If you are in Vancouver, there is a motion regarding street checks going to City Council on Tuesday, July 7th. The motion is B2 Ending Street Checks in Vancouver.

Because City Council does not have explicit jurisdiction to do so itself, the motion calls on City Council to direct the Vancouver Police Board to prioritize ending street checks. The motion is not as strong as we would like, so it is important for City Council to make clear that its political priority is to end police street checks and to hear from us so that this motion passes.

BC Civil Liberties Association, Black Lives Matter-Vancouver, Hogan’s Alley Society, Union of BC Indian Chiefs, and WISH Drop-In Centre Society are calling for an END to police street checks in Vancouver and across BC.

Street checks are racist, specifically anti-Indigenous and anti-Black, harmful for low-income people, and fundamentally illegal. We need to end them now! Our goal is to have 50 speakers on this motion; will you be one of the speakers calling for an immediate end to street checks?

Speaking to City Council:

• Sign up online by TUESDAY JULY 7 at 8:30 am and select Motion B2 here. It gives you the option of hearing by phone or in-person; in light of COVID-19, we recommend via phone.
• You will be called in the order in which you registered. You will have five minutes to speak as an individual or eight minutes on behalf of an organization.
• We need your voice; be yourself. Emphasize that street checks are a racist, harmful, and illegal police practice that must end in our city and across the province.
• You can submit comment online or written submissions by Monday, July 6 if you prefer not to speak here.
• Watch online on Tuesday, July 7th starting at 6 pm here.