Contributions
In a recent tribunal hearing decision, Stacy Clarke — the first Black woman to reach the rank of superintendent with the Toronto Police Service (TPS) — was temporarily demoted. This decision came nearly a year after Clarke pled guilty to seven counts of misconduct for aiding six Black officers in cheating during a promotional process for the rank of sergeant.
Since formally endorsing the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent in 2018, the federal government has implemented a series of committees, programs, and funding streams to support Black communities in Canada. That UN-designated decade is set to come to an end at the close of 2024, but in February, the federal government announced it was extending these efforts until 2028 after hundreds of Black entrepreneurs lobbied last year for continued political and financial commitments.
The earmarked funding and numerous committees geared toward addressing uniquely Black issues have already been transformative. They have allowed for meaningful investments in Black-focused initiatives and financing and growth opportunities for Black businesses. But what is missing are national strategies, coalitions, and funding to address Black housing challenges.
For some time now, the common thread between targeted murders, deaths or injuries of bystanders, communal mourning and even robberies, has been the choice of weapon: handguns.
Despite efforts by the federal government to implement more restrictive gun legislation in recent years, the intensification of gun-related crime suggests it is time to reimagine our approach to gun control.
Shaquille Morgan never had ‘the talk’ about being policed while Black with his family. As he got older, he realized that’s because one talk alone would never be enough to cover all the complexities of being a Black man in Canada.