John Duncanson
Staff Reporter
The Toronto Star
(Feb 7, 2002)
Selwyn Pieters sees a day when all police agencies in Canada will be mandated to collect race-based statistics to ensure people's rights aren't being violated.
Pieters, a part-time law student and federal worker, is still celebrating his unprecedented victory over Canada Customs, which decided to settle a complaint alleging racial profiling before it got to a Canadian human rights tribunal.The settlement includes a promise by the federal agency to hire an anti-racism expert, collect race-based statistics on whom it stops and checks, and even consider releasing a statistical report each year about how it is handling searches of people arriving here from abroad.Pieters, who is black, claimed he was the victim of racial profiling in May, 1999, when a customs officer decided to check his bags after he got on a train from New York.The Canadian Human Rights Commission decided a full hearing on the issue was warranted and set aside five weeks to hear the case. Instead, the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency decided to settle with Pieters, issuing an apology and an undisclosed amount of cash.Pieters was floored when the federal agency also agreed to hire race consultants and collect race-based statistics."I'm very happy. It's beyond what I expected to get at the tribunal," he said."This is going to impact on other federal agencies," he predicted, adding the settlement could some day have implications for provincial and municipal police forces.The issue of racial profiling during traffic stops has been the subject of much debate and legislation in the United States, but so far Canadian police forces have not been drawn into the controversy."Notwithstanding the fact it is not widely discussed, racial profiling does happen here and we have to recognize it," Pieters said.He was not alone in his fight with the federal agency. The African Canadian Legal Clinic was involved in the settlement agreement and says it's a clear recognition that racial profiling does exist in Canada."African-Canadians have long been the targets of racial profiling. In addition to the psychological harm caused to the individual in the community, it perpetuates the harmful stereotype of African-Canadians as criminals," said Margaret Parsons, the clinic's executive director.Michel Proulx, a spokesperson for the customs agency, said it considers Pieters' case to be highly unusual and insists racial profiling is not carried out by customs agents."We can't dispute that this actually happened, but we would like to consider this an isolated case," Proulx said, adding the agency believes the collection of race-based statistics will prove that it isn't using racial profiling in everyday work.Pieters' fight doesn't end with the customs settlement. He has an outstanding complaint against Toronto police involving allegations of racial profiling.He alleges he was harassed by three undercover drug squad officers during a search of his apartment more than two years ago.Pieters' complaint is the subject of a hearing before the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services. The case is now adjourned, and a date for its resumption hasn't been set.