McMaster student union votes to remove former police chief as head of security
- Craig Clark
- 17 Jun 2020
McMaster University’s Student Union (MSU) voted for a motion late Sunday night to remove former Hamilton police chief Glenn De Caire as the school’s current head of parking and security services.
The motion was fully backed by members of the MSU and encourages McMaster to terminate the contract of De Caire and abolish its special constable program. It also calls on the university to end its relationships with the Hamilton and Halton police services.
THE MOTION WITH AMMENDMENTS HAS PASSED!
THE STUDENT UNION OFFICIALLY CALLS ON THE REMOVAL OF GLENN DE CAIRE AS THE HEAD OF PARKING AND SECURITY SERVICES AND THE FULL REMOVAL OFF THE SPECIAL CONSTABLE PROGRAM!
— De Caire Off Campus (@copfreecampus) June 14, 2020
MSU brought forward the motion during a period when people are calling to defund the police in Canada and the United States. The student governing body received about 600 emails from McMaster students calling for the removal of De Caire as well as a petition with nearly 6,000 signatures.
Union president Giancarlo Da-Ré said in a report by the Hamilton Spectator that the motion is intended to hold McMaster to their public statement on June 1st denouncing anti-Black racism.
This isn’t the first time MSU has voted to remove the former police chief from the head of security. In 2016, MSU put forward a motion two months after the University hired De Caire that looked at terminating his contract and ending McMaster’s campaign of increased police presence on campus. It passed with 28 votes in support of the motion and zero against.
Many concerns brought forward in 2016 are still prevalent in the latest motion citing incidents that occurred when De Caire of chief of police.
In 2015, De Caire was under fire for history controversial support of carding. De Caire also seemed to support the idea that Black communities need to stop blaming police for their problems.
MSU also wants the removal of the special constable unit, which allows about 20 members to receive training from Hamilton police. The motion comes from repeated requests that the parking and security department release demographic data related to incidents that have been reported on campus. De Caire has yet to comply with this request.
Students will be hosting a virtual protest on Wednesday where they will be posting about De Caire on social media using McMaster hashtags in order to put pressure on the school.
Lead image courtesy of @mcmasteru
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