinkle toes !!
Better watch how ya talk about Barny. He knows karate ya know
It really is ridiculous sometimes . Police behaviour is much different in poorer neighborhoods . During the days of CAP (community action policing) everybody got harrassed without cause . Like you are being punished for wanting cheap rent . I always represent myself mostly with great success. My defence was “geographical racism” which is what it was . Crime didnt go down one bit . If police werent so lazy and impressed by their own selves they could bring down crime while respecting most laws. It would require using their brains and being on the job a bit.
Doesn’t matter that the gate was open. Break & enter unless they were directly invited. Cops use the bullshit line of “Do you mind if we step in a minute?” and we always say yes because we feel we have done nothing wrong and are simply being helpful and cooperative.
People who support carding are willing to surrender liberty for security.
On the streets but not in your back yard.
Give an inch take a mile , as the story demostrates . Its merely lazy policing . Go back to the days of beat cops that was more effective . Cops today seem like pussies , radios, batons , guns , big tough goons , fast cars , bullet proof vests . Yet scared to walk through same complex i lived . Same complex i had to walk though every morning 7 days a week at 5 am alone after parking my cab so they know i got money. Yet unless bullets fly you hardly see them and they only show up when its over.
The old saying: When seconds count the police are only minutes away. The police are understaffed here on the Island and even daytime home invasions are happening, yet the dickhead from Papineau and the Minister of Uncontrolled Borders wants to confiscate all weapons and firearms.
Police would prefer if civilians had no civil rights. Civil rights isnt their job so i dont think they should be deciding who have what rights
The Jewish & Armenian Holocaust’s were nothing compared to this. Step aside Germany & Turkey. Canada is now #1 in human rights violations. WE’RE # ONE!!!!