For Saron Gebresellassi, a lawyer who has campaigned for racial justice for many years in Toronto, an apology from the Toronto Police Serviceafter admitting that indigenous and racialized people are not treated fairly by law enforcement, will change little.
On Wednesday, the Toronto Police Service chief released data on interactions between police and citizens related to ethnicity confirming Saron Gebresellassi’s statement.
” Not really surprising. Not for me and not for many communities in Toronto. “
According to the data presented, Torontonians of race constitute less than 10% of the population, while they are subject to police interventions in a proportion of 24% and victims of nearly 40% of the use of violence. .
Saron Gebresellassi still accepted Toronto Police Service Chief James Ramer’s apology, saying that this is important to the community, and that these numbers show once and for all that racial communities are disproportionately subject to police interventions. However, he regrets that these apologies were not accompanied by concrete steps to change the situation.
Moreover, he said it was the right time for measure the budget of the Toronto police. According to him, this is an important issue for civil society, not just racialized communities.
It’s not just about discrimination, now it’s about financial accountability during times of severe inflation across Canada and Ontario.he believes.
Source: Radio-Canada
