Article author:
The Canadian Press
The Ontario Human Rights Court found that state police discriminated against migrant workers based on their race when they were given DNA sweeps as part of a 2013 sexual assault investigation. did.
In a ruling released earlier this week, the court said officers from the Ontario Police Department collected her DNA samples from 96 seasonal workers in rural Bayham, Ontario. The fact that they were all black or brown migrant farm workers.
HRTO Adjudicator Marla Burstyn said that although the inspections were voluntary, police were forced to accept the vulnerability of the highly racialized community and the I wrote that I did not consider the power imbalance that I might feel. Compliant.
Shane Martinez, an attorney representing migrant farmworkers, said the decision was the first to analyze human rights abuses in the context of a DNA sweep, and that the mutual It is said to be the first to investigate its effects. and the police through the lens of human rights.
Chief Commissioner Patricia Degaia of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, who acted as an intermediary in the case, said the migrant worker was one of the most vulnerable workers in the province, and the agency satisfied with the court's decision. race-based case.
Ontario Police said they were aware of the decision and were currently considering it, but said it was inappropriate to comment further at this time. says.
Burstyn found the police officers' conduct during the mop-up to be discriminatory "on the basis of race, color or national origin" and violated human rights laws.
The ruling awarded Leon Logan, the principal applicant for migrant workers, his $7,500 compensation. According to a press release from a migrant workers advocacy group, the parties agreed to award the same award to 53 other applicants, resulting in a total potential loss of $405,000.
35} Hearings will address public interest remedies seeking an order for migrant workers to destroy DNA samples and requiring OPP to develop policies to ensure DNA sweeps comply with human rights law. .This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 18, 2022.
