Racial Profiling of Canadians
July 13, 2005
OCASI calls on both the Federal and Ontario Provincial levels of government to demonstrate how and when they will act to protect all Canadians from racial profiling by law enforcement and immigration officials.
OCASI is not satisfied that the verbal assurance from the U.S., that Canadian passport holders will not be subject to the United States National Security Entry Exit Registration System (NSEERS), is sufficient guarantee that Canadians travelling to the US will not be harassed or detained on the basis of country of birth, ethnicity and faith. We also condemn the Canadian Government proposal to collect and retain personal information on Canadians that travel outside the country.
The Government of Canada must provide Canadians with a guarantee that racial profiling practices at Canadian ports of entry will change, provide an acceptable timeline for implementing changes and provide Canadians with recourse for review, redress and oversight to ensure that they are not subject to racial harassment.
Racialized Canadians have to deal with racism within their country of residence, as evidenced by the current debate in Ontario regarding racial profiling by law enforcement personnel. This demonstrates more than ever the critical need to ensure that equity policies that exist on paper needs to be implemented at the point of enforcement on the frontlines.
OCASI calls for an immediate end to any form of racial profiling by both Federal and Provincial agencies, and for decision-makers at both levels to establish oversight bodies that have the power to ensure that immigration and law enforcement practices do not target Canadians for differential treatment on the basis of origin, ethnicity and faith.