Racial Profiling; Maher Arar and Wife Monia Mazigh

From the Wednesday, October 17, 2007, Toronto Star,Greater Toronto section, page A7, here is an article about racial profiling, featuring the story of Maher Arar and the comments of his wife, Monia Mazigh:

MAHER ARAR'S WIFE CALLS FOR HONEST DEBATE
Racial profiling must be acknowledged before we can eradicate it, Monia Mazigh tells symposium

Debra Black
Staff Reporter

Racial profiling should be acknowledged and discussed so Canadians can actively eliminate it from society, says the wife of Maher Arar, the Canadian who was wrongly arrested by American authorities, interrogated and then sent to Syria where he was tortured.

Sadly, scholars and the media neglect it, Monia Mazigh told a symposium on racial profiling at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education yesterday. "We should raise it, discuss it, eliminate it from our society. But first we need to acknowledge it."

Police and government authorities often deny it, she said. But she knows first hand that it exists, she told the audience. "I experienced it myself.... Five years ago my husband and myself were labelled 'Islamic extremists' by the RCMP and CSIS."

But neither she nor her husband was ever told why. Perhaps it was because she wore a headscarf, her husband had a beard, or because they prayed five times a day, she speculated at the seminar, which was sponsored by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

As a consequence of that label, Arar was interrogated by U.S. authorities, arrested, imprisoned, sent to Syria, tortured and, about a year later, freed. A federal inquiry recently cleared his name and Ottawa paid him $10.5 million in compensation. He still remains on a U.S. no-fly list. The reason for that is unknown to either Arar or his wife.

The consequences of racial profiling are severe, said Mazigh. Communities feel marginalized and humiliated and the economic consequences can also be devastating with people losing their jobs simply because they've been interviewed by CSIS, she said.

Law enforcement agencies cannot rely simply on religion or appearance to start an investigation, she said.

"I had courage to speak out and denounce the treatment," she said. But not everyone does. She encouraged anyone who has experienced racial profiling to protest loud and long.

Racial profiling is not new to Toronto or, for that matter, Canada, a series of experts told the symposium. Young, black males have been experiencing racial profiling in Toronto for years, experts said. Indeed they said racial profiling has been an ongoing historical problem in Canada - one that has had and will continue to hae grave ramifications for all Canadians.

Five years ago, the Toronto Star published a special investigation into racial profiling by Toronto police, said Carol Tator , an anti-racism and equity teacher at York University's anthropology department. That series sparked a lot of denial and debate, said Tator, who along with colleague Frances Henry wrote a book about racial profiling in Canada.

The book was triggered by the Star series and examined the practice of racial profiling and how police culture reinforces racism.

In the series, the Star found after analyzing hundreds of thousands of criminal charges that blacks charged with simple drug possession were taken to a police station more often than whites facing the same charge. The data also showed a disproportionate number of black motorists in the database were ticketed for offences that routinely would come to light after a traffic stop.

Racial profiling doesn't keep citizens safe from violence, Tatlor said. "It is violence.... It can be argued that racial profiling by the police is the proverbial canary in the coal mine. Racial profiling exists in many of our democratic institutions."

Tasered to Death

It seems unimaginable that a man was tasered to death in an airport, because no one in immigration could figure out that he was Polish speaking and did not speak English and after 10 hours got frustrated and combative. Still there was no need for four RCMP officers, still only speaking English to the man, to Taser him. For a country that prides itself on its multi-culturalism, this seems to be a terrible blot against an RCMP force and immigration and security staff in an international airport.

Here is an article from the Wednesday, November 21, 2007, Toronto Star, Canada section, page A21, about an apology from the Public Safety Minister and information on the incident. The four officers have been assigned elsewhere.

DAY APOLOGIZES FOR 'TRAGIC INCIDENT'
Lawyers' groups calls for Taser moratorium in wake of deaths

Tonda MacCharles
Ottawa Bureau

Ottawa - Five weeks after a man died after being shot with a Taser at the Vancouver airport, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day followed the British Columbia government's apology with one of his own.

"This was a tragic incident that took place. We never want to see it happen again," Day told reporter yesterday at a news conference.

I'm sorry it took place. I think all Canadians are sorry it took place and we want to make sure it never happens again. That's why there are a number of inquests at a variety of levels."

Later yesterday, Day's office announced he had appointed an independent reviewer to assess the RCMP's use of Tasers.

Paul Kennedy, head of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, is to submit an initial report by Dec. 12. Day said Kennedy will review RCMP protocols on how the stun guns are supposed to be used and whether Mounties are following them.

Earlier, Day stopped short of apologizing on behalf of the RCMP, saying "men and women in uniform" deserve the benefit of the presumption of innocence in an incident that would lead to criminal charges.

He noted the officers involved in the Oct. 14 Vancouver incident have been reassigned to other duties while various reviews, including a public inquiry called by the B.C. government, are underway. Day said the Canada Border Services Agency, which has been under fire for its silence, will release a report on the incident in the coming days.

Concerns continue to mount about the use of Tasers in Canada.

The Criminal Lawyers' Association of Ontario yesterday wrote a letter to the federal public safety minister ot call for an embargo on the use of the stun guns and a national inquiry into their use by law enforcement in Canada.

Lawyer Frank Addario said in an interview a broader inquiry is needed given that there have been 17 deaths over the past few years as a result of Taser use.

On Monday, B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal said his government would launch its own public inquiry because of a "vacuum of information" from all authorities involved in the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski.

Dziekanski, 40, who spoke no English, spent hours in a seure baggage claim area of Vancouver International Airport awaiting his mother, who was not allowed into the secure area. A bystander's videotape shows the final agitated 10 minutes of his life, and his agonizing death after RCMP officers stunned him with a taser less than a minute after approaching him.

Oppal said no explanation was forthcoming from the authorities involved. "We thought someone might step up and offer an explanation about what happened. You think of the repercussions here and the public deserves answers."

Federal Liberal public safety critic Ujjal Dosanjh said while "any apology that comes is appropriate," Ottawa should show "leadership" by consolidating all the reviews into one inquiry.

Meanwhile, RCMP in Chilliwack, BC., face questions over another Taser incident. A 29-year-old man was in critical condition after a violent struggle Monday with police who were trying to subdue him at a Fraser Valley-area store. Police used pepper spray, Taser, batons and finally extra officers to take the man into custody.

RCMP say the unidentified man suffered lacerations to his head.

With files from The Canadian Press