End Police Brutality

At 8:30am this morning, Daniel Garcia unwillingly boarded a plane to Mexico City. The new year begins with a hole in the Parkdale community and in our hearts.

With over 1600 petitions signed, Christmas Day meetings of 50 people, New Year's Eve rallies of 150 people, some believed that perhaps the Tories would listen to the 'public' that they always invoke. With politicians, church groups, teachers unions, the Toronto District School Board, and especially Daniel's teachers and fellow students all condemning the deportation and calling for his release and with headlines in every newspaper and TV station across the country telling his 'special' story, some thought that perhaps Jason Kenney would intervene and grant Daniel Garcia a temporary resident permit. He didn't.

Yet again, the Conservative government of the day (like all governments) has shown that it is committed to a single project - one of exclusion, exploitation and ongoing violence.

Police Services: Safe Access for All
A Report by the Immigration Legal Committee

Executive Summary
(full report attached)

Introduction

The Immigration Legal Committee is a group of law students, legal professionals, and lawyers that advocate for the rights of immigrants and refugees, particularly those without status. It is a joint project of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law Immigrant Rights Working Group, No One Is Illegal (Toronto), and the Ontario Law Union.

Fri Nov 21 2008
Robyn Doolittle
Staff Reporter

The Toronto Police Services Board has voted to reject a controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy for victims and witnesses of crime who are not legally in the country. It's a move that social advocates say is endangering women's lives.

"These matters are never easy and (decisions) cannot be made lightly," board chair Alok Mukherjee said in introducing his recommendation to keep the current policy.

In May 2006, the board approved the Victims and Witnesses Without Legal Status Policy, or "don't ask" as it has come to be known. This was designed to ensure that undocumented individuals were able to contact police, without fear of deportation, while at the same time not putting officers in legal grey area of not reporting a potential crime.

20 November 2008 - Immigrants, racialised communities and precarious and non-status people suffered a severe setback today as the Toronto Police Services Board unilaterally and without consultation voted to continue reporting Immigration Status to Border Enforcement. A consultation had been promised on 22 March 2007 but the committee looking into the issue was quietly disbanded today without community present.

Toronto Police authorized a Don't Ask policy in 2006 under community pressure and public scrutiny. The Don't Ask policy directs police officers to refrain from enquiring about immigration status of victims and witnesses of crimes unless there is a "bonafide reason to do so". This policy has yet to be fully and effectively implemented.