Toronto Mayor John Tory is expected to recommend to the city's police services board a policy that will permanently end carding, a controversial practice some say amounts to racial profiling.
Tory will put forward his motion at the Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) meeting on Thursday. It comes after Tory publicly announced earlier this month that he was in favour of abolishing the contentious practice altogether.
"On June 7, 2015, I made a public statement as Mayor of the City of Toronto and as a Member of the Toronto Police Services Board of my intention to seek the cancellation of the practice of 'carding' and to begin the process of developing a new policy for police-community engagements," Tory said in the report to the TPSB.
Tory's motion recommends that the board not only support the "permanent cancellation" of carding, but that they also work closely with the Ontario government as it develops new regulations surrounding the practice.
Tory defines carding as "the random stopping of citizens not engaged in or suspected of criminal activity for the purposes of gathering information."
The practice of carding has been on hold in Toronto since January, when former police chief Bill Blair placed a moratorium on it. Since, there has been a growing chorus of voices calling for the abolition of the practice.
"There is indeed great collateral damage from carding that threatens the foundation of our diverse communities in Toronto and elsewhere," former Ontario chief justice Roy McMurty told reporters in June.
McMurty was part of a group of prominent Toronto leaders who jointly demanded an end to carding.
Despite the mounting pressure, however, the Ontario government has said it doesn't plan to eliminate police street checks.
According to provincial Community Safety Minister Yasir Naqvi, while there has been "ample" evidence of bias in police street stops, it's important for officers to be able to investigate any suspicious activity.
