Carding (police policy)
[12] In 2017, the Vancouver Police Department definition of a "street check" is when an officer stops a person to conduct an interview or investigation in regard to suspicious activity or a suspected crime.
[66] On January 13, 2014, the Ontario Human Rights Commission formally notified the Toronto Police Services Board that the practice of carding must be stopped.
[67] On May 7, 2015, in Elmardy v. TPSB, Ontario Superior Court Justice Frederick Myers ruled "One who is not being investigated for criminality is allowed to walk down the street on a cold night with his or her hands in the pockets and to tell inquisitive police officers to get lost without being detained, searched, exposed to sub-zero temperatures, or assaulted.
[70] After a fact finding mission in October 2016, the United Nations' Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent expressed concerns that racial profiling is endemic to carding strategies and practices used by Canadian law enforcement.
[76] Both British Columbian Premier John Horgan and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson have expressed concern over city police's use of street checks.
[87] On June 14, 2018, Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer ordered an investigation into complaints from the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and the Union of B.C.
On June 6, 2018, the Saskatchewan Police Commission created policy OC 150 Contact Interviews with the Public,[27] which constrains carding based on an individual's race or location.
The Ministry of the Solicitor General has held a series of five workshop-style public meetings across the province:[102] 22 October 2015, during debate in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Yasir Naqvi, minister of community safety and correctional services, announced that regulation banning random street checks would be in place by the end of the fall, and will become part of the Police Services Act, and includes:[103] On 28 October 2015, the Ministry of the Solicitor General, posted two draft regulations for public input on the random and arbitrary collection of identifying information by police.
[104] On 30 November 2015, a coalition of community organisations and individuals issued a joint response to the draft regulation, articulating a rights-based framework for policing aimed at prohibiting carding, which they deemed discriminatory against minorities in Canada.
[106] On 21 March 2016, the Ministry of the Solicitor General, filed Ontario Regulation 58/16: Collection of Identifying Information in Certain Circumstances – Prohibition and Duties,[107] which sets out rules for carding.
[109] On 12 April 2016, the Board of Directors of the Toronto Police Association, issued a memo to its membership stating that the new regulation is "counterproductive to proactive community engagement and crime prevention".
[110] On 17 November 2016, the Toronto Police Services Board revised policy 250: Regulated Interaction with the Community and the Collection of Identifying Information to ensure compliance with Ontario Regulation 58/16, the Police Services Act, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Ontario Human Rights Code, and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA).
In addition the policy restricted service members from accessing Historical Contact Data, except as needed to provide an auditable trail as required by law (e.g. evidence in a matter before the courts).
[113] As part of this review, twelve public consultations are to be held between 1 February 2018 and 23 April 2018 in the Greater Toronto Area, and in Thunder Bay, Brampton, Hamilton, Ajax, Markham, Windsor, London, Ottawa and Sudbury.
[114] On 24 August 2017, Kathleen Ganley, as Minister of Justice and Solicitor General of Alberta, announced that the government will begin a six-week consultation process for drafting provincial guidelines for police street checks and the associated collection of personally identifiable information.
[115] On 3 February 2019, David Khan, leader of the Alberta Liberal Party, expressed disappointment that after 18 month, this process has not yet produced tangible results.
[125] In 2015, Christien Levien, a law school graduate, created Legalswipe, an app that draws from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association's "know your rights" handbook, and guides people through police encounters.
