Council Notebook: St. Catharines supports seeking private partner to run airport (St. Catharines Standard coverage of asking City to not deploy Police on beaches)

(https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/niagara-region/2021/05/14/council-notebook-st-catharines-supports-seeking-private-partner-to-run-airport.html) 

Council Notebook: St. Catharines supports seeking private partner to run airport

A few happenings from St. Catharines city council this week...

By Karena WalterStandard Reporter

Fri., May 14, 2021timer5 min. read

updateArticle was updated May. 17, 2021

[snip]

Police not being asked to patrol beach area

A request to have more police in the Sunset Beach area to deal with illegal activities wasn’t supported by council.

Grantham Coun. Dawn Dodge made the motion after receiving a lot of complaints from residents living near the beach who see people racing, operating vehicles impaired and even riding on jet skis being towed down the road.

But council heard from two members of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association, Vicki-Lynn Smith and Saleh Waziruddin, who said there are members of the community who wouldn’t feel welcome on the beach with a police presence because of their experiences and history.

Waziruddin said black and indigenous people of colour are over-policed and many LGBTQ2+, people with disabilities and those who’ve had trauma do not feel safe when police are around.

“There is no reason we can’t be able to feel safe when enjoying the beach through using city staff for enforcing the rules,” Waziruddin said.

“Even the police have said they shouldn’t be used as a substitute for other agencies and staff.”

Dodge said her intent wasn’t to have police officers walking along the beach but in the area to deal with safety concerns.

“I’ve have a lot of complaints and a lot of concerns for safety from residents with street racing down here, drunk and disorderly, people leaving the beaches,” she said.

Councillors voted 9-3 against the idea.

The city is planning to do increased bylaw enforcement at Sunset Beach this year, have a security contractor provide security services and have student ambassadors whose duties will include notifying proper authorities of infractions.

Karena Walter is a St. Catharines-based reporter, primarily covering City Hall for the Standard. Reach her via email: karena.walter@niagaradailies.com

Speech to St. Catharines City Council Against Deploying Police to City Beaches

Speech on behalf of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association to St. Catharines City Council against the proposal to use police for security on city beaches

Thank you mayor and councillors for giving me time to speak this evening. I am Saleh Waziruddin, a resident of St. Catharines and here as a member of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association.

Amendment 2 from item 10.5 on your agenda talks about an increased police presence at city beaches. The beach strategy survey showed only a handful of comments asking for more police, and all but one or two were talking about police as substitutable with bylaw enforcement, beach ambassadors, or other city staff or security. There were far more people asking for security than asking for police, with one resident even saying “we don't need policing.”

In the Ontario case R vs Morris the judge accepted facts that showed Black and also Indigenous and People of Colour are overpoliced, and this ruins our lives to such an extent that the judge is using it as a factor in sentencing. Some local business owners have been quoted in the media openly saying they want more police to push marginalized people out.

Clearly not everyone feels safe around police, BIPOC LGBTQ2S+ people and many people with disabilities and trauma do not feel safe when there are police around. There is no reason why we can't be able to feel safe when enjoying the beach through using city staff instead for enforcing the rules. Even the police have said they shouldn't be used as a substitute for other agencies and staff.

Please do not ask for a police presence at city beaches, please remember not everyone feels safer around police.