Make Street Checks Data Available - Question Period

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Justice. In March 2019, the Human Rights Commission's Street Checks Report overwhelmingly confirmed what African Nova Scotians have been saying for decades: street checks are an instance of systemic racism. In that report, Dr. Wortley put forward many important recommendations for change. One of these was that data collected through street checks be de-identified and made available for research purposes.

The FOI request from our caucus indicates: "HRP will retain existing historical street check records until December 2020, at which point all records not specifically identified for further retention will be purged" from the database. I will table that.

Will the minister confirm if he will intervene and prevent the deletion of those records by HRP, making them available for research as requested by the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission?

HON. MARK FUREY « » : Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. The point my colleague presents is a very sensitive discussion that we're all working diligently to address. Systemic racism in Nova Scotia is simply unacceptable. The status quo is no longer acceptable. We're working with our police community and police leaders to address these issues. The specific circumstances my colleague speaks about, I want to look into that further.

I know there is a date identified as December 2020. I'll commit to my colleague to addressing that with Halifax Regional Police. There are differing positions on the use and value of that information and we want to be sure that we land in a space that's appropriate for all.

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : I want to thank the minister for that answer. Through the FOI, we found that there are a number of Dr. Wortley's recommendations where no action has been taken. For example, no action has been taken on Recommendation 4.1: "The HRP and RCMP should develop a protocol that will screen new recruits for both cultural competency and racial bias."

Given the recent appalling police responses to both Santina Rao in a Halifax store and a Black 15-year-old arrested in Bedford, action on this recommendation is critical. Will the minister commit to urgent action on all of Dr. Wortley's recommendations?

MARK FUREY « » : Mr. Speaker, as I indicated earlier, this is a very important discussion, a very sensitive discussion that we are all focused on. Addressing the responses to the Wortley report is a priority in the Department of Justice.

A number of those recommendations have been completed. A number of those recommendations are in progress. I know that those individuals across the broad community who are partaking in that work are committed to addressing all of the recommendations. I look forward to the day that all of those recommendations are completed. (Applause)