Quote:Ontario is in the midst of a once-in-a-generation opportunity as the provincial government cracks open the laws governing policing. With an exclusive look at submissions for change from Ontario’s human rights watchdog, the Toronto Star begins a series looking at the future of policing.

Quote:Ontario’s human rights watchdog has laid out a bold blueprint for policing during the “critical moment” when the province’s rule book is being rewritten.

The recommendations are contained in the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s recent submissions to the province on its Strategy for a Safer Ontario, essentially a rewriting of the Police Services Act, the law governing policing in the province.

Last revisited more than 25 years ago, the law is being rewritten at a time of unprecedented scrutiny of policing throughout North America, enhanced technology, and shifting ideas about who and what a modern police force should be.

“The moment is ripe to have a broad-ranging discussion about policing,” Renu Mandhane, Ontario’s chief human rights commissioner, said during a recent meeting with the Toronto Star’s editorial board. “This is a vision for policing into the future.”

The commission’s proposed changes deal with racial profiling, mandated race-based data collection and body-worn cameras, disparities in the use of force on people with mental illness and addiction, over-policing of indigenous peoples, and a lack of human-rights accountability.

Those changes are backed by 16 community and advocacy groups, including the Law Union of Ontario, Canadian Civil Liberties Association, African Canadian Legal Clinic, Campaign to Stop Carding, Black Action Defence Committee and Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic.