Defund the police and invest in communities

The current system we have does not keep communities safe, especially those already made vulnerable by the numerous factors such as race, gender and class. The OPS has shown how violent and harmful they can be and reforms are not enough. We have seen that investing in body cameras, civilian reviews or de-escalation and implicit bias training doesn’t work. Are BIPOC lives not worth considering a new way of approaching community safety? I believe they are so I encourage you to rethink how we keep communities. What we need in Ottawa is leadership that can initiate a reduction in the immense police violence that targets our most marginalized people. 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 oppression. I am asking you to create a better future for all residents of Ottawa by divesting from harmful policing and investing in life-affirming services.