N.S. RCMP apologizing Saturday for historical use of street checks

Nova Scotia RCMP will deliver a public apology on Saturday to African Nova Scotians and all people of African descent for the historical use of street checks and other harmful interactions.

Street checks, which were banned in the province five years ago, were a process that involved police interacting with or observing someone they thought could be of significance in a future investigation. Details such as the person’s ethnicity, age, gender and location would then be entered into a database.

The apology process for street checks can be traced back to a CBC investigation in 2017 that found people of African heritage in the Halifax area were three times more likely to be stopped by police than others. A 2019 study by criminologist Scot Wortley found the likelihood was actually six times greater.

The RCMP apology will be made at the North Preston Community Centre on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 1 p.m. local time. The Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia will livestream the apology on its YouTube page and the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre in Shelburne, N.S., is among eight locations where people can gather to watch the livestream. 

Apology ‘a great start’

Andrea Davis, the heritage centre’s executive director, says at least 100 chairs will be set up for people to view what she calls a significant and historical event.

“I believe it is also an opportunity to bridge the healing between the police forces and the Black community and all communities,” Davis said.

“This apology is something I think is needed, although there has been a large gap of time where there have been no apologies and there have been street checks that have continued. But I think this is a great start.”

Actions after apology

Davis said she hopes the apology is extended to people in rural communities.

“Black communities such as Shelburne and Birchtown. It needs to be heard here as strong and as vibrant as it will be heard in Halifax,” Davis said.

Juanita Peters, the executive director of the Africville Museum in Halifax, said she plans to watch the apology on the livestream. She said she’ll be listening to hear what the RCMP plan to do after the apology to make things right.

“Apologies are very, very important because it helps people realize that they’re not wrong. The things that they’ve gone through were not the way that things should be. But most importantly, more important than the apology, is what happens afterwards,” Peters said.

The Nova Scotia RCMP announced in May that it would be making the apology. Halifax Regional Police apologized for street checks in November 2019.

The apology will be livestreamed at these locations:

• Black Loyalist Heritage Centre, Shelburne.
• Menelik Hall, Sydney.
• Gibson Woods Community Centre, Gibson Woods.
• Greenville Community Centre, Greenville.
• Royal Canadian Legion, Digby.
• Business Innovation Centre, Amherst.
• Tracadie United Baptist Church Hall, Monastery.
• Ignite Atlantic, New Glasgow.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.