OPP discriminated against migrant workers in 2013 sexual assault investigation: HRTO
Global News
The HRTO has found provincial police discriminated against migrant workers based on their race when they conducted a DNA sweep as part of a 2013 sexual assault investigation.
The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has found provincial police discriminated against migrant workers based on their race when they conducted a DNA sweep as part of a 2013 sexual assault investigation.
In a ruling released earlier this week, the tribunal said Ontario Provincial Police officers collected DNA samples from 96 seasonal labourers in rural Bayham, Ont., even though many did not remotely match a description of the suspect, aside from the fact that they were all Black or brown migrant farm workers.
HRTO adjudicator Marla Burstyn wrote that though the tests were done on a voluntary basis, police failed to consider the vulnerabilities of the highly racialized community and the power imbalances that could make them feel forced to comply.
Shane Martinez, the lawyer representing the migrant farmworkers, says the decision is the first of its kind to analyze a human rights violation in the context of a DNA sweep, as well as the first to examine interactions between migrant farmworkers and police through a human rights lens.
Patricia DeGuire, chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission which acted as an intervener in the case, says migrant workers are among the province’s most vulnerable labourers and the agency is pleased with the tribunal’s decision because of historical challenges establishing race-based cases.
Ontario Provincial Police say they are aware of the decision and currently reviewing it but that it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.
Burstyn found the officers’ conduct during the sweep was discriminatory because of “race, colour and place of origin,” contravening the Human Rights Code.
The ruling awarded $7,500 in compensation to Leon Logan, the lead applicant for the migrant workers. A press release from a migrant workers’ advocacy group says the parties have reached an agreement to provide the other 53 applicants the same award, resulting in potential aggregate damages of $405,000.
The recall covers more than 200,000 electric vehicles from Kia and Hyundai in the U.S. and slightly more than 34,000 Hyundai EVs in Canada.
Quebec’s pension fund manager says it is co-operating with United States authorities after three former employees were indicted in federal court in New York.
St. Lawrence College’s musical theatre students bring two exciting productions to the Thousand Islands Playhouse this weekend. Find out what’s on stage.
Police say an 81-year-old woman is dead following a dog attack involving three dogs who attacked her inside her own residence, in Northern Ontario.
King was a prominent figure in the demonstration that rolled into the national capital in 2022, which saw protesters entrench themselves in downtown Ottawa for three weeks.
Dermo, which has been detected in Canada for the first time, has spread from oyster to oyster in New Brunswick.
The latest draft negotiating text released Friday pledged $250 billion by 2035, less than a quarter of what developing countries requested.
The officials say Ottawa will be chipping in $108.5 million over the next three years to Ontario’s existing Student Nutrition Program and First Nations Student Nutrition Program.
A mother who was struck by a vehicle, along with the father and three other children, has now died from her injuries in hospital just over a month after the collision.
Erin McQueen believes her tools were stolen on Nov.16 while her truck was parked in Kelowna near Ellis Street and Clement Avenue.
"I am fighting for my daughter." How one Regina family is looking to the community to help raise money for a potentially live saving trip to the United States.