I am white and privileged. An example of that privilege is that I did not spend last Friday night building a safety plan in case I got stopped by police. People of colour did just that.

Some police departments immediately said they would not use the extraoridnary power given by the province. It took Toronto police another day to make the same announcement. I was relieved when the province back-tracked saying that the police must have a reason to stop someone. I suspect, however, that bi-poc communities are still concerned about what reason a particular officer might come up with. Black leaders are raising this alarm.

Why would people of colour still be concerned? Personal experience. A research study In Toronto found that nearly 80% of black men between twenty-five and forty-four report being stopped by police. A quarter of them say police used force against them and sixty percent report harassment or rudeness.

The province revised the order due to a fierce public outcry. I followed this on twitter. Let me share some of the tweets I read.

"Let's call it what it is. This is triggering for so many who know and have felt the real dangers of carding--the same people who are twice as likely to be working frontline jobs during this pandemic. This is maddening."

"It is important that we have a strong public health response to fighting against Covid-19. Giving police wide latitude to engage in carding is a terrible way to do so. This emergency order does nothing to mitigate the inherent racism in carding."

"As a disabled indigenous woman in (name removed) riding, I am anxious about @Torontopolice new power. I have a shunt in my head, heart condition=frequent trips to store/pharmacy 4 pain meds."

"I'm so f* angry right now. NONE of this will protect the most vulnerable people. Now what. They just legalized carding again."

"Paid sick days is a public health measure. Carding is NOT. Essential workers are the ones most impacted by this crisis. We need policies to keep them safe."

"The same week of the trial for the murder of George Floyd, the murder of Dwight Wright at a traffic stoop, the horrific video of 13-year-old Adam Toledo being shot by police, Ontario chooses to bring back carding."

And that is the point. The evidence that police stops are dangerous for black people, for indigenous people, for all people of colour is right in front of us. Still, the premier and his cabinet kept the blinders on that did not let them notice the consequences of their action. (I am making the assumption that they did not intend to bring back carding, a practice outlawed just a couple years ago.)

A couple posts provided the phone numbers of help lines for someone who ended up stopped and in trouble. Some called on people to call the premier. And the reluctance of police services to take up this measure was encouraging, though some said they would use this new power.

Which brings me back to my concern. I find it hard to decode what the Solicitor General said on Saturday: "If a police officer or other provincial offences officer has reason to suspect that you are participating in an organized public event or social gathering, they may require you to provide information to ensure you are complying with restrictions.... Every individual who is required to provide a police officer or other provincial offences officer with information shall promptly comply."

I worry that the atmosphere that prompted the original order may encourage officers to jump to suspicion. We are afraid of the variants of concern and the extent of this third wave. We are frustrated at the slow rollout of vaccines. Fear and frustration can lead to anger, impatience, bad judgement.

We do need to get a handle on rising cases. Paid sick leave would help those who live paycheck to paycheck to stay home when symptomatic. Each of us can avoid social interactions that could lead to the spread of Covid-19. But it is important to keep talking about why carding is wrong in order to make sure that this revised order does not lead to abuse. Through this all, we need to hold on to a vision of a just and caring society as we work our way through.

Cathy Hird lives on the traditional territory of the Saugeen Ojibway