Thunder Bay Meeting Shares Concerns with Senior Government

THUNDER BAY – Michael Gravelle, MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North, and Bas Balkissoon, MPP for Scarborough – Rouge River and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, hosted a public consultation on street checks in Thunder Bay to receive input and feedback from Ontarians. The session was open to the public and held on Thursday evening.

The issue of street checks has not been as great an issue in Thunder Bay as it has in Toronto where “carding” as it is called has become a major issue.

Minister Michael Gravelle

The session held at the Italian Cultural Centre however saw people raise a number of issues on the relationship with the community and Thunder Bay Police Service. Deputy Chief of Police Andy Hay, along with Thunder Bay Police Service Executive Officer Chris Adams and members of of the Police Services Board were in attendance at the meeting.

Participants expressed that here in Thunder Bay some of the issues facing the public included a lack of representation on the Police Services Board. City of Thunder Bay Aboriginal Liaison Ann Magiskan expressed that there are no Aboriginal people on the Police Services Board.

The issues of cultural awareness training for police officers, as well as the need to have great understanding of the significance of Anishinaabe culture and sacred items was also raised.

The meeting allowed members of the public to express their concerns over the issue of ‘Carding’ or Street Checks.

The end result of the province wide consultation will be new regulations added to the Police Services Act. Those changes will come through sessions in the Ontario Legislature.