Canadian activists want to defund the police. Here’s what that means.
Why It Matters
Policing represents the largest line item in many Canadian municipalities’ budgets. At the same time, Black Canadians and Indigenous people are disproportionately killed, harmed and jailed by police officers. Activists around the world — and here in Canada — say the solution is to reduce (either partially or completely) our reliance on police for public safety, and to defund the police.
In the three weeks since Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, protests against anti-Black racism and police brutality have emerged and continued around the world, from the US to Australia — including in cities and towns across Canada.
Canadians aren’t just marching, writing to their representatives, and taking to social media in solidarity, though. Black and Indigenous people are disproportionately killed by police in Canada, according to a CBC analysis of fatalities during police encounters from 2000 to 2017. Incidences of deaths during encounters with police also st
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