White privilege on display in RCMP handling of Rideau Hall security breach

By Fareed Khan

After driving from Manitoba in his pickup truck, Corey Hurren, a white man in his 40s, arrived at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on July 2nd, where he used his vehicle as a battering ram to break through the RCMP police check point at the gates of the property where the Prime Minister and the Governor General live, in order to (allegedly) harm or kill Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  Following Hurren's arrest it was confirmed by the RCMP that he was in possession of multiple firearms, including a handgun, and that his arrest occurred without Hurren being physically harmed after RCMP officers spent more than 90 minutes talking him down.

Contrast the RCMP handling of a heavily armed and dangerous intruder near the residences of Canada’s top two government officials and its outcome with the way that they and other police forces across the country have handled encounters with Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC).  This year alone, on eight occasions, Indigenous, Black and Brown Canadians have been shot and killed by police, and none were in possession of a firearm at the time they died.

To BIPOC communities the difference between how Hurren was treated and how they are treated is a clear illustration of white privilege and racism in policing.  Nothing else could explain why police were willing to take greater care and patience dealing with a heavily armed white man bent on violence against the PM than they do when dealing with unarmed Indigenous and racialized individuals.

Since the beginning of 2020 there have been 11 documented cases of police shootings resulting in the death of civilians. In June alone there were three instances where Indigenous people and a person of colour were shot by police.  Neither Chantal Moore, Rodney Levi, nor Ejaz Choudry were in possession of firearms and yet the police used deadly force, while Hurren was heavily armed and police dealt with him without firing a shot.

Since the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May, police forces in Canada have been under intense scrutiny for their use of force in encounters with BIPOC.  According to an analysis conducted by CTV and released in June, of the last 100 people killed by police dating back to January 2017, 38 percent of the shooting victims were Indigenous and 9 percent were Black, even though they represented 5 percent and 3 percent of the population respectively.  The fact that the number of non-white victims of police shootings are disproportionately higher than their numbers in the general population is not a new revelation.  But when examining police-civilian encounters in Canada, the security incident at Rideau Hall implies if not clearly illustrates the presence of white privilege and racial discrimination in policing in a way that statistics cannot.

It is apparent from the history of police encounters with civilians, that individuals who are BIPOC more frequently face violence and a violation of their rights at the hands of police than do white people.  For years academics, researchers and activists have been saying it is because of racism embedded in police culture.  What else would explain the way a heavily armed white intruder who violently breached the perimeter of Rideau Hall was treated, and it begs the question what would have been the outcome if he had been Indigenous or Black or Muslim?

The Rideau Hall incident has strengthened calls for a comprehensive restructuring and review of how policing is done to eliminate an apparent culture of white privilege and racism under which police seem to operate.  In addition, activists are demanding that significant resources be shifted from policing to programs that deal with social problems in the community that could lead to individuals facing off against police (with deadly results).

If demonstrations across the country are any indication, Canadians are unwilling to continue with policing as usual.  The disproportionate police shootings and violent encounters between police and BIPOC needs to stop.  The image of how police treated Hurren, compared to those who are BIPOC, will fuel even more anger towards police if reforms aren’t undertaken and if issues of racism in policing aren’t addressed.  We must heed calls for police reform, and the work needs to begin now.

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