Defund, Disarm, and Disband OPS
In the face of cyclical police violence happening throughout North America right now, there is no better time to commit ourselves to change. We have seen that investing in body cameras, civilian reviews or de-escalation and implicit bias training doesn’t work. What we need in Ottawa is leadership that can initiate a reduction in the immense police violence that targets our most marginalized people, toward the eventual abolition of police and prisons. In order to do this, I call on you and the City Council to reduce funding in these ways:
- Withhold pensions and don’t rehire cops involved in excessive force cases
- Require cops to be liable for misconduct settlements
- Reduce the size of police force
- Amend the Police Services Act so that police boards can no longer strong arm municipalities into passing any budget they want
- Disband the Ottawa Police Association, a police union that emboldens cops to act with impunity
An increased police presence does not keep us safe, rather it directly threatens the lives of our most vulnerable communities (BIPOC, the LGBTQ2S+ community, unhoused people, street-based sex workers, people with disabilities, people experiencing poverty, etc). Instead of investing in the police, our city must prioritize alternatives like education, increased mental health services, housing initiatives, income security, harm reduction services, accessible rehabilitation, mutual aid, conflict resolution services, transformative justice, and other vital community-based support systems. These initiatives must support our most vulnerable communities and centre the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and people of colour in Ottawa.
Our city can lead the way in defining public safety through community not cops, where Black, Indigenous and people of colour are free from police violence, free from OC Transpo special constables shaking up residents for fare (public transit should be free), free from bylaw officers punching residents for being in the park while Black. I am demanding you to create a better future for all residents of Ottawa by divesting from harmful policing and investing in life-affirming services.