Ontario government releases draft regulations on police carding

“Our government has been clear that we are opposed to any random and arbitrary collection of identifying information, and this regulation expressly prohibits that across Ontario”, Naqvi said.

Community Safety Minister Yasir Naqvi will decide Wednesday if carding will continue across the province in its current form or if new standardized regulations will be imposed, after the controversial practice was reinstated in its original form by the Toronto Police Services Board in June.

Naqvi says he is not trying to prevent police from doing their jobs, but he insists that civil rights must come first.

“Simply put, the regulation will end the practice of street checks and carding in Ontario”.

A few critics, while applauding the decision, still have concerns about exactly how the new guidelines will work, especially how they will stop police from engaging in arbitrary stops.

“What was really impactful for me was when I heard from many young people that sharing their personal information was just normal for them”, he said.

If the regulation is passed, police would have to inform citizens of the reason they are being stopped, and tell them they don’t have to engage in conversation with the officers.

Under a “rights-based framework” for voluntary stops, police may approach a citizen based on a valid policing objective, which Naqvi defined as detecting and investigating crime.

Police will also be required to provide individuals with a written record of the encounter, the information collected and explain how to access that information or file complaints.

The New Democrats welcomed the draft regulations, but said they needed time to examine the details of what Naqvi was proposing. The ministry will also laun ch a multi-year study to ensure that bias is removed from police-public interactions and to understand the impact on community safety from collecting identifying information through police interactions with the public.

“I’m troubled that it took the government so long to move on it, but I am encouraged that there is movement on it now”.

The minister may not find a warm reception from Ontario’s police chiefs.

Naqvi wouldn’t say what would happen to the Ontario residents’ personal information already gathered through carding that is now in police databases.