CBC News
I am a Black man raised in French Canadian culture who came of age in the Afro-Canadian/Caribbean culture and found his roots and his soul in advocating for social justice inspired by the American civil rights movement. When I was a kid, I wanted to be either a cop or a bandit. Well, I chose the safer route — I think.
During my first attempt to become a cop with the Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police force, I was asked how I would react to being called the N-word. I was not hired but eventually fulfilled my dream of serving in law enforcement. During my 30 years in the field, I was taught that it was normal to pay close attention to communities with a statistically high crime rate. As a Black police officer, I personally practised racial profiling and was also a victim of it out of uniform...