The idea that skin colour doesn’t matter in Toronto is naïve, writes journalist Desmond Cole, who chronicles humiliating encounters with Ontario law enforcement in Toronto Life.
Born in Alberta to immigrants from Sierra Leone, Cole grew up in Oshawa and graduated valedictorian of his high school class. He attended Queen's University, where he first encountered discrimination. Police cruisers followed his car. Uniformed men randomly asked for identification. In one instance, police asked a white female friend who he was walking home if she felt endangered. He moved to Toronto at the age of 22 and the racial profiling only grew worse. Cole says police have stopped him at least 50 times to date simply because of his skin colour.