Toronto ‘carding’ activist Desmond Cole stopped by police in Vancouver
VANCOUVER — A Toronto activist and writer who was stopped by Vancouver police a day after arriving in the city says his experience reveals what daily life is like for black and Indigenous residents.
Desmond Cole has worked for years to end street checks or “carding” in Toronto and says he was the subject of a street check by a Vancouver police officer on Tuesday.
Street checks involve officers stopping a person and recording their information, regardless of whether an offence has been committed. Opponents say street checks disproportionately target people of colour.
“I get to leave Vancouver this weekend, but people have to live here every day. That’s what I really want people to sit with,” said Cole in an interview Wednesday.