Toronto Police Services Board’s Anti-Racism Advisory Panel Invites Applications

Anti-Racism Advisory Panel

The Toronto Police Services Board is inviting applications for membership on its newly-created Anti-Racism Advisory Panel (ARAP).

The jury in the Inquest into the Death of Andrew Loku made a number of recommendations directed to the Toronto Police Services Board, including the following:

17. Establish a new committee to consider possible or identified disparities in services and outcomes for racialized persons and consider interventions to address any such disparities. The committee should include representatives of the Toronto Police Service, subject matter experts and members of racialized communities, including the Black community. The committee should consider the intersectionality of mental health and race both in terms of member composition and issues to be addressed.

As a result, at its meeting of December 14, 2017, the Board approved the establishment of an Interim Steering Committee to make recommendations to the Board regarding this committee. The Interim Steering Committee is composed of Ms. Notisha Massaquoi, Uppala Chandrasekera as the Board nominee, and Ms. Aseefa Sarang as the nominee on behalf of the Andrew Loku Coalition. At the Board’s meeting of April 18, 2018, the Board considered and approved the Interim Steering Committee’s report regarding the establishment of the Anti-Racism Advisory Panel (ARAP), including the member recruitment process and application documents.

ARAP will be mandated to advise the Toronto Police Services Board with respect to its role in overseeing and monitoring the response to and implementation of the recommendations directed both to the Toronto Police Service and to the Toronto Police Services Board, by the jury in the Inquest into the Death of Andrew Loku.

Individuals wishing to apply for membership on ARAP must be residents of the City of Toronto and will be required to provide a resume/expression of interest. In addition, applicants will be asked to complete an application form, comprised of a series of questions, including those about the applicant’s experience and background, and the level and nature of expertise the applicant has.

View the Questionnaire here: tpsb.ca/arap-questionnaire

An emphasis will be placed on applicants with a background in anti-racism, anti-Black racism, mental health and addictions, as well as those who have familiarity with the issues raised at the inquest into the death of Andrew Loku.

Applications must be received by Friday May 26, Those applicants who have been chosen to proceed through the process will be asked to attend an interview with members of the Interim Steering Committee in June 2018. At the conclusion of the selection process, the Interim Steering Committee will recommend to the Board a list of community members and subject-matter experts to participate on ARAP.  It is anticipated that the recommendations for membership will be made to the Board at its July 2018 meeting.

It is anticipated that ARAP will meet every two months, and as needed. It is anticipated that the first meeting of ARAP will be held in/by September 2018 and that ARAP will conclude its work by December 31, 2019.

More information about ARAP can be found here:
Board report with more information and Dec 14 Board Minutes