MEDIA ADVISORY

xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) territories / Vancouver, BC – At its next regular public meeting, the Vancouver Police Board will consider two Service and Policy complaints filed pursuant to BC’s Police Act, in September 2024 by Pivot Legal Society and the BC Civil Liberties Association against the VPD for excessive use of force and surveillance of Palestine movement. Representatives from West Coast LEAF and South Asian Legal Clinic of BC intend to speak at the meeting about the systemic discrimination concerns raised in the complaints.

Meghan McDermott, Policy Director at the BCCLA,says:

“Our legal complaints are centered around disturbing police practices that appear to be systemic in nature. We are calling on the Vancouver Police Board to impartially investigate the department’s biased policing of people advocating for Palestinian human rights in Vancouver. At their upcoming board meeting, we expect the civilian oversight body to swiftly use its powers to protect people in Vancouver from being further harmed by the undemocratic practices forming the bases of our complaints.”

Simone Akyianu, Staff Lawyer at Pivot Legal Society, says:

“The complaints raise significant legal policy issues relating to the VPD’s egregious incursions on marginalized people’s rights to equality and free expression in support of Palestinian humanity. The pervasive and insidious nature of anti-Indigenous racism baked into racist and biased policing demand that the Police Board promptly refer both of these complaints to an external investigator with expertise in addressing anti-Palestinian racism, particularly within the broader global climate of repression of Palestinian human rights.”

Pivot’s Service and Policy Complaint to the Police Board flows from the VPD's excessive use of force against pro-Palestinians on May 31, 2024 at CN Rails. Extreme use of force included deploying military grade pepper spray; standing on the backs of cuffed people and placing knees on necks (in contravention of VPD’s own policy on restraints); and strangling and choking a person. A second Service and Policy Complaint to the Police Board concerns VPD Surveillance of Palestine Solidarity Demonstrators, including the ongoing illegal use of Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (drones) and unauthorized filming by VPD officers.

Says Dania Barakat, a local Palestinian organizer:

“Across the country and around the world, we are seeing a rise in police and state repression against pro-Palestinian activists. This increasing anti-Palestinian racism is happening as we are witnessing a genocide unfolding in Gaza every day and as Canada refuses to implement a two-way arms embargo against Israel. But the VPD repression and surveillance of our actions will not stop us. The global movement for our liberation is only growing.”

Humera Jabir, Staff Lawyer with West Coast LEAF added:

“We are appalled by the systemic use of extreme police violence against peaceful people engaged in acts of civil disobedience to uphold Palestinian human rights. VPD officers must be held accountable for their disregard of Charter rights and safety, including the attacks on a pregnant person and Indigenous peoples holding sacred fire. The discriminatory policing of people advocating for Palestinian human rights must be impartially investigated."

Meena Dhillon, Managing Lawyer with South Asian Legal Clinic of BC commented:

“We are concerned about the heightened surveillance and monitoring by VPD of Pro-Palestine solidarity protesters. The unexplained use of surveillance using drones and smartphones by the VPD in contradiction to its own polices must be reviewed to ensure democratic rights are protected and most important to work towards ending the over-policing of Indigenous and Racialized communities in this Province. The VPD is not above the law and needs to be held accountable for its unequal targeting Pro-Palestine solidarity protestors.”

Media Contacts

Brid McKeown,
British Columbia Civil Liberties Association
[email protected]

Taz Khandwani,
Pivot Legal Society
[email protected]

Background Resources

Service and Policy Complaint regarding excessive use of force against Palestine solidarity demonstrators.

Service and Policy Complaint regarding VPD surveillance of Palestine solidarity demonstrators.

About Pivot Legal Society

Pivot Legal Society is a leading Canadian human rights organization that uses the law to address the root causes of poverty and social exclusion in Canada. Pivot’s work includes challenging laws and policies that force people to the margins of society and keep them there. Since 2002 Pivot has won major victories for sex workers’ rights, police accountability, affordable housing, and health and drug policy.

About British Columbia Civil Liberties Association

The BCCLA works to promote, defend, sustain, and extend civil liberties and human rights in British Columbia and Canada. We achieve this mandate through four core programs: litigation in Court; law and policy reform; public legal education; community-based information assistance and advocacy. Relentless in their pursuit of justice, BCCLA has grown from a small group of academics and activists to a non-partisan and non-profit organization of people who continue to fight for civil liberties and human rights.

About West Coast LEAF

West Coast LEAF is a non-profit organization formed in 1985, the year the equality guarantees of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into force. West Coast LEAF’s mandate is to use the law to create an equal and just society for all women and people who experience gender-based discrimination in BC. In collaboration with community, we use litigation, law reform, and public legal education to make change.

About South Asian Legal Clinic of BC

The South Asian Legal Clinic of BC was established by a group of South Asian women in BC who witnessed first-hand the gaps in access to justice for South Asian people in the province. Our inaugural board sought feedback from legal service providers, community services providers, and other stakeholders, which confirmed the need for a dedicated South Asian legal clinic in the province. We serve the South Asian community by offering low-barrier, multilingual and culturally sensitive legal information, education, advice and advocacy.

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