Law student files court challenge over carding and retention of database

Toronto:: A Toronto man who says he has been repeatedly carded by police officers due to his race has filed a court challenge, alleging that the practice is a direct violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Knia Singh filed the notice of application with the Ontario Superior Court this morning, asking the court to declare carding and the ongoing retention of personal information extracted through carding illegal.
The court challenge comes just three days after Mayor John Tory announced that he would seek the “permanent cancellation” of carding, which is a practice wherein officers stop people not suspected of any crime and collect their personal information for a database.
At the time, Tory cited “the eroding public trust” for his decision and admitted that “there is no real way to fix a practice that has come to be regarded as illegitimate, disrespectful and hurtful.”
“On Sunday Mayor Tory took a progressive stance saying he would like to see carding eliminated, however based on previous practices we cannot just wait for the word of the mayor to make this happen; we have to rely on the judicial system and the laws that reign supreme,” Singh told reporters on Wednesday afternoon. “Future youth and future citizens of this city should not live in fear that they have documents held about them that are inaccurate and dangerous to their safety.”
A law student and activist, Singh said that he has been carded by Toronto police a total of 10 times and has been stopped upwards of 30 times, mostly when driving.
On those occasions that he was carded, Singh said officers put information into a database suggesting that he was “not police friendly” and has “a possible immigration warrant.” That information was then only discovered by Singh after he filed a freedom-of-information request for his police record.
“That information made me realize that my safety was in jeopardy if this was not addressed,” Singh said. “I want all my documents purged. There is no way I can travel through the city knowing any time I am stopped an officer will see this person is not police friendly. It puts my life and the life of my family in danger.”
Carding had been under a moratorium since January but was expected to resume with changes under new police chief Mark Saunders, who has defended it as a “valuable tool” to target street gangs. He had promised changes to the process that would help make it less intrusive.
“We’re in the process of working with the (Toronto Police Services) board to find out what the best solutions are to keep the city safe,” Saunders told CTV News on Monday. “That’s always been my stance on (carding), and we’ll work together to figure out what we can do to make sure things go well.”