(Reuters) – Discrimination by Canadian police against indigenous
people and people of color “needs to end,” Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau said on Friday, after police officers shot and killed an
indigenous woman and video showed police appearing to purposely
drive into an indigenous man.
The comments came amid protests against police brutality,
sparked by the death of an unarmed black man in Minnesota who was
in police custody.
“Far too many Canadians feel fear and anxiety at the sight of a
law enforcement officer,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa. “Over
the past weeks we’ve seen a large number of Canadians suddenly
awaken to the fact that discrimination is a lived reality for far
too many of our fellow citizens.
“It is something that needs to end, and it’s something we’re
working on,” he said.
Local police officers shot and killed Chantel Moore, 26, when
they went to her home on Thursday to conduct a wellness check in
the Atlantic province of New Brunswick.
In a separate incident, a video shared on social media showed a
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer driving into an indigenous
man, appearing to purposely use a car door to knock the man down
before arresting him. The officer is now facing an independent
criminal investigation.
Indigenous leaders expressed outrage and a lack of surprise at
the incidents.
“Racism is here and has been for more than 200 years,” Grand
Council Chief Glen Hare of the Anishinabek Nation, a political
organization representing 39 First Nations in Ontario, said in a
statement.
Trudeau said the issue will by discussed by cabinet.
“I don’t understand how someone dies during a wellness check,”
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said. “There needs to be a
full accounting of what has gone on. This is a pattern that keeps
repeating itself.”
(Reuters) – Discrimination by Canadian police against indigenous
people and people of color “needs to end,” Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau said on Friday, after police officers shot and killed an
indigenous woman and video showed police appearing to purposely
drive into an indigenous man.
The comments came amid protests against police brutality,
sparked by the death of an unarmed black man in Minnesota who was
in police custody.
“Far too many Canadians feel fear and anxiety at the sight of a
law enforcement officer,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa. “Over
the past weeks we’ve seen a large number of Canadians suddenly
awaken to the fact that discrimination is a lived reality for far
too many of our fellow citizens.
“It is something that needs to end, and it’s something we’re
working on,” he said.
Local police officers shot and killed Chantel Moore, 26, when
they went to her home on Thursday to conduct a wellness check in
the Atlantic province of New Brunswick.
In a separate incident, a video shared on social media showed a
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer driving into an indigenous
man, appearing to purposely use a car door to knock the man down
before arresting him. The officer is now facing an independent
criminal investigation.
Indigenous leaders expressed outrage and a lack of surprise at
the incidents.
“Racism is here and has been for more than 200 years,” Grand
Council Chief Glen Hare of the Anishinabek Nation, a political
organization representing 39 First Nations in Ontario, said in a
statement.
Trudeau said the issue will by discussed by cabinet.
“I don’t understand how someone dies during a wellness check,”
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said. “There needs to be a
full accounting of what has gone on. This is a pattern that keeps
repeating itself.”