Nearly two in five Canadians believe there is a serious problem with the way police forces interact with Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) communities across the country, according to a new poll.
The Angus Reid survey Defend or Defund?, whichpolled 5,005 adult Canadians, also found that nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) agree systemic racism is a serious problem, and almost three-quarters (73 per cent) say police in Canada interact inappropriately with Black, Indigenous and people of colour at least some of the time.
When Canadians were asked which answer reflects their feelings about how police interact with non-white people on a national level, the results showed:
39 per cent felt there was a serious problem.
34 per cent said it was sometimes a problem.
15 per cent said there was no problem.
12 per cent weren’t sure.
But fewer Canadians see the way police treat non-white people in their province as a serious problem, and the number drops again when asked about their own communities.
When Canadians were asked the same question about community policing, the results showed:
27 per cent felt there was a serious problem.
27 per cent said it was sometimes a problem.
27 per cent said there was no problem.
19 per cent weren’t sure.
The poll found a significant difference in views between urban and rural areas. (Angus Reid Institute)
Urban vs. rural
The survey found there is a clear divide on the issue based on whether someone lives in an urban or rural area.
Those outside of major cities were half as likely to say there was a serious problem with how police interact with Canadians of colour in their communities: Almost 30 per cent of urban respondents believe there is a serious problem, while only 14 per cent of rural respondents feel that way. Two in five of those polled in rural areas don’t see a problem at all.
Breaking down the results between major urban centres in Canada, the survey showed a greater proportion of residents in the Greater Toronto Area were concerned about police interaction with non-white people than in western cities.
In the GTA, 41 per cent said it’s a serious problem;
In Winnipeg, 36 per cent;
In Montreal, 35 per cent;
In Vancouver, 29 per cent;
In Edmonton, 24 per cent;
In Calgary, 23 per cent.
Protesters in Toronto on Aug. 29 call for the defunding of police services across the country. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Topical issues within policing
The poll also explored viewpoints on several topical policing issues in Canada, including systemic racism, use of force and police funding.
It found that 28 per cent of Canadians agree there is systemic racism within the RCMP, specifically. And 27 per cent of Canadians said that police are too quick to use force to solve a problem.
Amid national and international outcry over violence and death at the hands of the police, there have been calls to defund the police. In the poll, 25 per cent of Canadians agree there is too much funding going to police forces and that it should be reduced. The survey found 38 per cent of Canadians believed funding levels were just right.
The online poll was conducted from Aug. 26 to Sept. 1, 2020, and carries +/- 1.5 percentage points margin of error 19 times out of 20.
KITCHENER, Ont. – Prosecutors are arguing a man who stabbed a professor and two students in a University of Waterloo gender studies class last year should face a lengthy sentence because of the attack’s lasting impact on campus safety and security.
Federal prosecutor Althea Francis says a sentence in the upper range is appropriate not only because Geovanny Villalba-Aleman wanted to send a message about his views but also because he sought to make those with different beliefs feel unsafe.
The Crown has said it is seeking a sentence of 16 years for Villalba-Aleman, who pleaded guilty to four charges in the June 2023 campus attack.
The sentencing hearing for Villalba-Aleman began Monday and is expected to continue all week.
Federal prosecutors argued Tuesday that Villalba-Aleman’s statement to police, and a manifesto that was found on his phone, show his actions were motivated by ideology and meant to intimidate a segment of the population.
Villalba-Aleman pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault with a weapon and one count of assault causing bodily harm.
A video of his statement to police was shown in court earlier in the sentencing hearing.
In the video, Villalba-Aleman told police he felt colleges and universities were imposing ideology and restricting academic freedom, and he wanted the attack to serve as a “wake-up call.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada cut its key policy interest rate by 50 basis points on Wednesday to bring it to 3.75 per cent. Here’s what people are saying about the decision:
“High inflation and interest rates have been a heavy burden for Canadians. With inflation now back to target and interest rates continuing to come down, families, businesses and communities should feel some relief.” — Tiff Macklem, Bank of Canada governor.
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“Activity in Canada’s housing market has been sluggish in many regions due to higher borrowing costs, but today’s more aggressive cut to lending rates could cause the tide to turn quickly. For those with variable rate mortgages – who will benefit from the rate drop immediately – or those with fast-approaching loan renewals, today’s announcement is welcome news indeed.” — Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage.
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“This won’t be the end of rate cuts. Even with the succession of policy cuts since June, rates are still way too high given the state of the economy. To bring rates into better balance, we have another 150 bps in cuts pencilled in through 2025. So while the pace of cuts going forward is now highly uncertain, the direction for rates is firmly downwards.” — James Orlando, director and senior economist at TD Bank.
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“The size of the December rate cut will depend on upcoming job and inflation data, but a 25 basis point cut remains our baseline.” — Tu Nguyen, economist with assurance, tax and consultancy firm RSM Canada.
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“Today’s outsized rate cut is mostly a response to the heavy-duty decline in headline inflation in the past few months. However, the underlying forecast and the Bank’s mild tone suggest that the future default moves will be 25 bp steps, unless growth and/or inflation surprise again to the downside.” — Douglas Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
