COVID-19, Policing, and the Exacerbation of Pre-Existing Inequalities

Abstract

This article examines the expansion of policing and surveillance powers in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically focusing on emergency orders like Ontario’s Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. The authors argue that these new powers, particularly the mandatory ID requirement, granted law enforcement broad authority to arrest, detain, and fine individuals - often for reasons tenuously linked to legitimate public health objectives. These punitive measures were not applied evenly; instead, they exacerbated pre-existing social inequalities by disproportionately targeting vulnerable and marginalized groups, including Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities, homeless individuals, migrants, and sex workers who have long histories of being criminalized and harassed by the state.

The authors further highlight the racially unequal application of enforcement, contrasting the heavy-handed ticketing of racialized individuals with the notable lack of enforcement against majority-white protesters. Many marginalized people faced a "double punishment" as they were excluded from government financial aid due to their status while being simultaneously fined for their inability to self-isolate in private spaces. The article also critiques the criminalization of survival strategies - such as workers using business spaces to distance from elderly relatives - and warns that granting police access to personal health data undermines public health goals by discouraging marginalized people from seeking care. The article contends that the crisis requires material support, such as housing, healthcare, and income security, rather than a heavy-handed law enforcement approach, concluding that a society cannot police itself out of a public health crisis.

Keywords: COVID, Policing, Racism, Sex Work