Dear Editor,
Re: “'I have questions' UBC staffer speaks out after RCMP detained him while walking past Invictus Games wearing a keffiyeh,” published in The Ubyssey on March 5, 2025.
Reading about the arbitrary detention of Nathan Herrington, a UBC staff member and alumnus, for simply wearing a keffiyeh was deeply disheartening. This is a blatant violation of fundamental freedoms. Wearing a keffiyeh — a symbol of Palestinian solidarity — should never be grounds for suspicion, let alone police intervention. This is racial profiling, plain and simple.
Section 9 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms explicitly protects against arbitrary detention. Yet, this incident reflects a disturbing pattern of racial and political profiling, where Palestinian solidarity is increasingly criminalized. This pattern is not new — it points to a deeper systemic issue in law enforcement, where racialized individuals are disproportionately targeted under vague justifications of “suspicious behaviour.” Black and Indigenous communities in Canada for instance have long been subjected to arbitrary detention and over-policing.
The 2019 Supreme Court case R. v. Le reaffirmed that racial profiling and police intimidation violate the Charter, specifically section 9, which protects against arbitrary detention, and section 8, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure. In Le, a young racialized man was unlawfully detained in his own backyard, highlighting how the perception of criminality is often tied to race and identity rather than actual behaviour. Herrington’s detention follows the same troubling logic — where wearing a keffiyeh is enough to warrant suspicion, mirroring the way racialized individuals are disproportionately stopped for simply existing in public spaces.
This isn’t just about a single incident. It’s about the erosion of civil liberties and the systemic policing of political expression. If today, certain identities and causes are inherently suspect in the eyes of the state, what does that say about our future?
Lynn Naji
Junior Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
This is a letter to the editor, which reflects a contributor's views on an article previously published in The Ubyssey. It does not reflect the views of The Ubyssey as a whole. Contribute to the conversation by visiting ubyssey.ca/pages/submit-an-opinion.
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