Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is renewing his call for a ban on all random police checks, saying the practice – sometimes known as carding – is a form of systemic racism.
Singh made the announcement today in a predominantly black neighbourhood in Halifax’s north end, where he was joined by local activists and Nova Scotia NDP justice critic Claudia Chender.
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Singh says he was detained by police for no reason multiple times when he was younger, and it continued to happen when he was a law student in Toronto.
The federal leader has said police have stopped him 11 times over the years, with the first incident of what he describes as racial profiling happening when he was 17.
He says the discriminatory practice is too often aimed at racial minorities, which he says sends a cruel message to people for just being who they are.
WATCH: Jagmeet Singh on confronting racism as a child
Singh also called on the federal government to scrap the mandatory minimum sentencing rules introduced by the former Conservative government, saying the legislation has not reduced crime and has a disproportionate impact on racialized communities.