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Don’t brush off canvassing Why it’s not okay for police to collect student information door-to-door >> pg. 6
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VOLUME 107, ISSUE 26
Police launch internal review of LEARN Officers canvassed student neighbourhoods for personal info Iain Boekhoff NEWS EDITOR The London Police Service is launching an internal review of their Project LEARN campaign in light of recent criticism of enforcement tactics. Over the weekend, it was revealed that police have been canvassing student neighbourhoods in London and collecting the personal information of residents as part of their Project LEARN campaign. The London Free Press reported that in some cases students were asked for their parents’ information as well. Brad Duncan, chief of the London Police Service, confirmed students have been the target of this campaign. “[The police canvassing is] related to Project LEARN, and related to specific areas where we have been engaged with large parties that have caused considerable community engagement from neighbours in the surrounding area, and have caused considerable issues with police in terms of trying to manage the areas,” Duncan said. Amir Eftekarpour, vice-president external for the University Students’ Council, said the police canvassing was not an effective way for police to interact with students. “When you have canvassing that is getting student records just for the sake of keeping track of people for potentially causing some sort of disturbance, just because they
are part of a group that in the past has had a disturbance or two, that is really not community engagement. That is not mutual respect, it is much more arbitrary — identifying a certain group and keeping tabs on them which is just not the best way to do it.” “We admit that we [students] can be very inconsiderate of our neighbours, not just London people, but also other students,” Eftekarpour said. “The best way to [eradicate that] is through police programs that promote mutual respect, outreach and engagement.” Eftekarpour cited a recent example of positive police canvassing in London before Homecoming during which he, an off-campus mediator and police constables talked to students on Broughdale and Huron streets. Project LEARN (Liquor Enforcement and Reduction of Noise) has faced increased scrutiny this year. The pressure has been mounting in recent weeks and Duncan commissioned the internal review of the programin response.. “I have commenced an internal review of 2013 Project LEARN in light of concerns raised over the approach to students occupying homes in specific neighbourhoods where continued community problems exist,” Duncan said in a statement. “We are looking at it from an internal perspective and I hope in the next short while I will be able to
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come out publicly and provide some more clarity around the issue and a way forward as well,” he said. Today, Duncan and other police representatives will be meeting with USC representatives including Eftekarpour and president Pat Whelan, as well as city councillor Matt Brown, chair of the Town and Gown Committee, to discuss the future of Project LEARN. Eftekarpour said he is going to propose to the police that anyone who receives a Project LEARN citation should get community service and have to write an apology letter
to the neighbour they affected if it’s a minor infraction — or if a monetary fine is necessary, that it be a small one and that the money go to community service initiatives. Eftekarpour has cited the way Hamilton deals with its student population — through police community outreach and education — as a model. There, he said, students are more engaged politically in the city, and there is major student retention because of the relationship between students and the city. Ultimately, the USC is fighting for a community spirit between fellow
students and their London neighbours where everyone knows each other and can live in relative peace. “Really the whole point is to create a system not only of mutual respect, but education, because a student who receives a massive fine isn’t going to say all of a sudden, ‘I realize what I’ve been doing wrong’ — it just creates resentment and a gap between the students and the city,” Eftekarpour said. “The zero-tolerance nature of the program creates a gap between where we are and where we want to be.”
Interns should be protected by Ont. law: Minister Megan Devlin NEWS EDITOR The Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act is to be revised to include protections for co-op students and interns. This comes after an internal briefing note within the ministry of labour was leaked to the Toronto Star. The note drew attention because it advised the government on two loopholes in the OHSA that excluded unpaid co-op students, interns and unpaid apprentices from protection under the act. As it stands, the OHSA appears to only protect workers who receive a paycheque. This is because the act does not deem unpaid interns to be workers. “What’s come to light is that
[protections under the OHSA] don’t apply to unpaid interns, and they potentially don’t apply to unpaid apprenticeships,” Joel Duff, spokesperson for the Ontario Federation of Labour, said. “This would then prevent them from having recourse through the Ministry of Labour to resolve a dispute of mistreatment in the workplace,” Duff continued. According to Duff, the problem is the OHSA has many provisions designed specifically for the safety of young workers, who he says are the most vulnerable to workplace hazards and injury. “The right to refuse unsafe work is a right that should be sacrosanct to any worker in any workplace,” Duff said. Yasir Naqvi, the Ontario Labour
What’s come to light is that [protections under the Ontario Health and Safety Act] don’t apply to unpaid interns, and they potentially don’t apply to unpaid apprentices” — Joel Duff
spokesperson for the Ontario Federation of Labour
Minister, has called for a change in the OHSA to protect these vulnerable young workers. “Workers in Ontario deserve strong workplace protections and I have been on a mission to make sure young workers, in particular, are aware of their rights and are working and learning in safe workplaces,” Naqvi said in a statement.“That is why we are reviewing the rules for co-op students under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act to ensure they have all the same rights and protections as other workers,” Naqvi said. Naqvi said co-op students already have protection — including safe workplace requirements — under the Employment Standards Act. “I have been very active around the issue of internships; proactively
reaching out to post-secondary institutions, employers and young people to make sure there is no confusion out there in terms of our rules — regardless of your job title or position, if you perform work for somebody, unless you are a co-op student or self-employed, you are protected under the Employment Standards Act and entitled to things like minimum wage,” Naqvi said. However, the OHSA still does not recognize them. Andrew Langille, a Toronto labour lawyer, said it was important that students, trainees and interns be covered under the OHSA. By not being covered, young unpaid workers are missing out on critical health and safety >> see ONT. pg.3