Statement from Preston MLA Angela Simmonds

Statement from Preston MLA Angela Simmonds

In 2019, the Liberal government implemented a historic moratorium to ban street checks ā€” ensuring Black and racialized communities in our province can walk or drive without fear of being illegally checked.

During this past House session, I repeatedly called on the Minister of Justice to amend the past directive to increase the legal threshold, leaving no room for discretionary questioning, but still allowing law enforcement to do their job. Iā€™m glad to see the Minister move forward on this recommendation today.

While this is a step in the right direction, there is more work that needs to be done. I’m looking to the government to address the broader systemic issue by legislating this directive in the next session of the legislature and fully implementing the recommendations of the Wortley Report.

I’ll continue to advocate to ensure that the voice of my community is heard by government and decisions reflect all Nova Scotians.