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The Existence of Racial Profiling in Nova Scotia

Racial Profiling is the act of using race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting an individual has committed some form of offence or crime. This phenomenon continues to be prevalent in modern society, leading to many unethical practices such as target policing. Canada, one of the world’s most diverse countries, is not free of such unethical practices. Nova Scotia, a province of Canada’s East Coast, has a dark history involving racist behaviour and practices that have led to the false imprisonment of many minorities.

History

The concept of racial profiling did not feature in the Nova Scotia media as an important issue prior to the wrongful conviction of Donald Marshall, Jr., a Mi’kmaq man who resided in Sydney Nova Scotia. On May 28th 1979 a 17-year-old teen, Sandy Seale was stabbed to death in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Marshall Jr, a mere spectator, was arrested for the murder of the young woman based up circumstantial evidence. . Overwhelming evidence and eyewitness accounts acknowledged that Roy Ebsary, a 59-year-old white man with a previous record of violence and criminal activity with a knife, was in fact the murderer. Police officials disregarded all the evidence that questioned the belief that Marshall Jr had committed the violent murder and sentenced the man to life imprisonment, as he was found guilty of Non-Capital murder. [1]. This particular case highlights a blatant example of how racial profiling negatively impacts an individual and a society as a whole. Donald Marshall Jr was escalated to being the prime suspect in this murder case due to his ethnicity and race. In a society where Mi’kmaq communities are impacted by increased poverty, , Marshall Jr’s case would not be overturned for 12 years due to his lack of financial support. This support was required to hire a more professional lawyer. Even after the correct suspect was locked away, the sentence he received was the minimum for murder. Ebsary received only a manslaughter charge for the murder of 17-year-old Sandy Seale and served 3 years in prison. The vast difference in sentencing shows how problematic the criminal justice system is in regards to processing and dealing with racial minority groups.

The Positive Impact of The Marshall Donald Jr. Case

High profile cases of racial profiling in Nova Scotia, such as the case mentioned above and ones involving celebrities, including Kirk Johnson [2] have influenced major changes to the criminal justice system and police force. Aboriginal and Black activists demanded a change in Nova Scotia’s criminal justice system, demands that were met by the Government of Nova Scotia in 1986. Donald Marshall Jr demanded that:

• Murder cases should be revisited to ensure that no wrongful convictions have occurred

• Visible Minorities require more protection under the law from racial practices such as racial profiling and target policing

• The authoritarian attitudes of the police need to be remodeled; further training is required to deter racist behaviours and to challenge the misconception that minorities represent symbolic assailants. [3]

Studies

Racial Profiling is a behaviour carried out by majority groups in day-to-day tasks and interactions with members of a minority population. In May of 2013, the Nova Scotia Human Rights commission published an article , that highlighted how frequently minority groups were being profiled and mistreated by members of the their local communities. In this survey, Aboriginal people and African Canadians more often reported being treated poorly by staff than did any other group. In fact, people from all racialized groups, reported being mistreated, hassled and searched far more than white people. The Human Rights commission would also proceed to host focus groups where individuals were given the opportunity to speak out about their experiences. Aboriginal people, African Canadians and Muslims all reported that at some point they were victims of offensive language, many would be treated as physically threatening, and in some cases were even treated as potential thieves.

Theoretical Perspective

There are many key concepts and theories that can aid in understanding how the practice of racial profiling functions in Nova Scotia. Racial Grammar, a term coined by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva describes the top down hegemonic power white supremacy holds over minority groups. Racial Grammar describes the “invisible weight of whiteness” that suppresses minority groups into submission. Racial Grammar makes the lives of white people “universal”, stories and experiences that the majority of the world can relate too. The power of relating to individual stories makes us as whites feel sympathy towards members of our own race and ethnicity. Due to this “connection” we associated certain behaviours with one race over another. For example, in cases involving school shootings, society are more likely to sympathize with a white teenager over a teenager from a different race. Violence and weaponry is often associated with African Canadian or African American schools versus schools that have a white majority. This assumption is dangerously misleading as recent studies show that over 64% of school shootings are committed by white youth yet in the same context, white youth also received lower sentences versus youths from other racial groups. . Racial Grammar protects the so called “racial order” by upholding the belief that whites are upper class, law abiding members of society, while white minority groups are problematic and are the root to societies increase in crime. The concept of Racial Grammar brings to light the preconceptions societies hold over members of a minority group. . That’s why here in Nova Scotia police are targeting minority groups as an attempt to “reduce crime “based upon the racist belief that minority groups commit the majority of crimes. Racial Knowledge, a concept defined by David Goldberg helps us understand why we withhold certain preconceptions about Minority groups. Racial Knowledge is produced according to certain moral and scientific discourses about race. In his work, David Goldberg introduces three conceptual schemes, which he argues are hegemonic in the creation of racial knowledge. The three conceptual schemes are Primitive, The Third World and The Underclass. , These three conceptual schemes normalize and institutionalize racist behaviours and such practices become the norm and accepted within society. Goldberg argues that we place members of groups into these categories, which then forms and shapes our ideas and beliefs about that given group. For example, many of the participants in the Nova Scotia Human Rights survey described being labeled as thieves or even violent regardless of their actions. One could argue that Whites are placing minority groups into a primitive category, believing that members of this group are inhuman and less developed than themselves, so they fear that members of this group may respond in a violent or physical manner. This concept may also explain the behaviours displayed by the local police department. Many young African Canadians are carded on a daily basis and are usually offered little or no explanation as to why they were targeted by the police. Under the underclass scheme, police may be targeting minority groups due to the presumption that the majority live in low socio-economic neighborhoods and may turn to crime to provide a source of income.

Changes to the Police Force

Practices that continue to suppress minority groups in Nova Scotia need to be eliminated to ensure a brighter future. In recent years, the Halifax Regional Police have made an effort to develop a police force that represents the local community in a more accurate manner. Recent changes to the hiring process have provided members of the minorities groups the opportunity to be a part of the local police department. The local police force now has the potential to protect the rights and interests of its diverse community and reduce the frequency of racial targeting behaviours and practices. .

Summary

Racial profiling, target policing and the mistreatment of minority groups can be described as an ongoing issue in the province of Nova Scotia. Over the past few centuries many examples of racist attitudes and beliefs have become prevalent and continue to repress minority populations. The cries, requests and rights of Aboriginal and African Canadian citizens continue to be ignored and only the most cynical cases of racial profiling ever reach the mainstream media. Donald Marshall Jr. was forced to serve 12 years in prison before receiving the right to a fair investigation and trial and he may be considered lucky when compared to other individuals. African Canadians and Aboriginals represent a large portion of the prison population, many incarcerated from acts of target policing and clear racial profiling. White supremacy continues to be hegemonic, suppressive and will continue to lead to the unequal treatment and exploitation of Canada’s minority population. Recent studies by the Nova Scotia Human Rights commission clearly reflect the extent to which Nova Scotian’s mistreat, fear and repress minority populations. The province is in a position where an apartheid system is starting to form, separating the majority from the minority.