Earlier this summer I had the privilege of representing the Canadian Coalition of Cities against Racism and Discrimination at UNESCO’s 3rd World Forum on Human Rights in Nantes (France). It was here that UNESCO launched an international coalition of cities against racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. I was honoured to join the other regional representatives, and Pierre Sané, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, on the podium to sign the “Nantes Declaration” marking the launch of this international coalition.
The details of this historic event and speaking notes and biographies of my counterparts can be found here .
At the forum, I had the opportunity to address the international delegates and provide both a briefing on the governance of policing in Canada and background on the measures that we have in place and are working on to combat racism in Toronto.
Here is a summary of my remarks:
“We are part of a network that is cooperating with the Canadian Coalition of Cities against Racism and Discrimination. Under the law, in virtually every province of Canada, the municipal police has a civilian oversight body such as a police services board or a commission that is independent of the municipal government. These boards or commissions are composed of local elected representatives and people from civil society. They are in charge of ensuring that the local police act in line with the laws and the public interest. The police service can lose public confidence and trust if, as an organization, it lacks systemic affirmative and proactive measures to ensure anti-racism, inclusivity and equity in its treatment of people from different backgrounds. For example, young people from the black communities have expressed a lack of confidence in the police and Aboriginal communities have felt that local police did not sufficiently take into account their cultural realities. This has caused several sad incidents. We have two reasons to believe that in Toronto our action against racism and for the promotion of ethnocultural equality is now bearing fruits. The composition of police has changed significantly in the last 3 years. First, we are working to ensure that our police service reflects the diversity of the population. People from all communities, including “racialized” groups as well as women, are represented at all levels of the hierarchy. As a result, in different communities, we have perceived a growing confidence in the police. We believe that part of the role of local police is to contribute to a better quality of life for all people. That is why we carry out activities to promote social justice and to strengthen law enforcement and crime prevention. We believe that these efforts complement the efforts of Municipalities and can reinforce the capacity of the Coalition to meet its objectives.”
