Dozens of protesters took to the streets of downtown Toronto on Tuesday evening to express their outrage at the controversial police practice of carding.

“Our equality is not up for negotiation,” said Anthony Morgan, of the African Canadian Legal Clinic.

Carding is a policy that allows Toronto police officers to conduct random street checks for the purpose of collecting information -- even when there is no particular offence being investigated.

Critics of the practice say it is discriminatory toward certain ethnic, cultural and religious groups, and amounts to racial profiling.

In June, the Toronto Police Services Board voted unanimously to reinstate the city’s 2014 carding policy.

Under the 2014 policy, officers are required to issue receipts to individuals who are carded. Police officers are also required to inform the public that they aren't legally obligated to stop and talk.

The policy was originally approved by the board in April 2014 under former chief Bill Blair. He later placed a moratorium on carding in January, and the practice has been on hold since then.

Mayor John Tory had initially called for the “permanent cancellation” of carding, but weeks later he put forward a motion to reinstate a 2014 carding policy. The Toronto Police Services Board unanimously passed that motion.

On Tuesday evening, the province of Ontario held a public consultation meeting at the Toronto Reference Library, which was intended to gather public feedback before making a decision on the future of the controversial policy.

Protesters attending the event said they are not only against carding, but the conversation around it as well. The practice, they say, violates basic rights and they want to see it eliminated completely.

“When it comes to carding and street checks, the answer is elimination, not regulation,” Morgan said.

Tuesday’s protest started at Yonge and Bloor Streets at 5 p.m., with dozens of participants holding signs with messages on them such as “Eliminate, don’t regulate.” By 6 p.m., the protesters had made their way to the Reference Library for the beginning of the consultation session.

Some of the activists are expected to speak at the public consultation meeting, in hopes of swaying opinions toward the elimination of carding.

With a report from CTV Toronto’s Colin D’Mello