The commander of the RCMP in Nova Scotia delivered what he described as a long-overdue apology to the province’s Black residents on Saturday, acknowledging that the force’s past use of street checks did lasting harm to both individuals and communities.
Assistant commissioner Dennis Daley issued the apology to African Nova Scotians and all people of African descent during a Saturday afternoon event in North Preston, a predominantly Black community northeast of Halifax.
He said the RCMP had “disrespected” Black Nova Scotians through the practice of randomly stopping people and logging personal details about them and acknowledged the now banned practice — which disproportionately targeted young Black men — affected many facets of daily life.
“I’m sorry to you and your loved ones for how differently potential employers, your family and your community might have seen you, and even how you might have seen yourself, as a result of our actions,” Daley said at a ceremony that …