ANY BIAS OF ANY KIND UNDERMINES THE IMPARTIALITY & INDEPENDENCE & INTEGRITY OF OUR POLITICAL AND JUDICIAL SYSTEMS

Following are various exerpts from a number of articles in last Saturday's Waterloo Region Record. These articles were listed in my Saturday posting here along with links to many of them.

"March organizers want police defunded"...."The Waterloo Region is not exempt from police mistreatment and violence toward poor, Black, and racialized people," the group said in a public statement. "I believe there is systemic discrimination within policing. It is something we have been working very hard toward," Larkin (Police Chief) said. I'm not a fan of Chief Larkin for many reasons however that is quite an honest admission. I expect/hope that his comment about "...working very hard toward," actually means working very hard towards eliminating.

"An injustice for anyone is an injustice for all"...."The Black and Indigenous anger over police brutality, as well as with the court system, has been boiling for decades in this country and indeed around the world," Dumas said in a statement. (Grand Chief Arlen Dumas with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs)

Record Editorial: "Protesters' message must lead to action"...."But the protesters were not simply finger-pointing at another tragic example of racial oppression in the United States. They were protesting systemic racism in Canada. They were indignant about the abuses of police power that have occurred in this country and that have disproportionately harmed racialized minorities, in particular Black and Indigenous people."

Part 5 Enforcement: "Laws have little impact if companies aren't afraid of the consequences"...."You need to see CEOs in handcuffs." "They would create the veneer of workplace rights and enforcement, but in reality, employers knew there was very little chance of being caught," he said. "And if you did get caught, there was very little consequence." "Employers are economically incentivized not to comply with regulation. If we create speeding laws, but never give out speeding tickets, we'd expect people to not comply with the law. In health and safety, we have laws, but there's little consequence for violating them."

"Minister says reckoning needed on police violence against Indigenous people"....."Frankly along with many Canadians, Indigenous Peoples living in Canada, politicians in Canada, I'm pissed, I'm outraged. There needs to be a full accounting of what has gone on. This is a pattern that keeps repeating itself." (Indigenous Services Minister, Marc Miller). My only comment here is that if the majority of Canadian politicians were against Indigenous racism it would have been either eliminated or at least a rarity a long time ago.

"Protesters vow to sustain momentum".... "Rev. Al Sharpton delivered a fierce eulogy and outlined plans for a commemorative march on Washington in August, vowing that the movement will "change the whole system of justice."

"Police brutality", "racial oppression", "the veneer of workplace rights and enforcement", "police violence", "systemic racism in Canada", "change the whole system of justice" etc. are very strong condemnations of not just the police in Canada and the United States. This appropriate condemnation includes both our political and judicial systems. It is our politicians who set the tone for every single lower tier political system beneath them (municipal, regional, provincial). Those "leaders" set the tone for our courts, our education system, our various boards such as WSIB, OMB/LPAT, EAB/ERT (environmental review tribunal) and of course our police. Here in Waterloo Region, regional councillors to their shame are in charge of appointing four out of seven of the members on our ineffective Police Board. It is our regional council who have allowed discrimination against Blacks and women (within the police service) including the "carding" system of demanding identification disproportionately from Black citizens. Driving while black is not a joke. Nor is walking while black yet it garners excessive police interest. These are not simply rogue officers. These are officers who have either subtly or explicitly been conditioned to view some citizens (white, affluent) differently than the rest of us and especially differently than visible racial minorities. As the one article's title stated "An injustice for anyone is an injustice for all".