Dismantling Racism and Hate Act, Amendment 2

Amendment up for debate available here.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And to my colleague's point, this is a white person problem. So I want to say that I have been the Justice Critic for five years and in five years a lot has changed. I spent the first two years being told repeatedly by the then Minister of Justice over and over and over again, former member of the RCMP in good standing, that street checks were a valuable policing tool. And day-after-day I got up in question period and I questioned him and I tried to bring to the floor of this legislature the views of the community that was not properly represented here. We had our colleague, the member for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour, but otherwise we had, and still have, a significant lack of representation in this chamber.

And day-after-day we were told that street checks were a valuable policing tool. And then the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission got involved and they commissioned Professor Wortley and Professor Wortley said, no, they're not. They're racist. And then we said Professor Wortley says these are racist and what did the then Minister of Justice say? He said, no, actually street checks are a valuable policing tool. And so then we had the intervention of a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. And what did he say? He said not only are street checks racist, but they're unconstitutional. And then and only then, just hours after that minister had stood in his place and said that street checks were a valuable policing tool, was there a moratorium announced on the practice. But, Madam Chair, that moratorium as we all know, as the chair knows, has not done enough.

As with our last amendment, the dismantling of racism and hate is not a one-and-done. It is an ongoing process and it is a process that is within our power to move forward. So, again, I will say to the members of the government, and apparently this also needs repeating to my colleagues on this side of the aisle in the Liberal Party, the official opposition, this is an issue that involves all of us and it is on us to ensure that we actually uphold the laws of this province.

The human rights of the members of this province and the Constitution of Canada, all of which is engendered by the ongoing and illegal practice of street checks. There are other pieces of legislation where this can live, but this is one where it needs to live. So for that reason we ask you all again to consider how you will vote on an amendment that seeks to uphold the basic human rights of the members of this province. Thank you very much.