Local residents had a chance to discuss Ontario's new regulations on police checks.
Dozens of people attended an open forum Monday night at the St. Clair Centre For the Arts in Windsor, for the ninth of 12 scheduled public meetings across the province concerning the regulations on street checks.
Justice Michael Tulloch presided over the meeting. He's in charge of the independent review of the new "carding" regulations, which took effect at the start of 2017.
Prasanna Ranganathan, Tulloch's legal counsel, tells BlackburnNewsWindsor.com it's all a part of the process surrounding the handling of what some believe is a controversial issue.
"Justice Tulloch is engaging with the public and community groups, and these public consultations are a way for him to hear feedback from community members, to say 'How has this regulation been working over the last year? Have you noticed any changes?'" says Ranganathan.
In a nutshell, law enforcement can no longer arbitrarily stop people to check ID or collect information. As of January 1, 2017, police must tell people they have a right not to speak to them, and that refusing to answer questions would not be held against them.
Some community members believed the practice legalized racial profiling. The new regulation means that law enforcement can no longer use race or appearance to question someone.
However, the regulation does not apply to traffic stops, when someone is being arrested or detained, or investigating a specific crime.
In public consultations held so far across the province, Ranganathan acknowledges that there is still some confusion regarding the regulations.
"Community members have indicated that there's not a lot of public information on the regulation, like they didn't know about the regulation's existence," says Ranganathan. "They had questions as to exactly what it said. Others said that they didn't want the regulation at all."
Ranganathan says some people have come to the meetings surprised that carding was still being discussed, and have walked away better informed.
The next forum will be held in London on Wednesday.
The province of Ontario's official website has complete information concerning the police check regulation.
