Indigenous Reconciliation

October 30, 2015 - Further to the attached correspondence of yesterday, please find enclosed hard-copies of the reports identified from the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Inter‑American Commission.

October 29, 2015 - Dear Premier Wynne, There is a clear connection between violence against women and the disparate social and economic status women face in our society, and indeed, across the globe.  It is with respect to this disparate social and economic status, particularly that of Indigenous women in our province, that I write this letter.

June 21st is important but the years of work and recent report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission make it painfully clear that one day is not enough.

Dear Minister, The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) welcomes your Ministry’s consideration of legislating standards set out in the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police 2014 Guideline for Police Record Checks. We agree there is a lack of consistency with the various levels of record checks and their purposes, as well as the types of information disclosed. The OHRC has raised concern for a while now that police record checks have a negative impact on people with mental health disabilities who have non-criminal contact with police. That’s why we got involved in the development of the first OACP Guideline and endorsed its release in 2011.  

Editor, The Toronto Star This week Mark Saunders was sworn in as Chief of the Toronto Police Service. He arrived amid a controversy that marred his predecessor’s final days and one that refuses to go away – the police procedure commonly known as “carding.” As Chief Saunders starts down this new road he has a choice – to hear the voices of the community and work to end racial profiling or to allow a deeply troubling practice to continue.