Bill C-493 (Historical)

Elimination of Racial and Religious Profiling Act

An Act to eliminate racial and religious profiling

This bill is from the 39th Parliament, 2nd session, which ended in September 2008.

Sponsor

Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)

Status

Outside the Order of Precedence (a private member's bill that hasn't yet won the draw that determines which private member's bills can be debated), as of Dec. 11, 2007
(This bill did not become law.)

Summary

This is from the published bill.

The purpose of this enactment is to prevent individuals from being stopped or otherwise investigated by enforcement officers wholly or partly on the basis of the individual’s race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion or place of origin.
The enactment prohibits the practice of racial and religious profiling. It also requires enforcement agencies to establish policies and procedures to eliminate racial and religious profiling, including the collection of data sufficient to determine whether enforcement officers have engaged in racial or religious profiling.
The enactment requires the Minister responsible for an enforcement agency to submit to Parliament in each year a report of the agency on racial and religious profiling.

Similar bills

C-407 (40th Parliament, 3rd session) Elimination of Racial and Religious Profiling Act

C-407 (40th Parliament, 2nd session) Elimination of Racial and Religious Profiling Act

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-493s:

C-493 (2013) An Act to amend the Navigable Waters Protection Act (Ashuapmushuan River, Mistassini River and Peribonka River)

C-493 (2010) An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (foreign nationals)

C-493 (2009) An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (foreign nationals)

C-493 (2004) An Act to amend the Marine Liability Act (adventure tourism)

Elimination of Racial and Religious Profiling ActRoutine Proceedings

December 11th, 2007 / 10:05 a.m.

NDP

Bill Siksay NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-493, An Act to eliminate racial and religious profiling.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table, seconded by the member for Vancouver East, a private member's bill entitled “An Act to eliminate racial and religious profiling”.

The bill seeks to ban racial and religious profiling by federal law enforcement agencies and officials. I and my NDP colleagues have been very moved and often angered by the experiences of racial and religious profiling shared with us by constituents and other Canadians.

The impact of this practice has been serious and costly to those who have been its victims, and to our society. Such actions by law enforcement officers and agencies are based solely on false stereotypes. It is not good public policy nor is it good law enforcement practice, plain and simple.

This is an updated version of a bill introduced by the member for Vancouver East in the last Parliament. It defines racial and religious profiling as an action undertaken for reasons of safety, security or public protection that relies on stereotypes about race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion or place of origin, rather than on reasonable suspicion to single out an individual for greater scrutiny or different treatment.

The bill would require the RCMP, customs, immigration, airport screening officers, and CSIS agents to eliminate racial and religious profiling. Those agencies would report to Parliament on their progress. They would also required to have a working analysis of how racism functions in their law enforcement context. Victims of racial or religious profiling would have access to the Federal Court to seek relief or remedy.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)