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WHEREAS Article 1(1)
of the United Nations Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner,
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination defines racism as, “Any distinction, exclusion, restriction or
preference based on race, colour descent or national or ethnic origin which
has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition,
enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental
freedoms, in the political, economic, social cultural or any other field of public
life.’
WHEAREAS Subsection
5(2) of The Ontario Human Rights Code states, “Every person who is an
employee has a right to freedom from harassment in the workplace by the
employer or agent of the employer or by another employee because of race,
ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, age,
record of offences, marital status, family status or disability.”
WHEAREAS The Board
Policy Number: CR-16 – “Human Rights and Racial Profiling”, states that “the
purpose of this policy is to state the Board’s commitment to policing that
respects and adheres to the principles contained in the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms and the Ontario Human Rights Code, and to set out the
Board’s expectations with regard to respecting human rights in the delivery
of police services.”
WHEREAS since the
introduction of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan, Chief
Sloly and the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) have taken a further step of
creating the Directorate of Respect, Values and Inclusion, led by a
Superintendent, to strengthen the ability of the Service to advance the 2020
goals and organizational culture more broadly. Also, in partnership with the
Ottawa Police Services Board (OPSB) the OPS has launched a special committee
to address sexual violence and harassment in the workplace.
AND WHEREAS the OPSB
and OPS have a demonstrated commitment to promoting the values of diversity,
equity and inclusion and in continuing to build a workforce that is
reflective of all of the communities and neighbourhoods it serves, and based
on a
review of the work
that has been completed and now planned and to ensure there is no gap in
activities addressing systemic racism and bias which requires overt and
sustained attention.
THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED that the Chief of Police be directed to act on the following set of
recommendations:
1. The
efforts of the OPS to address its culture and structural inequalities, should
be a whole-of-organization initiative, that is inclusive of all members, both
women and men, Black, Indigenous and LGBTQ+, civilian and sworn. And further,
the approach to this work must demonstrate an understanding and appreciation
of the unique contributions that every member makes in support of a safe,
healthy and inclusive City of Ottawa and their equally critical roles in
creating a more equitable and resilient culture within the OPS.
2. Redesign
the long-standing structures and systems that exist within the OPS to ensure
they are more equitable and inclusive for all members by leveraging the OPSB,
the Community Equity Council (CEC), key community stakeholders and all
members.
3. Task the
new Respect Values and Inclusion Directorate to track incidents of
discrimination and bias within the OPS that are not currently accounted for
through our formal complaint systems. A system to identify, track and report
on these incidents should be developed or comprehensively heightened in
partnership with the OPSB, CEC, and other key stakeholders, with results
being reported to the OPSB through regular updates on the EDI Action Plan.
4. The OPS
Racial Profiling Policy should be reviewed to ensure that it is current and
reflective of leading practices. The policy should also be evaluated to
ensure that systems and supports are in place, or in the alternative,
strengthened for members and supervisors to identify, report and intervene in
a timely and constructive manner, with incidents of concern.
5. That the
OPS establish a partnership with the City of Ottawa Anti-Racism Secretariat
to ensure that it considers leading practices to address racism, reduces
duplication of efforts and develops an inventory of approaches that can be
utilized across all city departments and programs.
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