Statement by Lisa Roberts on NDP call for moratorium on street checks

Halifax – NDP African Nova Scotian Affairs spokesperson Lisa Roberts made the following statement on the NDP’s call for a moratorium:

“The NDP Caucus has written to Nova Scotia Attorney General Mark Furey to ask that he direct police forces in Nova Scotia to end the practice of street checks immediately. We understand “street checks” as incidents where individuals are arbitrarily stopped or detained by the police and/or when personal information is collected and logged by the police outside of an investigation into a specific incident of crime.

Our Caucus, legal experts across the country, and members of the communities affected by street checks have identified that this practice is disproportionately exercised on African Nova Scotians and other racialized peoples, causes distress to the individuals involved and has greatly eroded confidence in our police forces. Nova Scotia has an opportunity to mitigate further harm now by immediately establishing a moratorium on the practice of street checks.

We support the communities calling for a moratorium and are calling for an end to the disproportionate surveillance of people of colour in our communities. We urge that as Attorney General, Mr. Furey take every measure available to the provincial government to ensure police end this practice.”

The full letter can be found here.

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