Dismantling Racism and Hate Act, Amendment 3

Amendment up for debate available here.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a note to say I appreciate the words from the Minister of Justice. I suspect that if he is in conversation with the Decade for People of African Descent that they will have made him aware that that many definitions of street checks do not in fact include motor vehicles, which are included in this amendment. And that further notwithstanding the directive, street checks continue to occur. So while I do appreciate that we want to be consistent, I also want to be clear that on the ground, the practice continues.

And so if this amendment is not supported, then I will look forward to the Minister of Justice, through those consultations, making other regulatory and legislative changes and directives such that it does change. But so far, the actions undertaken likely, through no fault of the minister, have not been sufficient; they have not been effective. And maybe that's a matter of time but for people impacted, as we have seen today in this chamber, we don't have any more time. It's not fair for us to lean on the excuse of time. We want to do things now and so that's what we are attempting to do in our role as legislators. That's why we're putting this forward. And again, knowing now that it won't be supported I would say please show us at the earliest possible convenience what will be done to ensure that this practice does not continue. Thank you.