TORONTO -- The provincial government says it's launching public consultations on police street checks -- commonly known as carding.
The public consultations are to begin next month and include community organizations, police, academics, civil liberty organizations and members of the public.
The province is looking for input on the circumstances when police may ask people for information, the rights of those being asked, training requirements, and data collection and retention.
There's also an online document -- launched Thursday -- that any member of the public can complete and provide feedback on their experience with street checks, which the government has said it will regulate but not ban.
Community Safety Minister Yasir Naqvi has said it's not acceptable for police to stop and question a member of a racialized community for no reason then to record that person's information in a database.
Under the Police Services Act, officers already must respect and protect rights guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Ontario Human Rights Code.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission has said police services should limit officer discretion to stop and question people, and require officers to tell people they stop about their right to leave and not answer questions, collect race-based data to identify bias and provide transparency through receipts.
