The Aboriginal Affairs Coalition of Saskatchewan is speaking out against racial profiling following a complaint by a Regina resident.
Last week, Simon Ash-Moccasin filed a complaint against Regina police for an incident where he believes he was profiled. Ash-Moccasin was walking down the street when two police officers approached him claiming he looked like a suspect. He says the officers then threw him against the wall and into the police cruiser. Police later released Ash-Moccasin when they found he had no priors. Ash-Moccasin has filed an official complaint with the Saskatchewan Public Complaints Commission.
“I have spoken to a lot of Aboriginal people over the years and many people aren’t up in arms about this, but I believe that is because many people don’t understand their rights,” said Kim Beaudin, President of the Aboriginal Affairs Coalition of Saskatchewan. “They don’t understand if they are sitting on a park bench police can’t just approach them and ask them why they are sitting there. You explain that to some people and they realize they have rights they didn’t even know about.”
According to Beaudin, racial profiling has been a long-standing issue in the province and there are too many people who try to deny it as an issue. He says a depletion of trust has made the relationship between Aboriginal people and the legal system toxic.
“It is going to be interesting to see what process follows this incident,” said Beaudin. “Even when (Ash-Moccasin) first filed his complaint they were mad at him and did not want to accept it. I don’t know how far it is going to go, but they need to make changes across Saskatchewan.”
Beaudin says once the system starts treating Aboriginals like people, rather than numbers, change may begin to happen.