Thank you.
I thank the committee for this invitation to speak on issues of systemic racism in policing in Canada.
Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge that I am taking space on the traditional territories of the Mississauga of the Credit, the Anishinabe, the Chippewa, Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples.
My name is Kanika Samuels-Wortley, and I am an assistant professor with the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Carleton University. My research centres on the policing of racialized communities as well as youth crime and victimization.
Today, I speak to you not only as a researcher but also as a Black member of Canadian society.
We, as Canadians, often view diversity as our strength. However, at this point in history, we can no longer ignore growing evidence that social inequality within our country is highly racialized. Black and indigenous peoples are more likely to live in poverty, thus creating barriers to social mobility.
The Canadian criminal justice scholarship has explored the intersection of social inequality in crime, but often neglects to consider the role of race and racism and how discrimination factors into criminalization, particularly given—
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